Family is Where the Heart is (re uploaded)
by SLPikachu
Summary: The tale of Sarah Winchester, Dean's daughter, as the Winchesters hunt and fight evil. Season one thru five only. Complete!
1. Chapter 1: Meeting a Part of you

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter One

The bar was quiet as Dean sat on a stool, drinking a beer. He was resting after a hunt before he had to hunt again. That was his job. To hunt down monsters that terrified and killed people. He had been trained to hunt since he was a kid. Dean wished his little brother didn't go off to college alone. Sam was his responsibility and Dean couldn't protect him if he wasn't there with him. John drives up to Stanford, now and then to check on Sam and says he's fine but it still doesn't ease Dean's nerves. To top off his uneasiness, John has been on a hunt on his own and Dean hasn't heard anything from him. John's been known to be gone for a long time but normally he calls in.

Dean's cell phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and saw he had received a text. He opened it up and saw it was coordinates. Dean paid for his drink and hurried outside to where he had parked the Impala, getting in. He leaned over and pulled a folded map from the glove compartment and looked up the coordinates.

"Milbank, South Dakota?" Dean questioned to himself, out loud. He guessed there was some kind of supernatural creature if John was sending him there. After a few minutes, Dean received another text that told him it wasn't a hunt, but he was still needed there and told Dean to do the right thing. Dean did not understand what his father meant but decided not to question the man about it. Instead, he asked what was taking so long on the hunt John was on.

John never responded.

As Dean drove to Milbank, South Dakota, it finally dawned on him. "Since when does Dad know how to text?" he questioned out loud to himself.

It was a five hour drive to Milbank. He pulled up to a gated community, stopping at a closed fence. Dean punched in a code John had also sent to him when he sent the coordinates and when the gates were open, he drove through. Dean drove around the neighborhood, scanning the perfectly manicured lawns for the right house.

After driving for fifteen minutes, he came to a house with a bunch of lawn gnomes scattered around the front yard. Dean parked on the street and stepped out, staring at the two-story house. He happened to notice a little girl, peeking out from behind a _SpongeBob Squarepants_ sunshade of one of the upstairs windows. If Dean didn't know better, he swore it was Sam peeking out at him.

Dean walked up the front pathway, trying to ignore the many eyes staring back at him. He stopped at the front door and pressed the doorbell. Soon afterwards, the door on his left opened and there stood a man in his fifties staring back at him.

"Uh hi, I was told to come down here," Dean began. "Is there any prob…"

"Are you Dean Winchester?" the man asked.

"Yes I am," he replied. "How do you know my name?"

"When I couldn't get a hold of you, my wife and I tried other ways and found your father's phone number. He said he would call you and ask you to come. Please, come in." The man stepped aside to let Dean in and shut the door behind him.

Inside, Dean looked around at the small, tiled foyer and wide staircase. Dean whistled, "Nice place you got here."

"Thank you, my wife and I love it here," he replied. "I'm Greg Holden. We retired eight years ago when our youngest daughter went off to college."

Dean smiled at him. "My brother left for college a couple years ago."

"Which one?" asked Greg, intrigued.

"Stanford."

"Oh, my daughter went there as well."

"Maybe the two of them know each," said Dean.

"Probably not if your brother has been there for the last couple years. My daughter dropped out seven years ago when my only granddaughter was born and hadn't been back since," he explained.

"Was that the kid I saw in the window when I pulled up?" asked Dean.

"Yes it is. Would you like to meet her?"

Dean cocked a grin. "Sure, I love kids."

Greg seemed like he was forcing a smile, too. "That's her smile, too."

The grin left his face when Dean heard that.

Greg walked over to the bottom of the stairs and shouted, "Sarah, can you come here, please?" Soon after, the same little girl from the window appeared at the railing, looking down at the old man.

"Whatever happened, I didn't do it," she told him.

Once her grandfather heard her say that, he knew she had done something she wasn't supposed to. "Sarah Lynn, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing, Papa, I swear," she tried to sound innocent.

Greg sighed. "Just come down here, there's a man here I want you to meet."

Sarah, the little girl walked over and climbed onto the banister, sliding downstairs and landed on the floor, onto her back. She jumped up not even yelping out in pain. "I'm okay," she said, cocking a grin that caught Dean off guard. It was the same one he had cocked, just moments ago.

"Dean, this is Sarah, my granddaughter and your daughter," Greg told him.

Dean stared over at the older man. "My what?" He took a step backwards. "You're joking, right? There's no way she's my daughter."

"The resemblance is very close to you, Dean and my daughter told me, Sarah's father was named Dean Winchester who traveled around with his father and brother. Is that not you?" he shrugged.

Dean rubbed at his eyes with one hand and ran it through his hair, staring at the floor. "What is your daughter's name and can I speak to her?" he finally asked.

"I'm afraid not," he answered, sadly. "Emily died about a month ago. That's why I was trying to find you. My wife and I live in a retirement community. No one under the age of fifty can live here."

Dean shot his head up, to look at Greg. "Are you saying you want me to take her?"

He shrugged, "Where else is she gonna live? We already done so much with this house already, we can't up and move now. Though we do love Sarah very much, we can't take care of her, fulltime."

"I don't have a home, though," Dean told him. "I live in dozens of motels and my job keeps me busy almost twenty-four/seven. I can't take care of a kid, myself."

"Emily was doing it while working two jobs."

Dean was starting to remember who Emily was. Seven or eight years ago, he, John, and Sam were hunting a werewolf in California. While John and Sam was out getting some research done, Dean snuck off to his own special kind of research which then led to him running into a girl a couple years older than he was. They got to talking and one thing led to another. Dean saw her a few times while the Winchesters were there but once the werewolf was taken care of, the three of them took off. Dean didn't even say good-bye.

Now, he was staring at the result of that first time he and Emily met. Sarah had his ears and eye color, along with his smile. Everything else must have been from her mother.

Sarah stared up at him, her green eyes matching his as if she was trying to use them to plead with him.

"Sarah can be a handful at times but she really is a sweet and caring little girl," Greg told Dean.

Dean looked over at him. "But if I take her, Sarah will be living the childhood I had and know things that a kid shouldn't know. It'll scare her."

"Nothing scares me!" Sarah spoke up, her arms tightly folded. "I've seen many scary movies more than once and read books about scary things, too."

He looked at his daughter. "I'm not talking about Scooby-Doo, here," said Dean.

"Neither was I," she shot back at him.

"Sarah got into my Steven King collection the other day," Greg explained. "She can sit through any horror film and not get scared and she reads books past her age group that are also considered horror. The girl is fascinated by anything supernatural."

Dean stared at the older man. "Say what?" He looked over at Sarah. Even being away from his family, his child is exposed to what he hunts? How was that possible?

Greg motioned for Dean to move closer to him and whispered, "I think it has something to do with when she was a baby, when my oldest daughter died in a fire."

"Fire?" Dean asked. "What kind of fire?" He was whispering, too.

"Secrets don't make friends!" Sarah told the men.

Greg ignored his granddaughter's comment and replied, "I don't know, my son-in-law found her pinned to the ceiling and burst into flames. I think the fire just made him hallucinate."

"It wasn't in Sarah's nursery, was it?" Dean asked, a small lump forming in his throat. He wasn't too thrilled hearing that the creature that had killed his mother had also killed his daughter's aunt as well.

Greg shook his head. "No, Sarah was staying with her aunt for an overnight visit. My daughter, Kyra loved Sarah just as much as the rest of us and always wanted to take her to give Emily some rest. Why?"

"No reason." Dean noticed Sarah was trying to lean forward to hear what they were saying, curious. A trait she obviously inherited from her uncle Sam. He sure did miss looking out for someone. On the other hand, Dean couldn't bring his only child into the family business no matter how much obsessed she was with the supernatural already.

"Sarah could really use a parent, right now, Dean," Greg broke into his thoughts. "She needs you."


	2. Chapter 2: Training Starts Now

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter Two

Dean drove to Bobby's house, taking the highway. He tried to wrap his head around what had just happened in the last hour. Finding out you were a father was never easy for a man no matter who they were. It meant responsibilities and knowing what to do in an emergency situation. Oh, who was he kidding? Dean had all that now. The only different was a seven-year-old girl who acted and dressed like a boy. It would be like taking care of Sam all over again.

He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Sarah hanging her _SpongeBob_ sunshade on the window. "Take it down," he told her, his attention on the road ahead.

"But it keeps the sun away," she told him.

"One, the sun's not even out and two, what are you, a baby? 'Cause last I checked, that what's they are for. Now take it off my window." His voice was raising a tad bit, some irritation apparent.

"Why can't it stay up?" she asked.

"Dude, I'm not going to ask you again. Take it down or so help me, I will pull this car over."

"You asked again," she pointed out, testing his limits. "You said you wouldn't ask again but you just did."

Dean wiped his left hand down his face, his elbow resting on the door. Now he knew how his own father felt when he and Sam were kids. Dean's patients were running thin and it hadn't been two hours yet. "Sarah, I'm gonna give you one last warning to remove the stupid shade thing from my window or I will pull over and put you across my knee." He really didn't want to be the tough dad so soon, that wasn't how he wanted Sarah to know him as. However, if it came down to it, Dean would.

Sarah ripped her sunshade off the window and tossed it over her shoulder, into the back seat. "Happy?" she sulked in her seat, folding her arms tightly across her chest, staring out the window.

"Lose the attitude, kid."

"Why don't you lose yours?"

Dean shifted in his seat, annoyed. "You defiantly are just like your uncle Sammy," he mumbled to himself.

After a while, Sarah unfolded her arms and took a PSP from her black sweatshirt pocket, turning it on. She went into her music and soon, one of Dean's favorite songs started playing as Sarah sang along.

Dean glanced over at his daughter. "You like this music?"

She nodded, looking out the window again. "Mom hated it."

He laughed and started singing, too.

Sarah looked over at him. "You like it, too?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled at her and soon they were both singing together, off key. When the song was over, they both laughed. "Man, never thought my kid would be into the same music as me."

"I didn't think my dad would be into the same music either," Sarah replied.

Dean looked at his daughter, "You're okay, kid."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Ready to start your training soon?"

Sarah nodded.

Ninety minutes went by as Dean pulled into the salvage yard and turned off the engine. Both of them stepped out. Sarah followed her father up to the house, looking over at a dog lazily lying on a hood of a blue truck.

"Is that dog friendly, Dad?" she asked Dean.

Dean looked over at the dog. "Yeah, but he's never been around kids so don't go running over to him," he explained.

"What's his name?"

"Rumsfeld."

"Rumsfeld? What kind of name is that for a dog?" Sarah questioned.

"I don't know but you better not give Bobby any attitude like you did earlier. Understand?" Dean warned his daughter.

"Yes, Dad," Sarah replied.

Bobby came out right as they were nearing the front door. "Son of a gun, you weren't kidding, were you, Dean?" the older hunter said when he got a good look at Sarah coming towards him.

"I know. The whole thing surprised the hell out of me, I'm still coming out of shock," Dean said.

When Sarah caught sight of Bobby, she stopped in her tracks. "No way," she said, softly though Dean still heard her.

"What?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head, trying to clear it before she said, "Nothing…just nothing." She and Dean followed Bobby inside. Sarah went over and sat down on the couch, setting her duffel bag beside her.

Bobby pulled Dean aside. "Are you sure you want to drag your daughter into this, Dean? She's only, what, five years old."

"She's seven, and what choice do I have?" said Dean.

"Lots of choices, Dean. She's just a kid. Do I have to give ya the same talk I had with your old man?" The men kept their voices down so Sarah couldn't hear. She was playing a game on her PSP anyway so even if they were to talk louder, Sarah wouldn't hear.

"Look Bobby, I don't like it any more than you do, but the kid is already halfway into it, may as well finish what's started."

"So, you're gonna leave her back in motel rooms while you go off for a week, hunting?"

"No, I'm not. I'm going to train Sarah and have her hunt by my side," Dean told the older hunter.

Bobby could not believe what he had just heard Dean say. "Have you lost your mind, boy?"

"I was around her age when Dad started training me and if it weren't for Sam, he would have probably done the same."

"Dean, you're gonna take away that girl's childhood, not to mention her innocence," Bobby spat at him, still keeping his voice down.

"Again, I don't like it, Bobby but Sarah needs to learn to protect herself. She knows already, anyway. Sarah has read about almost every folk tale and urban legend known to man. She already knows about ghosts, and werewolves, and even vampires. I didn't even know they had a second set of teeth they can turn on and off."

Bobby was surprised to hear that, jerking his head back. "How'd ya manage to skip that?"

"I don't know. Pure luck, I guess," Dean answered. "Anyway, like I was saying, I figured I'd teach her to hunt what she already knows. Besides, lots of dads take their kids hunting, don't they?"

"Yeah, when it's a deer," said Bobby. "Not to hunt a werewolf or a shifter."

Dean shrugged, "It has to be done."

For the rest of the day, Dean took Sarah outside and had her shoot at tin cans and bags of sand for target practice that hung from tree branches. First few times, Sarah missed. Once she got the hang of it, it was as if she had been shooting for years. Sarah made every shot, impressing Dean. His daughter was a natural.

Practice lasted for a few hours and continued the next day before Bobby came out, announcing there was a murder in Cleveland, Minnesota.

"Are you sure it's one of our jobs?" Dean asked the older hunter.

"Family gets a new dog, suddenly husband turns up dead with his heart ripped out. Sound familiar?"

"Skinwalker?"

He shrugged, "I would bet on it."

"Skinwalker?" Sarah spoke up. "That's someone who can turn into a dog, right?"

Dean turned to look at her. "That's right. They prefer…"

"The heart," Sarah finished her father's sentence.

"Yes and when we kill it, you can't wimp out on me just because you think it's cute. Understand?"

Sarah nodded at her father. Soon, they were back on the road, heading for Cleveland, Minnesota. On the drive there, Sarah played her PSP.

Dean focused on the road. The car ride was quiet except for the car's engine and Sarah's game. He kept glancing over at the small screen as Sarah fought what looked like oversized bugs that left yellow gems behind after they were killed. He watched as she smashed the buttons, fighting through the game. Soon, a cutscene took over and an even larger bug appeared onscreen that Sarah had to kill.

"So, you like video games?" Dean tried making small talk.

"Yeah," was all she said as she fought what was the first boss of the video game.

Dean stayed silent for a while, listening to the sound effects as he drove. Eventually he asked, "How come you don't play with dolls and dress in pink stuff?"

"I've been like this as long as I can remember. I'm more comfortable this way."

"How did your mom feel about that?"

Sarah's eyes never left the screen. "She didn't like it. Mom told me I need to stop acting this way and act like a girl. She always said, boys are boys and girls are girls. Boys aren't girls and girls aren't boys."

"Wow, can you hear me way back in the fifties?" he said, sarcastically. "You can be anything you want to be. If that's how you feel comfortable than who am I to stop ya?"

Sarah paused her game to look at her father. "You mean that? No more nagging?"

He smirked, "Oh, I'm sure I can find something to nag you about."

Sarah smiled in return. Maybe this whole father thing wasn't so bad after all. They seemed to be getting along now. It just takes a little time. Plus, the kid was growing on him with every pressing moment. Dean didn't care what it took now. He vowed to be the best father a kid could ever ask for.


	3. Chapter 3: Sarah's First Hunt (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter Three

It was very late by the time they were in Cleveland, Minnesota. Dean had stopped a few hours ago at a diner for dinner when Sarah announced she was hungry. Now, as he pulled into the parking lot of a motel and parked, Sarah was fast asleep. Dean tried to wake her but Sarah wouldn't wake up. He tried for a few minutes before he gave up and went around the Impala to her side and lifted his daughter into his arms.

Sarah leaned on her father as if Dean was carrying something dead. If it weren't for her breathing, he would have thought she was. Dean carried his daughter inside the manager's office, glad they were still open. He rented a room with two queen beds, putting it on a credit card. Dean had a heck of a time getting it out of his wallet while holding a sleeping child in his arms.

The woman commented on how sweet it was that a father was taking a road trip with his daughter as she swiped the credit card and returned it to him. Dean nodded once, thanking her as he tried putting it back in his wallet and placed his wallet back in his pocket. The woman handed him the room key and Dean left the office, heading over to the room.

Dean unlocked the door and went inside, laying Sarah on the bed farthest from the door. He removed her white tennis shoes with black markings and very carefully, pulled the comforter out from under her to cover Sarah up with it. Once his daughter was taken care of, he went outside, locking the door and pulled the Impala up, closer to their motel room, bringing their duffel bags in. Dean set them on the floor, in front of the dresser that held the TV and went over to sit on the other bed, facing the one Sarah slept on.

He removed his boots and his leather jacket and threw back the comforter. Dean rubbed at his eyes, unable to keep them open. He fell back onto the pillow and immediately fell asleep. Unaware of the dream, Sarah was having.

Sarah sat by a campfire, somewhere in the middle of the woods. She poked at the fire with a thin stick as she stared into it.

"Told ya I'd find him, didn't I?" A voice startled her from behind. Sarah looked back to see a man with short hair standing there with his hands in his pockets and smirking.

"Can I ever just have a dream without you interrupting it?" Sarah asked of the man, annoyed.

The man laughed. "Right, because you dream of camping in the middle of the woods."

"Get out of my head!"

The man walked towards her and squatted behind her. "Now Sarah, is that anyway to treat me after I helped your grandfather find your dad? I mean, come on. He would have never found your other grandfather's number on his own."

"Why didn't you just give Papa my dad's number?" she asked.

"Well, since daddy had just recently changed his number it probably would have been suspicious to him, wouldn't you think?"

"Okay, now that my dad is in the picture, what else do you want?"

"Nothing right now, but soon I will need your uncle Sammy," the man sneered making Sarah uncomfortable.

She looked around before returning to look at him. "Need him for what?"

"I can't tell you," he said. "I'll tell ya this I have some very big plans for dear Uncle Sammy. It's very unfortunate that this girlfriend of his is actually getting in my way of them."

Sarah shrugged at the man, "But why me? Why am I here?"

"I can't tell you that either but trust me, you'll know. Don't worry your little head, my dear sweet Sarah I have plans for you as well." Something about that statement made Sarah's stomach curl up in knots. "Listen, after this skinwalker hunt is over, make sure daddy goes and gets Sam from school. I mean, your grandfather has been gone a long time."

"Is he usually not?"

"Without checking in? Nope and he's starting to be a nuisance if you ask me." The last part was mostly an annoyed thought, going into a mumble. Remembering that Sarah was sitting right there, he looked back at her and smiled, evilly.

With that, the man was gone and Sarah shot up in bed. She looked around the motel room. The bed was humongous compared to her size as Sarah sat in the middle of it. She could hear her father's heavy breathing coming from the other bed. Sarah fell back onto the pillow and stared up at the dark ceiling. Was it all in her head? Was that man even real? And were her uncle and she really that important if he was real?

"I wonder if Dad would believe me if I told him," Sarah whispered to herself. "Mom didn't believe me, and Gram and Papa said it was just a dream. How can I be sure Dad would?" It brought tears to her eyes just at the thought of her father shaming her for believing in a dream. Sarah really wanted Dean to like her. It was because of her, Emily never made it through a lasting relationship with men. No man wanted the burden of raising another man's kid, no matter how grown up she tried to be.

Then one day, working two jobs and raising a child, Emily started developing headaches that never seemed to go away. The doctors ran several tests and confirmed that a tumor had developed in her brain. Sarah remembered spending the last year, visiting her mother in the hospital and remembered how worse Emily got. The worst part was when she didn't even remember who Sarah was. Sarah prayed over and over, every day and night up until Emily died during one of her many surgeries.

Sarah sat up again and crawled over to the edge of the bed, jumping down. She went into the very small bathroom, turning on the light and shutting the door, going to the bathroom. Once her hands were washed, she headed back to the bed, drying her hands on her sweatshirt. Sarah climbed back, onto the bed and dug out her PSP again. Usually, after she wakes up from the dream, Sarah couldn't fall back to sleep. Sarah crawled over to the foot of the bed and reached down to pull up her duffel bag and pulled out her carrying case where she kept all of her games in. She pulled one out and switched it with the _Daxter_ game that was already in there. Keeping the sound down, Sarah played for an hour before she fell back to sleep.

She awoke again to the sound of the shower running from the bathroom and Dean's bed empty and unmade. Sarah really had to go again, too. She crawled over to the edge and slid off this time, trying to hold her pee in, and ran over to the closed door. She knocked. "Dad, I really have to use the bathroom!"

"Hold on a minute, I'm almost done!" he called back.

"Hurry, I can't hold it any longer!"

Dean shut off the water and shortly after, came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist. "All…" Sarah pushed past him, almost making him drop his towel and slammed the door shut. "…yours." He went over to his duffel bag and quickly got dressed before his daughter came out of the bathroom.

Sarah peeked her head out and asked, "Is there any hot water left, Dad?"

"Should be," he replied. "I wasn't in there that long."

Sarah closed the door and soon the water was turned back on. "Dad!" she called from over the shower and through the door.

Dean hurried over, thinking she was in danger or something. "What's wrong?" he asked, trying to keep from panicking.

"Can you bring me my shampoo and bodywash?" she asked. "It's in my duffel bag!"

Dean eased his nerves. "Why didn't you grab it before you got in the shower?"

"I forgot!"

Dean rolled his eyes as he walked over to dig out his daughter's shampoo and bodywash, taking it into the bathroom. He passed them around the shower curtain without looking. "Don't be too long, we need to get going."

"Okay, Dad."

Dean left the bathroom, shutting the door. When Sarah was out of the shower, she walked out of the bathroom, also with a towel around her middle. She got dressed in jeans and a dark green _Legend of Zelda_ T-shirt that said, _Heroes are born, not made_ on the front and sat on the bed to put on a pair of black socks and her tennis shoes.

"I saw a diner down the street when I drove up last night, so we're gonna get some breakfast before we start on your first hunt. Okay?" Dean explained to his daughter.

"Good, I'm starving," she said as she tied her left shoe.

Dean had to laugh at that. "Starving? You ate a big meal at dinner."

She shrugged, "I always have a big appetite."

"You are one hundred percent my kid, all right."

At the diner, Dean ordered himself a cup of coffee first and Sarah ordered a glass of chocolate milk and shared an order of the diner's breakfast special of endless pancakes.

"Do I need to cut yours?" Dean asked, placing the top two pancakes from his plate to Sarah's.

"I'm seven, Dad," she told him, "I can eat a whole pancake."

Dean held up his hands, defensively. The fork and knife were held by his thumbs. "Just asking."

Sarah poured syrup over her pancakes before passing it to her father, who did the same. After breakfast, Dean drove over to a large ranch, parking in front of a large house. He then gave Sarah the rundown of a hunter's job of tracking down what it was they were dealing with and how to find answers. The two of them walked up to the house and Dean rang the doorbell.

A young woman in her late twenties answered the door. "Can I help you?" she asked Dean.

Dean took a fake FBI badge from inside his leather jacket and showed it to her. "My name is Agent Clark with the FBI. I would like to ask you a couple questions about your late husband."

The woman looked over at Sarah. "Since when does the FBI bring along a child?"

"It's Bring-your-child-to-work day," Sarah thought up quickly before Dean could respond. "I get to see how my dad works today instead of going to school."

"Oh, I see," the woman said. "Well, come in." She stepped aside to let Dean and Sarah in, shutting the door behind them and led them into the living room.

Dean and Sarah sat on the couch while the woman sat in an arm chair. "So, Andrea Miller, is it?" Dean began.

The woman nodded, "That's right."

"Can you tell me what happened to your husband?"

"The other night, my two-year-old woke up and Jacob had gotten up to tend to him. When Jacob never returned, I got worried," she explained.

"Didn't you think he had just lied down with your son and fell asleep?" Sarah shrugged.

"No, my husband didn't do stuff like that. He came from a very strict military family and cuddling wasn't exactly their thing."

"Did Jacob have any enemies?" asked Dean.

Andrea questioned Dean, "Enemies?"

"Anyone who would want to hurt him for anything?"

"No, I mean, people would disagree with his ways of life but no one would want to hurt him."

As the adults talked, Sarah happened to look over at a dog that looked exactly like Old Yeller, laying on a dog pillow, his head between his front paws as if he was watching and listening to them.

Andrea must have noticed Sarah was looking at the dog because she told her, "You can go over and pet him, he is a very nice dog. Yeller likes to watch over my son like a protector."

"Yeller," said Dean, "Like Old Yeller?"

She smiled. "Yes, he looks so much like Old Yeller from the movie that we had to name him, Yeller. Hopefully my son doesn't have to put him down when he's older." Andrea laughed and Dean forced one. Sarah had no clue what they were talking about since the movie was before her time.

"So, have you noticed anything strange up until your husband's death?" Dean continued the investigation.

"Like how?" Andrea asked.

"Anything?"

She shook her head. "Just the normal stuff, we tend to the horses and give lessons. That's why we got Yeller, so our son could have someone to play with."

"And where did you get Yeller from?"

Andrea looked at Dean, strangely. "What does that have to do with my husband's murder?"

"We have to consider every aspect, ma'am," Dean explained.

Her eyes grew wide. "Are you saying Yeller could have done it?"

He shrugged, "His heart was ripped out as if an animal had done it, wasn't it?"

"Yeller couldn't have done something like that."

"We understand that but like I said, we have to look at every possible aspect. It seemed like an animal attack and you have an animal living in your home. The reports also said that there were no signs of a break-in, either," he reminded her.

Andrea looked over at the dog, who started wagging his tail. "Yeller is such a sweet dog, though."

Dean finished up with the investigation, and he and Sarah left, going outside to the Impala. "Nice save with that Bring-your-kid-to-work day, Sarah," Dean told her, proudly as he walked around to his side.

Sarah shrugged, "It was the first thing that popped into my head."

They opened their doors and got in, slamming them shut.

"What do we do now, Dad?"

"Now, we do some research and see if there has been any other similar deaths like Jacob Miller's," he told her, starting the car. Dean pulled away from the house and left the property, heading for the closest animal shelter.


	4. Chapter 4: Sarah's First Hunt (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter Four

Dean and Sarah walked inside the local animal shelter, going up to the front desk where a heavyset man in a blue T-shirt with the shelter's logo on the front left-hand side and a cartoon dog on the back. "We're looking for our dog, uh, Tiger," Dean explained. "Did you by any chance pick up a dog that looked like it was from an old Disney movie?"

"Which one? Pongo, Tramp, Dodger, Stitch," the man listed off dogs from different Disney movies.

"Actually, Stitch wasn't a dog," Sarah spoke up, correcting the man. "Stitch just posed as a dog so no one knew that he was an alien from outer space."

Dean looked from his daughter back to the man, "Anyways, I'm talking about Old Yeller. That Disney dog."

He laughed, "There wasn't a Disney dog called Old Yeller."

"Seriously? How have you never…Never mind. Did you have a, um. Uh…"

"Lab, Dad," Sarah told him.

"Right, what she said."

The man looked between the two of them. "Chocolate, black, or yellow?" he asked.

Dean looked back at him with a confused look on his face. "Excuse me?" He didn't really know a whole lot about dogs and their breeds, except maybe a few and Labradors were not one of them.

Sarah let out an annoyed sigh. "Let me handle this, Dad," she told her father and looked up at the man. "He's a yellow lab, possibly mixed with something. I'm thinking maybe a Mastiff."

"Are you sure you're seven?" Dean asked his daughter.

"Positive, why?"

Dean just shook his head and turned back to the man behind the counter. "Well?"

"As a matter of fact we did pick up a dog like that about a month ago but we already adopted him out since no one claimed him. Would you like the address?" the man told them.

"No, it's fine, if Rover already has a new family, who am I to pull them apart?"

"I thought his name was Tiger?"

"Right, Tiger," Dean corrected himself. "Rover was my first dog. Boy, do I miss that dog," he lied. "Tell me, have you been getting a lot of dogs lately. More than usual, I mean."

The man shook his head. "No, just the normal amount. I worked here for fifteen years, though and I always see that dog. You ever thought of keeping him chained up?"

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other. Dean may not have been a dog expert but even he knew that was a long time to see a dog.

"Weird part is, he always manages to escape this place. Maybe chained up wouldn't hold him either," he shrugged.

Dean cleared his throat into his fist. "This may seem like a random question but in that fifteen years, have you heard of any murders that involved the victim's heart ripped out?"

The man thought about it. "Actually, usually after the dog escapes there's a murder. We never thought of any connection. Why, do you think your dog has anything to do with it?"

"Well, ever since he stole that hunk of meat off the kitchen counter, ol'Tiger hasn't been his usual self. Will you excuse us? Thank you for your time." Dean turned and speed-walked out of the animal shelter as the man yelled out, "thanks for stopping by."

Sarah hurried after her father, running to keep up with him. "Now what?" she asked.

"It's definitely Old Yeller, all right," he replied as they parted ways on either side of the Impala. "Now, we just have to shoot the sonofabitch and we can be on our way."

Both of them opened each door and got in the Impala. "Wait, we're just gonna kill a family's pet?"

"It's not a pet, Sarah it's a human being posing as a dog. Did I not say don't wimp out on me?"

"But Dad, this family loves the dog."

Dean turned in his seat to fully face his daughter. He knew there would be hard moments like this to explain the hard truths of the hunting world. Sarah was still just a kid no matter what and the things he and now her as well, had to do would be hard for her to hear but was necessary. "Listen Sarah, if you have read about Skinwalkers, then you know that they are natural-born monsters and would kill anything in its path. If we don't gank this sonofabitch, it may kill the rest of the family if it hasn't already. Do you understand?"

Sarah stared down at the floor in front of her. "I know, I just didn't think it would be this hard, you know. A kid who's two isn't gonna understand that his dog is actually a human and was the one that killed his dad. All he sees is that it's his dog and I don't want him to be sad."

Dean was resting his arms on the steering wheel and the back of the front seat. He looked away. "It's hard when a kid learns the harsh truth of the world, trust me I know. I learned when I was four years old when my mom died."

"I know," she said without thinking.

Dean snapped his head back to look at her. "What?"

Sarah suddenly looked at him, as well. "I mean, I know how you feel."

He eased his shoulders, calming down. "Yeah, it wasn't easy losing your mom, huh?" Dean moved his right hand from the back of the seat to Sarah's collarbone, squeezing it gently. "And I can tell ya, you never really get over it either, but you have to stay strong. That kid will be sad about losing his, I'm sure best friend but after a while he will be okay. I promise."

Sarah stared up at her father's eyes with sadness in hers. Soon, tears appeared and she jumped on him, squeezing his neck. It surprised Dean but he just wrapped his arms around her after a while and rubbed her back, up and down.

"I'm really sorry, Sarah," he told her, silently.

Sarah sat back on her left foot, wiping her eyes dry. "About what?"

"About bringing you into all this. About training you to hunt and do things a kid shouldn't be doing. It ain't right, you should be going to school and playing around. You know, being a kid."

"Dad, can I tell you something I never told anyone else?" she asked him.

"Sure."

"Since I started Kindergarten, being a kid always felt awkward to me. I mean, sure I play video games and I have a huge trading card and action figure/car collection, and I like wrestling for fun and cartoons, I never liked playing with other kids. I would rather be with grown-ups. I never had a clue what they were saying, half the time but it was better than playing house with the kid next door. On Thanksgiving, I was always tossing the football with the teenagers."

Dean, who was staring at the seat between them, looked up at his daughter. "What did your mom think of this?" he asked, curious.

She shrugged, "Mom didn't know what to think. She took me to a lot of psycho-collie-gists where they asked a lot of questions about school and at home."

He smiled at that. "Psychologist," he corrected her.

"Yeah, that."

Dean changed back to being serious. "Let me ask you something. When did you start wanting to read about this stuff?"

Sarah hesitated before she answered, "Two years ago when…"

"When what?"

Sarah turned around in her seat and stared at the window handle.

"Are you not going to tell me?" he asked.

She shook her head not looking at her father.

"I'm not here to judge you, and you won't be in trouble if that's what you're afraid of."

"You wouldn't believe me," she told him. "Mom didn't. Gram and Papa didn't."

Dean turned his voice up and tougher. "Why don't you try me? I'm not them, Sarah. Last time I checked, my name was Dean Winchester, not Emily…" He paused, trying to remember Emily's last name."

Sarah looked back at him, "Its Holden, Dad."

"Right, Holden."

"How did Mom know your last name but you don't know hers?" she questioned her father.

"It was seven years ago and I had other things on my mind since then." Dean realized they had gotten off subject and changed it back. "Quit trying to change the subject and tell me when you started reading about this stuff."

"I can't, okay," Sarah blurted out. "I want to but I can't. It's not something that people usually have and I don't want you to think I was a freak." Tears were filling her eyes again and ran down both sides of her face. She looked out the window.

Dean shrugged, "If it makes you feel any better, your uncle, grandfather, and I, we're probably freaks ourselves with what we do."

Sarah sniffled, "It doesn't."

Dean looked away for a moment before he asked, "If I back off and not nag you about it, would you eventually come to me and tell me when you're ready? I want to help, Sarah, I really do. I can't if you don't let me in, though."

"Maybe," she admitted.

Dean pulled her closer to him with his arm wrapped around her and kissed the side of her head, right above her left ear. "Even though it's only been a couple days, I love you, kid." He let go and faced forward, starting the engine. Dean backed out of the parking space and drove out of the parking lot, returning to the Millers' ranch.

When he pulled up to the ranch and parked, he and Sarah saw Andrea Miller leaning against the metal fence, rubbing a brown and white colt's neck. They stepped out of the Impala, shutting their doors. When Dean and Sarah walked closer to Andrea, they saw she was crying.

"Andrea?" Dean spoke up.

Andrea looked back at them and quickly wiped her face dry. "What are you doing back here?" she asked of them.

"We came back to follow up, what's wrong?"

"Right after you left, my little boy and Yeller disappeared. I went to check on him and he wasn't in his bed. I looked all over the house and property and that's when I saw Yeller was gone, too." Andrea lost it, completely, crying hysterically. "I don't know who could have done it. All doors and windows were locked and there was no sign of a break-in."

Dean took the woman into his arms and comforted her. "It's gonna be all right, okay? We'll find your son," he promised her.

"My husband dead and now this?" she sniffed in his arms. "Why is this happening?"

Sarah made to open her mouth to answer when Dean shook his head at her. When they were driving again, he explained to her how the family business was a secret and that no one should ever find out what they did.

Before they left again, Dean and Sarah took a look around the house for any clue of anything that could help them. All they found was a pet door the size of a dog and small child could get through but if Dean tried, he would probably get stuck. So, Dean headed back to the motel to think things over.


	5. Chapter 5: The Fears of Fatherhood

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter Five

Dean picked up lunch for him and his daughter, and took it back to the motel room. The two of them sat at the small table in front of the window by the door, eating. Dean looked through reports of other murders from the last few years like Jacob Miller trying to figure out how to find where Yeller had taken the Miller kid.

Dean tossed the one he had been looking over, onto the table and rubbed his face in his hand. "There absolutely nothing we can go on that might help us find the damn thing."

"Maybe we can put up signs to find him," Sarah suggested. "When Mom and I lost our cat, Zeppelin that's how we were able to find him."

He lowered his hand and finished eating his French fries. "It's not that easy, Sarah. This isn't your normal house pet like I said before, you can't just put up signs and expect to find it like that. Skinwalkers can be anyone and if they feel they need to they can change into a human anytime."

Sarah looked down at what was left of her cheeseburger.

"Good suggestion, though, I like that you're trying." Dean felt badly for shooting her suggestion down but they had to be reasonable and putting up "lost dog" signs wasn't going to help them in the least on this hunt.

When both of them finished eating, Sarah offered to take their trash out to the dumper. She ran over and threw the full paper bag into the large, metal dumper like she was in a basketball game and had ten seconds to score or her team would lose. When Sarah turned around, she saw the Miller's dog standing there, staring at her. Her eyes opened wider and yelled for Dean. "Dad, I found…"

A tall man with black, short hair came up and grabbed Sarah, gripping her around the middle. His left hand was over her mouth, trying to stifle her yells. Sarah tried to break free from the man's grip as a light blue van pulled up. Her heart was beating fast as Sarah felt the most she ever been scared as she continued to break the guy's grip.

Finally as the man handed Sarah off to another inside the van, she managed to scream, "Dad!" at the top of her lungs.

Dean's head shot up, towards the window just in time to see the man and Yeller jump into the back of the van. He sprang to his feet, pulling his gun out from behind him and sprinted outside. He tried to shoot at the men but missed when they shut the doors and drove off. Dean jumped into the Impala and quickly sped after the van. The whole time he was driving, Dean kept beating himself up about how he let this happen. Why did he let Sarah go outside by herself? The trash was perfectly fine just sitting on the table. After he gets his daughter back, Dean told himself that Sarah would never leave his sight again. Unless he was with her, Sarah had to stay in the motel room.

Sarah was awakened by barks and growls and a painful feeling in her arms and legs. She also couldn't move them, either since they were tied up. She looked around at several different kinds of dogs, not even paying attention to her. Sarah noticed a puppy next to Yeller that looked just like him. She prayed, hoping that puppy wasn't the Millers' kid.

Even though Sarah heard barks and growls from the dogs, they were actually communicating with each other. "I don't understand! Why hasn't the kid been affected by our bites?" a German Shepard snarled.

"It's like she's immune or something," a large poodle said.

Meanwhile, Sarah tried to sit up which wasn't easy considering she had no use of her hands. After struggling for a good ten minutes as the dogs continued to bark and growl over her, Sarah managed. One of the dogs noticed and informed the rest of the pack she was awake.

The German Shepard stepped towards the little girl and shifted into a tall, dark blond-haired man in a collared shirt and black slacks. He walked around her, watching Sarah's every move as she watched him, too. "What are you? Why can't we convert you?" he finally demanded.

Sarah shrugged, terrified out of her mind. She shook from head to foot, trying to ignore the pain coming from her body. "I want my dad," she managed to respond.

The man stopped and fully faced her, slowly sliding his hands into his pockets. "We normally have to kill parents who get in our way but you were just out in the open. Possibly one of our cleanest kidnappings ever."

"What are you going to do to me?" she asked, nervously.

The poodle had transformed into a human next. It was a woman this time, with long brown hair. She wore a black skirt with a matching blouse, including heels. "Usually we recruit adults into our pack but now we have decided to focus on little pups. So, when our friend, Austin here," she nodded over at Yeller, "informed us a hunter and his kid was in town, we just had to get our paws on a mini hunter-in-training." The woman smiled an eerie smile that made Sarah uncomfortable.

"I will never join you!" Sarah tried to be brave.

"Don't worry, if you don't change soon you won't have to," the man told her.

She looked back at him. "You'll let me go?"

He shook his head. "No, we will make you the main course for dinner." The man motioned for two Rottweilers who stepped towards her, growling at Sarah as they bared their sharp teeth. Right as one of the dogs were about to lunge for her, Dean came bursting through the door, holding his gun.

"Get away from her, you mangy mutts!" he exclaimed, holding the gun with both hands.

Sarah was excited to see her father had finally found her. "Dad!"

The man ordered the Rottweilers to attack Dean instead, who turned around. Dean shot at both dogs, quickly. They dropped dead onto the cold, hard ground. One by one, he shot the rest as Dean fought for his and his daughter's lives until it was down to him, and both the poodle and German Shepard. "Let the kid go," he ordered them.

The man shook his head. "You want her than you have to go through us," he told him.

Dean raised his gun at him in both hands, "That can defiantly be arranged, you son of a bitch."

The man grabbed Sarah up and used her as a shield. "Watch where you're pointing that thing, you don't want to shoot her," he sneered.

Dean stared at him. He saw how terrified his daughter looked and the tears in her eyes, that it actually broke his heart. "I swear, if you don't let her go I will rip you to shreds."

The woman stepped towards him, folding her arms, lightly as she grinned. She changed back into the poodle and pawed at the ground as she bared her teeth.

"Yeah, that's threatening," Dean said, sarcastically, who expected a more vicious kind of dog.

"Don't underestimate my darling, Kendra. Her bite is much worse than her bark," the man told him.

The poodle than lunged for Dean, knocking him onto his back as his gun was flung out of his hand and away from his reach.

"Daddy!" Sarah cried out in fear.

The poodle tried to rip into him but Dean held the dog back by her throat. As Sarah watched her father fight with it, her anxiety rose. Tears poured from her eyes like a waterfall. Suddenly, something happened and the poodle was shot back against the far wall. It then slid down and collapsed on the ground.

Dean was at a loss for words. He had no clue what just happened. Dean looked around the room but no one else was there with the four of them. Getting his focus back, he quickly grabbed his gun and shot the poodle before turning back to the man. "It's just you and me, pal," he told him.

Scared out of his mind from the sudden attack of his fellow Skinwalker, the man dropped Sarah and tried to make a run for it. Dean had other plans though and shot him in the back. The man dropped dead, landing on his face.

Dean took a deep breath, thankful it was over since that was his last silver bullet he had on him at the moment. When Sarah scrambled to her feet, she ran over to her father and hugged him around the legs. Dean pulled her arms away long enough to kneel down and set his gun down on the ground before he pulled her into a hug, himself. It wasn't long before he realized Sarah was covered in blood. He shoved her back and looked his daughter in the face, "Did they bite you?"

Sarah shrugged, terrified of her father's sudden raised voice. "I don't know, I think so. It hurts all over, Dad."

Dean looked away. This could not be happening. Dean did not want to have to kill his own flesh and blood, especially someone so young. He shot to his feet and grabbed his gun before hurrying Sarah outside to where the Impala was parked. Dean then opened the trunk and raised the door to the hidden compartment where he kept all the weapons, and began looking for something. After a few minutes, he pulled out a long, silver knife and then kneeled to Sarah's level again. Removing her sweatshirt for her, Dean tossed it into the trunk. "Show me your arm, Sarah."

"Why?" she asked, nervously. Sarah had been eyeing the knife since her father pulled it out. She then realized that the knife was silver and remembered that you must use some kind of silver to kill a Skinwalker. Sarah backed away. "No, please, Dad. I promise I won't hurt or kill anyone."

"I'm just checking to make sure first," he assured her.

"But if I was bit…"

"Sarah, please just humor me," Dean told her. "Don't make this harder than it already is."

Sarah hesitated before she stepped forward again and held her left arm out to her father, looking away. Dean took ahold of her wrist with his own left hand and moved the knife towards the middle of her arm. He wasn't sure why he was checking though when they both knew Sarah had been bitten and would surely change. However, once the blade went into her skin, all that happened was Sarah crying out from the pain. It surprised Dean that nothing did happen.

"How is that possible?"

"No more, Daddy," she continued to cry, softly, still looking away with her eyes shut tight.

Dean dropped the knife and pulled his daughter back into his arms. He was not sure how Sarah could be immune to a Skinwalker's bite but he was thankful she was.

Back at the motel room, Dean cleaned off the blood and bandaged Sarah up. Since the first-aid kit didn't come with rubbing alcohol, he had to make do with a bottle of beer. Once that was all settled, Sarah changed into her pajamas in the bathroom.

Dean sat on his bed, trying to reach his own father. Each time, it went to voicemail. Finally, he just left a message. "Dad, It's me again. Where are you? This isn't like you not to call." When he closed his phone, Sarah was climbing onto the bed and crawled over to him, dressed in striped pajama pants and an old, blue faded Pikachu T-shirt and barefoot.

She sat next to her father and snuggled against him. "Did I fail my first hunt, Dad?"

"No, it's not your fault for getting kidnapped. They're all dead, it's over now." Little did they know that the pup had snuck out from the Skinwalkers' hideout and somehow managed to find its way to the Millers' ranch. "From now on, though, I don't want you ever leaving the motel room unless I'm with you. Understand?"

Sarah nodded up at him. "Yes, Dad."

"I really hate to admit this, but seeing you get kidnapped scared me to death. It felt like I was going to lose you, kiddo," he continued.

"Really?"

Dean nodded at her. "I don't ever want you out of my sight again."

"I don't get it though, why haven't I turned into a dog yet?" she asked.

"I honestly have no idea and glad I don't have to kill ya. I don't think I could ever hurt someone I love, like that." Dean had his arm around his daughter as they talked, holding her close. Soon, he switched on the TV and watched _Looney Toons_ until they fell asleep. Dean slept with his arm wrapped protectively around her the whole night.

Dean checked his phone as the two of them packed up to leave. His inbox was empty with no message of any kind. "Something's wrong," he finally announced.

Sarah looked up from her duffel bag, "What?" she asked.

"Your grandfather has been on the same hunt for a while," he explained to his daughter. "He's usually back by now."

"Do you think something happened to him, Dad?"

Dean zipped his duffel bag closed and flung it over his shoulder. "Come on, we have to stop by California and pick up your uncle."

Sarah finished packing and quickly followed her father out to the Impala where they placed their bags in the trunk before getting in, themselves. Dean dropped off the room key and took off for California.


	6. Chapter 6: Meeting Uncle Sam

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 6

Flames lit up the dark ceiling as a young woman clung to it, looking down. She had long, blond hair and had a very beautiful look to her. A young man's voice shouted out. "No!"

Suddenly, Sarah shot out of a sound sleep. She was in her father's Impala and it was still dark. She looked around and saw they were parked.

Dean was staring at her. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked, concerned.

Sarah took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from her face. "Yeah, I just…had a bad dream again."

"Well, come on," he said, opening his door. "We're here." The both of them got out the Impala and walked up to the quiet dormitory. Sarah followed close behind as they hurried up a few flights of stairs. A young man in his mid-twenties was walking the way they were going and Dean asked if he knew which dorm was Sam's. The man pointed over to a door and continued on. When Dean and Sarah came to Sam's dorm, Dean took out a lockpick and started picking at the lock.

Sarah stared at her father, clueless. "If Sam is your brother, Dad, then why are we breaking into his house?" she asked.

"'Cause," he flashed a grin. "I want to have a little fun with him. See if he still got it."

Sarah looked back over her shoulder, nervous they would get caught before they even made it inside. Finally, she snapped forward again when she heard the door open.

"Come on," Dean whispered to her and very quietly, father and daughter made their way inside the dormitory. It was dark and quiet inside, too. "Stay here," he said as he shut the door, slowly without making a sound. "I'm gonna see what your uncle Sammy keeps in his fridge."

"Wait, Dad, I thought we were here for him, not his food. Isn't that stealing?"

"Relax, he won't mind." Dean walked off, leaving Sarah alone.

"Dad!" Sarah exclaimed but in a low voice before she sighed. "And Papa says I'm a bottomless pit when it comes to food." Sarah looked around at the dark dormitory. She noticed a framed photograph of a man and a woman together, the moonlight glistening off of it. Stepping closer, she saw that the woman had long, blond hair. But it wasn't the same woman from the dream she just had. No, this was a different woman.

Suddenly, she felt someone come up behind her. Sarah turned around, remembering what Dean had taught her about never pausing during a reaction and slammed her fist right into the tall shadow. The shadow yelped out in udder pain, falling to his knees and whatever was in his hands landed on the floor with a loud clang.

Sarah was backing away in sheer terror when realization hit her. "Are you Sam?" she asked the shadow.

The shadow was finding it hard to respond from the pain. At that moment, the light came on and when Sarah looked over to see who had turned it on, to her surprise was the young woman from her recent dream. Her eyes grew large as she continued to stare at her.

"Sam? Is everything all right?" the woman asked. When she saw Sam on the floor in pain, she rushed to his side, kneeling beside him. "Sam, what happened?"

"Get…me…some…ice…please…" Sam said, painfully.

The woman stood up and rushed to the kitchen as Dean came rushing into the room. Sarah was now apologizing over and over again to Sam.

"Sarah, what the hell did you do?" Dean demanded of his daughter seeing his brother curled up on the floor, clutching his private area with her standing back a few feet.

Sarah looked up at her father and saw he was not happy at all. "I said I was sorry, Dad. I was looking at a picture when Uncle Sam came up behind me and scared me to death. I instantly reacted like you told me to and I guess I punched him in the private. I really am sorry, Uncle Sam."

Dean could see tears forming in his daughter's eyes by now and start to flow down her cheeks as Sam was now, very slowly sitting up onto his legs. Dean was now beside his younger brother, making sure he was all right.

"Dean…what the hell are you doing here?" Sam managed to ask as the pain was starting to lighten up a bit.

"I was looking for a beer," he grinned at his brother.

Sam slowly raised his head and asked the same thing again, only with more annoyance.

Dean's smile vanished. "We need to talk."

"The phone?"

"If I had called, would you have picked up?" Dean asked, already knowing full well Sam wouldn't have answered.

The woman returned with an unopened bag of frozen peas. "This was all I could find in the freezer, Sam," she said, handing it to him. With Dean's help, the two of them got Sam over to the couch where he gladly placed the peas over where it hurt.

"Boy, that kid can punch," Sam finally said when another streak of pain jolted through.

"I teach her everything I know." Dean smiled, glancing over his shoulder. That's when he noticed that Sarah was still standing in the same spot, softly sniffling to herself. Right then and there, Dean finally saw the seven-year-old in her. He excused himself and went over to Sarah, kneeling in front of her. "Hey, look at me," he told her, softly.

Sarah shook her head, staring at the floor.

Dean placed his fingers under her chin and gently raised it so that she was looking at him. "I'm not mad, okay. Your uncle snuck up on you. It was an instant reaction and you will not be punished for it. Plus, you said you were sorry, right?"

She nodded.

"And Uncle Sam forgives you," he looked back over his shoulder at his brother, "right, Sam?"

Sam and the woman exchanged glances between each other and shrugged before Sam replied, "Uh, yeah. All is forgiven." He gave his, apparently, niece a reassuring smile.

Dean turned back to his daughter. "See, everything's okay. Now, your uncle and I have to talk. Okay?"

Sarah nodded, wiping her eyes dry as she sniffed one last time and continued looking at the photo from before.

Dean stood up. "So, who is this lovely lady?" he asked, looking over at the woman who was sitting beside his brother.

"Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica," Sam introduced. "Jessica, this is Dean."

The woman, Jessica looked between the brothers, surprised. "Wait, your brother Dean?" she asked.

Dean smiled. He noticed Jessica's shirt. "I love _the Smurfs_. But I gotta tell ya, you are way out of my brother's league."

"Ah, maybe I should go put something on."

"Oh no, I wouldn't dream of it," he told her. "But anyway, I have to borrow your boyfriend to talk about some private family business."

"Okay, I will leave you two alone." Jessica made to stand up when Sam stopped her and looked up at his brother.

"No, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of her."

At that point, Sarah returned to her father's side. Dean looked down at her, running his fingers through her hair and then returned his gaze to Sam. "Okay, uh Dad hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam shrugged, "So Dad's working overtime on a miller time shift he'll stumble back in sooner or later."

Dean removed his hand from Sarah's head and said, "Dad's on a hunting trip and he hasn't been home in a few days."

Sam nearly dropped the frozen peas as he stared up in shock at what his brother just said. Finally, he excused Jessica from the room so they could talk in private. Since Sam still wasn't able to stand yet, the brothers had to keep their voices down instead of going outside.

"You can't just break in here, Dean and expect me to hit the road with you," Sam was telling his brother.

"You're not hearing me, Sammy," said Dean. "Dad's missing and I need your help to find him."

"Remember the poltergeist in Steinburg?" Sam reminded him. "And the Devil's Gate in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing and he's always fine."

"Not for this long. Now are you gonna come with me or not?"

"I'm not," Sam said and removed the peas from his lap, the pain finally completely gone. He stood up and headed into the small kitchen to return them to the freezer.

Dean followed, "Why not?"

Sam shut the freezer door and turned around to face Dean. "I swore I was done hunting. For good."

"Come on, it wasn't easy but it wasn't that bad."

"Yeah, when I told Dad I was afraid of the thing in my closet he gave me a .45."

"What was he supposed to do?" Dean asked.

"My mom just told me there wasn't anything in my closet and told me to go back to bed, that I shouldn't be afraid," Sarah added to the conversation.

Sam held his hand out his niece as if she just answered Dean's question.

Dean glanced down at Sarah and then back at Sam. "Of course you should be afraid you know what's out there."

"Dean, shut up, your kid can hear you," Sam told him.

"She knows what's out there, too," he added.

Sam stared at his brother in disbelief. "You told her the truth?" Dean's comment about him teaching her everything he knew suddenly made sense to Sam. "You dragged your own kid into the family business?"

"Sarah already knew what was out there, I just taught her how to protect herself against them."

Sam moved closer to his brother. "So, what, you leave her alone in motel rooms while you go off on hunts, keeping her isolated?"

"No, she hunts alongside me, Sam."

He took a step back. "You what?" Sam asked. "Dean, she's what, like five years old."

"Seriously, where is everyone getting five from?" said Dean. "Sarah is seven, Sam and like I told Bobby, I don't like it either but I didn't have any choice in the matter. She is already way down deep into it. In fact, she has been since she _was_ five, like she was meant for this life or something."

Sam just shook his head at his brother. "I knew after all the sleeping around you do, it would come around and bite you. If I ever had a kid, I would make sure they never knew the truth. I mean, the way we grew up after Mom was killed and Dad's obsession to find the thing that killed her. But we still haven't found the damn thing. So, we kill everything we can find."

Dean shrugged, "Save a lot of people, too."

"You think Mom would have wanted this for us? Do you think Sarah's mom wants this for her?"

Dean didn't respond. Instead, he walked out of the kitchen and left the dorm. Sarah followed close behind and Sam after that.

"The weapon training, and melting silver into bullets?" Sam added when they got outside. "Man, Dean, we were raised like warriors and that's exactly how Sarah will be raised, too."

"So, what you're just gonna live some normal applepie life?" Dean asked, turning around to face him.

"No, not normal," he replied. "Safe."

"And that's why you ran away." Dean scoffed and looked away.

"I was just going to college, it was Dad who said that if I was going to go, I should stay gone and that's what I'm doing."

Dean returned his gaze to him. "Yeah, well Dad's in real trouble right now if he's not dead already. I can feel it. Sarah and I can't do this alone."

"Yes, you can," said Sam.

"Yeah, but I don't want to."

Sam took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out, thinking it over before he finally asked, "What was he hunting?"


	7. Chapter 7: Woman in White

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 7

More fire burned as Jessica clung to the ceiling. The whole room lit up in flames as Sam watched in horror, helpless to do anything. Sarah shot up in the backseat of the Impala, her small face drenched in sweat. It was daylight in the midmorning hours. The Winchesters had stopped off at a gas station for gas and Dean's definition of breakfast.

It took a little more convincing on Sam's part to come with them, but after Dean promised to have him back by Monday morning for his college interview, he agreed.

Sam looked back over the front seat from looking through Dean's cassette tape collection, at his niece. "You okay, Sarah?" he asked.

Sarah pulled her sleeves over her hands and used them to wipe the sweat from her face. Why was she dreaming about her uncle and his girlfriend for anyway? Did it have anything to do with that guy from her other dream? Sarah looked up at her uncle, who was still looking at her. She thought about if she should tell Sam about the dream. He had the right to know if it was about _his_ girlfriend anyway. But would Sam believe her, was what Sarah worried the most. Sarah would take it as just a dream if it weren't for the fact that there had been other dreams that had come true.

She looked around for Dean and saw he wasn't anywhere near the Impala. Figuring he was inside the gas station, Sarah returned her gaze to her uncle. "Uncle Sam," she began.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"Um…you know your…"

At that moment, Dean walked out of the gas station with a plastic bag of food and drinks. He walked over and looked inside the Impala to see if his daughter was awake yet and tossed a bottle of Nestle Quik chocolate milk, Sarah's favorite drink into the backseat. "Well, good morning, sunshine," he grinned at her. To Sam, "Want breakfast?"

Sam looked back over his shoulder at his brother when Dean was tossing a packaged cinnamon roll at Sarah who caught it this time. "No thanks," he said when Dean showed him what else he had bought.

Dean set the bag on his seat and walked around the Impala to finish up with the gas pumping.

"So how did you pay for that stuff? You and Dad still running credit card scams?" Sam called over to Dean.

Dean took out the pump and placed it back where it belonged. "Yeah well, hunting's not exactly a pro ball career. Besides, all we do is apply it's not our fault they send us a card."

"Yeah and what name did you write on the application this time?" he smirked sliding fully into his seat and shut his door. Sarah was disappointed to be booted to the backseat when Sam joined them. Sam assured her through that it was just for the weekend and once they found John, Sarah could have it back.

Dean told his brother the names as he went around and got in on his side, shutting his door. Sam was still looking through the cassette tapes. "I swear, man you have got to update your cassette tape collection."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Well, for one, they are cassette tapes," he began. "And two…" Sam picked up a few as he listed off some of the bands in Dean's collection. "Black Sabbath? Motorhead? Metallica?" Dean took that one from him. "It's the greatest hits of mullet rock."

Dean took the tape from its case and placed it into the car radio, "House rules, Sammy. Driver chooses the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole" and tossed the case back into the box. "Besides," he grinned as he started the car and the rock music began to play, "majority always wins."

Sam stared at his brother, "Majority? How? Dad's not here to agree."

Sarah leaned over the front seat, clearing her throat.

He looked over his shoulder at her. "You too?"

She nodded, grinning at him.

Sam sat forward, shaking his head, "She is definitely yours, Dean."

Dean held his right hand up for Sarah to grab, proudly as he drove from the station.

Sam set the box of cassette tapes on the floor, at his feet. "So, what was it you wanted to tell me, Sarah?"

"Uh…" Sarah quickly sat back on the seat and picked up her chocolate milk. "…Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Uh, yeah. Positive, Uncle Sammy," she said.

He placed his left elbow on the back of the seat, "You both know that Sammy is a chubby twelve-year-old, right? It's Sam." Sam looked back at his niece. "Okay, Sarah?"

Dean winked at his daughter in the rear-view mirror and turned the music up. "What, Sammy? I can't hear ya. The music's too loud!" he told Sam over it, making Sarah laugh.

The Winchesters came upon the town of Jericho as Sam was checking for their father in the morgue or hospital on his phone. When he hung up, they came upon a roadblock up ahead on a bridge over a creek. Dean pulled over to the side and opened the glove box, taking out another fake badge.

"Dad, wait," said Sarah when he was about to step out of the Impala.

Dean looked back into the backseat. "What?" he asked.

"What's gonna be the excuse this time why I'm with you?"

"Right, um." Dean thought it over.

"Sarah, why don't you wait in the car?" Sam suggested. "Your dad and I can handle this, ourselves."

Dean was about to answer when Sarah did it for him. "Dad says I can't leave his side."

Sam looked over at Dean who said, "I'll explain later. Let's go, you two. Sarah, you're just very short for your age. Okay?"

Sarah got out, pushing the door shut with both hands. "You don't have to rub it in, Dad. I got enough short jokes from school," she told him.

Dean sighed, "No, I mean that's your alibi. You're our age but with a height challenge."

"Oh, got it, Dad."

Sam rolled his eyes as the three of them walked up to the scene. He still didn't think it was right that Sarah was a part of this. There were several police cars and a small blue, two-door car around the bridge.

"Can I help you, gentlemen?" one of the policemen asked, not seeing Sarah since she was behind Sam and Dean.

Dean showed them his fake badge, "Federal marshals."

"You're a little young for marshals, aren't ya?"

He gave a short chuckle. "Thanks, that's awfully kind of you."

"I'm just really short," Sarah blurted out which Dean gently nudged her in the leg with his foot to hush and walked over to the blue car.

"You had another one just like this, correct?"

The officer nodded, "That's right, about mile up the road and others before that."

"So this victim," said Sam, "You knew him."

"Town like this, everyone knows everybody."

Dean was circling around the car now. "Any connection between any of the victims besides that they're all men?"

"No, not so far as we can tell," the officer replied.

Sam went around the other way around the car. "So what's the theory?"

"Honestly, we don't know. Serial murder. Kidnapping."

"Well, that's exactly the kind of crack police work I expect out of you guys," Dean told the officer, earning his foot stepped on by Sam who thanked them for their time. The boys, followed by Sarah headed back to the Impala.

When they were far away enough where no one was looking, Dean smacked Sam on the back on his head.

"Ow, what was that for?" Sam demanded of his older brother.

"Why did ya have to step on my foot?" he replied.

"Why do you have to talk to the police like that?"

Dean turned on his heel, facing Sam. "Come on, they don't really know what's going on. We're all alone on this. I mean, if we're gonna find Dad we're gonna have to get to the bottom of this, ourselves."

Sam cleared his throat to show more officers were standing behind Dean.

"Can I help you, boys?"

"No, sir, we were just leaving," Dean told him. "Agent Molder, Agent Scully," addressing each guy as two of them walked past the Winchesters.

The Winchesters then headed into town, searching for the victim's girlfriend to get some more answers where they learn of a local legend about a girl who was murdered out on Centennial. So, they decided to head over to the local library to do some research on that.

Dean sat in front of the computer, typing into the search box. No results came up. Sam decided to shove his brother out of the way and tried _suicide_ , getting one result. He clicked on the article and read it out loud.

"1981, Constance Welch, twenty-four-years-old, jumps off Civainia Bridge, drowns in the river."

"Did she say why she did it?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, an hour before they find her, she calls 911. Her two little kids are in the bathtub, she leaves them alone for a minute and when she comes back, they aren't breathing. Both die."

Sarah stood to Sam's right with her arms folded on the table and her chin inside them. She lifted her head to say, "That's what happened to Jake's little brother. His dad was supposed to be watching them when their mom was out and their dad fell asleep."

"Who's Jake, your boyfriend?" Dean teased her.

"Ew, no!" she replied. "He's a pain in the ass from my class who picks on me all the time."

"Sarah, keep your voice down," Sam told her. "And watch your language, too."

"As long as it's not bitch or fuck, I'm okay with her cussing. And if I catch wind of you saying any of those two words, I will put you across my knee. Do you understand me, Sarah Lynn?" Dean warned his daughter.

Sarah nodded, slowly, "Yes, Dad."

"Anyway," Sam interrupted the father and daughter and continued reading. "Our babies were gone and Constance couldn't bear it, said husband, Joseph Welch."

"Hey, that looks like the bridge we were on before with all the policemen," Sarah pointed at the screen.

"Good perception, Sarah," Dean praised, holding his right hand over Sam for a high-five from her.

Sarah returned it, smiling.

That night, the Winchesters returned to the bridge to investigate where Constance took the swan dive as Dean put it.

"So, do you think Dad would have been here?" Sam asked.

"Well, he's chasing the same story and we're chasing him," Dean replied and walked away. Sarah was climbing on the railing, trying to look over. Dean gave her a playful swat as he walked by while her bottom was sticking in the air. "Sarah, get down before you take a swan dive yourself."

She immediately jumped down, covering her bottom with both hands. "I wasn't gonna fall, Dad," glaring at him.

"Well, I'm not jumping in after ya if you do," he told her over his shoulder.

"Okay, so now what?" asked Sam.

"We keep digging until we find him," Dean told him, "might take a while."

Sam stopped following his brother. "Dean, I told you, I have to get back by…" They both said Monday as Dean turned around.

"Right, I forgot."

Sarah was a foot in front of her uncle. "You didn't forget, Dad. You were just saying this morning that you wish Uncle Sam would forget about college and join us on the road like before."

"Shut it, Sarah," Dean told his daughter, annoyed.

She glared at him again.

He ignored it. "You're really gonna go through with this, Sam? Become some lawyer, marry your girl?" he asked.

Sam shrugged, "Why not?"

"Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you done?"

Sam stepped towards his brother, around Sarah, "No and she's not ever going to know."

"Well, that's healthy."

"Yeah Uncle Sam, a marriage is supposed to be an open book," Sarah added. "Two people becoming as one who will love each other until the day they die. You can't just keep secrets from Jessica, because it isn't fair to her. What if she told you everything about her past?"

Sam stared at her and then looked back at his brother, amazed.

"I know, it's been like this since we met," said Dean. "But anyway, you can pretend all you want, Sammy, sooner or later you're gonna have to face up to who you're really are." He continued walking again.

Sam followed, too.

Sarah ran faster, past her uncle to walk beside her father.

"Yeah, and who is that?" Sam asked.

"One of us," said Dean.

Sam hurried to walk in front of them. "No, I'm not like you. This is not going to be my life."

"You have a responsibility."

"To Dad…and his crusade? If it weren't for pictures, I wouldn't even know what Mom looks like. What different would it make? Even if we do find that thing that killed her, Mom's gone and she isn't coming back."

Dean grabbed a hold of the front of Sam's jacket and shoved him against the side of the bridge, opposite to where they were looking over the edge before. He stared at him for a moment before he said, "Don't talk about her like that."

"Uh, Dad, I think we have company." Sarah stared at the other side of the bridge. Dean let go of his brother to look at his daughter and followed where she was staring at. A young woman was standing on the railing wearing nothing but a white dress.

She let go and fell into the creek below. The Winchesters sprinted over to her perch and looked down below. The woman was nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly, the Impala started on its own even though Dean had the keys and chased the three of them. When it sped up, the three of them hopped the railing. Sam and Dean went over, but Sarah clung to the other side for dear life. The Impala stopped in its tracks.

Sam climbed back up, with difficulty. When he reached the railing, he wrapped his left arm around the top of it and touched his niece's back, gently as not to scare her. "Hey, you all right, Sarah?"

Sarah nodded with her eyes shut tight and still gripping the railing. Sam looked down below and yelled out for Dean who was crawling out of the river and onto the muddy bank like some prehistoric creature coming onto land for the first time.

"What?" he yelled annoyed.

"Hey, are you all right?" Sam called down to him.

Dean rolled onto his back, covered in mud and gave the okay sign. "I'm super."

Sam laughed, relieved and climbed over the railing before he lifted his niece over, who was shaking up a storm. Instead of putting her down on her feet, Sam held her in his arms even as Dean came walking up. When Sarah saw and smelled her father, she decided to stay in her uncle's arms.

"Well, whatever she did to it, it seems okay now," Dean stated after checking the Impala over. "That Constance chick…WHAT A BITCH!"

"Well she doesn't want us digging around, that's for sure," Sam said as Sarah held her head on his left shoulder. "Where does the trail go now?"

Dean threw up his hands, dropping them on his thighs.

Sarah looked over at her father, lifting her head. "Dad, you smell like my fish tank when Mom and I came home from visiting my great aunt and uncle."

"I was gonna say a toilet," Sam said.

Dean looked down at himself. He definitely needed a shower.


	8. Chapter 8: Shared Dreams

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 8

The Winchesters checked into a motel so Dean could get cleaned up and found out John had also rented out a room for the month. So, the men decided to check it out. Only, the room was deserted, left in the state John left it. The walls were lined with several news clippings and articles of supernatural things. One wall, Sam found was on Constance Welch, the same article they had found. John had figured out that Constance was a Woman in White.

Dean told Sam and Sarah to look for an address while he took a shower and got cleaned up.

Sam stopped him. "Hey Dean, what I said earlier about Mom and Dad…I'm sorry."

Dean held up his hand at his brother and said, "No chick flick moments."

Sam looked away, smiling. "All right…jerk."

"Bitch." Dean walked away, confusing Sarah. Normally when two people were apologizing to each other, they normally didn't call each other names. In fact, when Sarah's mother and grandparents taught her to apologize, she had to say one nice thing about the other person. That was when she remembered; Sarah never said a nice thing about her uncle when she apologized for punching him.

"Uncle Sam, remember when I hit you?" she asked her uncle.

Sam looked down at her. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I apologized but I didn't say something nice about you."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"My mom says when I apologize, to say one thing that's nice to the person I'm apologizing to and I didn't. I would have been grounded if Mom were here," Sarah explained.

Sam gave a small laugh as he kneeled to her level. "Okay, so what's something nice about me?"

Sarah thought it over, crossing her arms across her chest as she looked up at the ceiling. Finally, she shrugged, "you're really funny."

"Oh, I'm funny, huh?" Sam stood up and scooped his niece up in his arms, taking her over to the bed where he dropped her. Without pause, he then held her down and started tickling Sarah all over who laughed out loud, rolling around where she laid. "I'll show you funny," he laughed, too.

"Uncle Sam, that tickles!" She giggled, rolling around. Her stomach got exposed and Sam tickled that, too. "No more, Uncle Sam!"

He stopped, standing up straight. "Okay, I guess," he smiled at her.

Sarah sat up and smiled up at her uncle when something caught her eye. "Hey, what's that?" she pointed over at a small picture attached to a mirror, on the wall.

Sam looked over where she was pointing and had to squint to see where she was pointing to. He walked over and saw it was a picture of his father holding him as a little boy with Dean sitting next to them. It made Sam smile. Sarah walked over to Sam and asked if she could see it, too. He squatted down and wrapped his left arm around her waist. "This was us a long time ago when your dad and I were kids."

Sarah pointed to her father, "Is that my dad?"

Sam nodded, "Mm hm."

"He almost looks like me."

It dawned on Sam as he continued to look at the picture. Sarah did look like her father when he was around her age. Well, except Sarah's hair was longer, of course but not by much. It wasn't as long as a little girl's usually was but wasn't short either like a boy's. The color also matched Sam's hair now. The resemblance between her and Dean was very close though.

Sam handed the picture to Sarah and stood up so he could start searching for an address to find where Constance's husband lived or could be reached.

Sarah continued to stare at it, "Is that my other papa?" she asked her uncle.

Sam scanned the clippings on the wall until he looked at her, confused. "Huh?"

"My other papa? That's what I call my mom's dad," she explained.

"Yeah, that's our dad," he said. Sam thought it over in his head. _Papa John, huh?_ He couldn't help but snicker about it. Sounds like his father should have been making pizzas instead of hunting. Of course, Sam would take that over hunting any day. "Uh, why don't you call our dad, Grandpa?"

Sarah looked up from the picture. "How come?"

"Well," he replied, "It might get confusing calling two guys, papa. Wouldn't it?"

Sarah shrugged, "I guess."

Sam returned to the clippings while Sarah continued looking. After a moment, she asked, "Grandpa's gonna like me. Right?"

"Sure he would. I read once, in his journal that he wished he could have had a daughter," Sam shrugged, his eyes still looking.

Sarah looked at John. She saw him once in a dream. It was dark until fire lit up the room like her dream now, only it was the woman from Sam's picture back in his dorm. John was also the one that was starting to annoy the man in her other dream. Could it be that John was doing something or trying to do something that the man didn't want him to do?

Dean broke her thoughts, coming out of the bathroom. "Hey man, I'm starving. I'm gonna grab something to eat at that diner down the street. You want anything?"

Sarah subconsciously shoved the picture into her jeans pocket and hurried after her father, who was putting his jacket on. "I'm starving, too!"

Sam declined the offer. Dean and Sarah left the motel room where the officers from the day before were outside talking to the motel manager. Dean whispered to Sarah to go back inside and tell her uncle to take off, that the police was there looking for them.

"But, Dad…"

"No buts or I'll spank yours," he warned.

Sarah ran back into the motel room and told her uncle what her father had said. He looked up to see one of the officers walking up to the motel, through the window and sprinted for the bathroom window where he helped Sarah up first. There was a dumper right underneath the window, outside. Sarah hung from the window. She swallowed, afraid before she let go, landing on top of the lid and moved so her uncle could climb out.

Sam leaped from the dumper and lifted Sarah down onto the ground. "Come on, Sarah," he said as they took off at a run.

"What about my dad?" she asked, worried about Dean.

"Don't worry about him, he'll be fine," he assured her.

They ran until the coast was clear and waited until the police was gone before they returned. Sam had grabbed Dean's keys before they got out of there so Sam and Sarah hopped in the Impala and took off for Joseph Welch's place.

"Uncle Sam," Sarah spoke up when he was driving. "Did Dad go to jail?"

"Probably but he always manages to slip through the police's fingers, he will be fine," Sam told her. At that moment, there was a growling sound and a very loud one at that. "What was that?"

"Uh, that's my stomach," she admitted.

Sam glanced at his niece, surprised. "Your stomach?"

"I wasn't lying when I said I was starving."

"Guess not," he shrugged, paying attention to the road. "Here, we'll stop at that this Wendy's and get you a burger. How's that?"

"Wendy's? I love their bacon cheeseburger!" Sarah said, excitedly.

Sam pulled into the parking lot and went through the drive-thru. He ordered a Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger meal for Sarah and just a drink for himself, splitting Sarah's French fries between each other. They ate on the way to Joseph Welch's place. Once the two of them had the information they needed from Joseph Welch, they left.

As they drove down the highway, Sarah was thinking about her dream again and whether or not she should tell her uncle or not. She stared out the window as it replayed in her mind and remembered what she had told her uncle about keeping secrets. "Uncle Sam, about my dream," she finally said, slowly looking over at him.

"What dream?" he asked, concentrating on the road. All the chaos that had been going on and trying to find John, Sam forgot all about it.

"The nightmare I woke up from at the gas station."

"What about it?"

"It's…it's about Jessica," she finally admitted.

Sam glanced at his niece. "Jessica? My girlfriend?"

She nodded.

"What about her?" he asked again.

"I think…I think she's in trouble, Uncle Sam."

He was shifting between her and the road. "What kind of trouble?"

Sarah hesitated, looking at the floor of the Impala.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it was just a bad dream," he shrugged.

"I had other dreams that…came true, too."

"What are you saying, Sarah?" Sam didn't like where the conversation was going.

She looked up at her uncle again, slowly. "I dreamed she died in a fire and you couldn't do anything to stop it."

That made Sam slam on the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt. He turned in his seat and stared at his niece for a long time.

"I don't mean to have the dream, Uncle Sam, I just do," Sarah tried to tell him.

Finally, Sam spoke, "She wasn't pinned to the ceiling, was she?"

Sarah nodded, slowly, looking at him.

There was a long, awkward, silent pause before he asked, "Sarah…how did your mom die?"

Sarah was taken by surprise at that question. She didn't know how that was relevant to this situation. "She died almost two months ago from a brain tumor. Why?"

Sam blew a sigh of relief. "So, there wasn't a house fire at your house, then?" he asked.

"When I was a baby, my aunt died in a fire," she replied. "Same way Jessica did in my dream."

That got Sam's attention again. "These dreams, did they start about a few months ago?"

Sarah nodded, "Why?"

"Because that's when my dreams started," he told her.

"Your dreams?" she asked.

"I've been having strange dreams, too and one of them was of Jessica dying," Sam explained.

Sarah's eyes grew larger. "Have you seen the man, too?"

"What man?"

"Man who talks to me in my dreams. He's kind of tall, short hair, almost bald. Sometimes he has yellow eyes. He says he has plans for you and me, but mostly you," she explained to her uncle.

Sam shook his head, "No, I haven't seen any man."

Their conversation was abruptly cut short when Sam and Sarah caught sight of the woman from the night before, standing in front of the Impala, staring at them.

"Oh shit," Sarah blurted out as they stared at Constance.

Suddenly, Constance appeared in the backseat. "Take me home," she told Sam.

Sam then glared at her. "No."

Sarah quickly pulled a shotgun out from under the seat and shot at the ghost, blasting her in the face with rock salt, standing on one leg. Constance disappeared.

Sam looked at Sarah, impressed. "Nice shot."

"Thanks, Dad taught me at Bobby's house," she replied.

The gas petal was slammed down, knocking Sarah back, onto the floor, upside down. The Impala sped down the highway without Sam's control. Sarah struggled to get back up, onto the seat. Soon, it stopped in its tracks in front of a worn down, old house that looked like no one lived in for years.

Constance was in the backseat again. "I can never go home," she told Sam.

Sam looked at her through the rear-view mirror, "You're scared to go home."

At that, she disappeared.

Sam and Sarah looked around but Constance was nowhere to be seen. "Where'd she go?" Sarah asked, gripping the rifle in her hands. The salt-barreled rifle was the only weapon Dean had graduated her from that she could use at the moment.

Out of nowhere, Constance appeared on top of Sam, trying to seduce him.

Sam struggled against her, "You can't kill me. I'm not unfaithful, never been."

Constance said next to his right ear, "You will be. Just hold me."

Sarah held the rifle up. "Eat salt, stupidhead!" and she shot her in the face again and sent her away once more.

Suddenly, Sam started crying out in pain and unzipped his jacket to reveal five bloody wounds in his torso. Right as Sarah was about to raise the shotgun again, she heard her father's voice yell, "SARAH, GET DOWN!" She obeyed without a fight as she heard gunshots and glass breaking from the driver and passenger windows.

When Constance reappeared, Dean shot again.

Sam sat up, quickly and told Sarah to get out, fast. Sarah obeyed a second time. The moment she shut her door, Sam slammed the Impala into drive and drove it straight into the house. She and Dean hurried after on foot to make sure Sam was all right. They stepped over debris and made their way to the passenger side and looked inside.

"Sam, you okay?" Dean asked his brother.

"I think," Sam replied, panting.

"Can you move?"

"Yeah, help me." Dean helped Sam from the car and both men looked up to see Constance standing there, holding a large framed picture of her children.

She glared up at the Winchesters. Suddenly, she threw it away and shoved a dresser against them, which actually did more pain to Sarah considering her size and strength.

When Constance moved towards them, the lights started flicking and water started pouring down the stairs. At the top of the stairs were two small children, one around Sarah's age, the other younger. Constance walked over to stand at the foot of the stairs, looking up at them.

The children linked hands, "You come home to us, Mommy," they said. They all of a sudden appeared behind Constance and latched onto her. Constance screamed out, metamorphing or whatever until she dissolved on the floor. The room went dead quiet.

Sarah could not believe the sight she just saw. She had seen stuff like that in the movies and on TV but never had she seen something like that, right before her. It felt strange and terrifying. In fact, Sarah couldn't even look away. It was as if she was drawn to the scene. When it was over, and Sam and Dean pushed the dresser away, she still stood there, her eyes still on the spot where Constance evaporated. That day may have been the day when everything changed for Sarah.

Dean even asked if she was all right. Sarah snapped out of it and nodded at her father, speechless. What put a smile on her face though was when he told Sam, "If you screwed up my car, I'll kill you."

Back on the road, Dean told Sam and Sarah how he found John's journal and showed him the coordinates John had left for Dean to find. Sam looked it up on a map and found out it was coordinates to Blackwater, Colorado. Dean tried once more to get Sam to stay with them but Sam just wouldn't budge. So finally, Dean agreed to take him home.

After fifteen minutes, Sarah broke the silence waking up from a short nap. "Dad."

Dean glanced up at the rear-view mirror, "Yeah, Sarah?"

"Did I do good this time? Was it better than my first hunt?" she asked, sleepily, rubbing her right eye with the palm of her hand.

"Well, you were with Sam half the time but from what I saw, I thought you did great," he told her, smiling proudly.

Sam spoke up for his niece, "You should have seen Sarah when the ghost first appeared in the car. The moment we saw it, she whipped out that shotgun and shot it. In the face, too. Even when it started trying to seduce me, Sarah was ready for it. So this was only her second hunt?" he asked, impressed again.

"Yeah, we were training at Bobby's place when Bobby caught wind of a Skinwalker in Minnesota." Dean then went on to explain the whole thing, including letting Sarah get kidnapped. "That's why I don't let Sarah leave my side," he explained.

Sam shook his head. "I'm telling you, Dean, Sarah is too young for all of this. I mean, this time it was just one ghost that was pretty simple to kill. They're not all going to be that easy."

"I know, Sam and like I said, I hate having to put my kid through it. The moment I put a gun in her hand it seemed like she was meant for this, you know. I put up targets in places that would be impossible for a kid her age to hit and she did. Sarah hung onto every one of my instructions. She did what I told her to do. When I gave her an order that pertains to hunting, she does it, no questions asked. She still gives me hard times with other things but hey, she's still a kid."

"Sound familiar?" asked Sam.

Dean looked at his brother, "Huh, how?"

"Dean, that's how you and Dad always been. He gives you an order and you always follow it," he told him.

Dean looked away. "Yeah," he said, silently, rubbing the back of his head.

They reached the dormitory a few hours later and Sam stepped out. Sarah climbed over the front seat so she could sit up front like before. "Uncle Sam," she said when he was saying good-bye.

"Yeah," he replied, leaning on the car door.

"I thought of something even nicer to say about you."

Sam smiled, "What's that?"

"You're my uncle," she smiled at him.

Sam kissed the side of her forehead and walked away. That was when Dean spoke up. "Sam." Sam turned back around. "You know, we made a hell of a team back there."

He nodded, "Yeah." And that was it.

Dean turned forward and the brothers parted ways. Dean got a few blocks away when Sarah suddenly sat up, straight in her seat. "Dad, we have to go back!"

Dean looked at his daughter, confused. "Why?"

"Trust me on this, okay? We have to go back," she told her father. So, Dean turned around and drove back to Sam's dormitory. When he stopped the car, Sarah basically flew out, barely remembering to shut her door.

Dean quickly followed. "Sarah, what the hell is going on?" Dean just thought she forgot to hug Sam good-bye or something. "We'll see Sam again!"

Sarah and Dean ran up the stairs to Sam's door which was already locked. Sarah struggled with the doorknob until Dean shoved her out of the way and picked it with his lock pick, getting shoved back himself before following his daughter inside. That's when they heard Sam yell. Dean pushed past his daughter and flew into the bedroom to find it in flames and Jessica pinned to the ceiling.

Dean grabbed Sam up and struggled to get him outside. Not long after they were outside, the firefighters had arrived.

Sam stood at the trunk of the Impala, assembling and disassembling a gun, not saying a word. Sarah stood beside him, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Uncle Sam. I should have told you sooner," she was telling him.

"No, Sarah," he replied. "I knew about it, too. I was the boyfriend, I should have done something. It's all my fault, not yours." Dean walked up to the two of them. Sam looked at him. "We got work to do" and shut the trunk in both hands.


	9. Chapter 9: Wendigo

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 9

The Winchesters trudged through the woods of Blackwater, Colorado on yet another hunt. They were hiking with two other siblings who were looking for their brother, and some guy who thought he knew it all when it came to the wilderness and regular game hunting. It seemed there were animal attacks on campers, never to be seen again. The siblings' brother normally checked in every day but hadn't the last couple of days which concerned them. Now, while they looked for their brother, the Winchesters were hiking with them to protect them and hunt whatever it was that were attacking campers while looking for John in the process.

Dean noticed Sarah was bringing up the rear, watching the ground as she walked. He slowed down, eating a bag of peanut M&Ms. "M&Ms for your thoughts?" he smirked, holding the open end of the bag towards her.

Sarah looked up at it, and shook her head. "No thanks, I can't."

"Why not?" he asked, plopping a small handful in his mouth.

"I'm allergic to any kind of nut," she replied. "I can't even eat peanut butter."

"Seriously?"

Sarah nodded.

"Isn't chocolate a nut?" he asked.

She looked at her father like he was a nut. "Chocolate's a bean, Dad."

"Right, anyway, what's wrong?" Dean changed the subject, wanting to know why his little girl was walking so slow and not paying attention like she should be.

Sarah shrugged, "Nothing, just thinking about the last few weeks."

"It's a lot to take in, huh?"

She nodded. "But the thing is I feel better being with you than I ever had with my other family."

"What do you mean?"

"I never fitted in with my mom and grandparents. Mom always criticized me for reading monster lore and folk tales, that's why she agreed to let Papa pay for those psy-collie-gist visits. They all thought I was a freak, Dad, I know it." Tears started forming on the last part. "And I know Mom was scared of me."

"Why would your mom be scared of you and keep your voice down, kid," he told her.

Sarah looked away, her hands in the pocket of her sweatshirt. "I'm different. I know I shouldn't have but I read Mom's journal once. It said that she wanted to have an abortion when I was in her tummy. When I asked Gram what that was she said it's when a mom kills her baby when it's still growing in her tummy." Sarah stopped walking and completely faced her father. Dean stopped as well. "Mom didn't want me, Dad!" She couldn't help her voice rise as hot tears fell down both sides of her cheeks. "The journal also said that some guy talked her into keeping me. It took a complete stranger to change her mind."

Everyone else had stopped walking and looked back to see what was going on. Dean told them to keep going and kneeled to his daughter's level. "Hey, look at me," he told her.

Sarah sniffed, looking into her father's face.

"I'm very proud you are my kid. I would be lying if I said that back when you were born but I was pretty much still a kid, myself. Your mom and grandparents, they didn't know what to think about this stuff because they weren't educated on it. They don't know the truth like we do and that's what scared them. That's how most people react when someone is a certain way they can't explain. Your mom saw you read about things most kids are afraid of so she went out and found help on what to do. I'm sure your mom loved you."

"She never wanted to hug me," she sniffed. "I was like poison to her."

"No I'm sure you weren't, she was just scared."

Sarah threw herself onto her father and squeezed his neck, tightly. Dean stood up, holding her in his arms. "It's okay, Sarah." He turned and kept walking, carrying Sarah for a little while so she could compose herself. After fifteen minutes though, he made her walk again. Sarah and Dean brought up the rear of the group.

Soon, the group stopped. "This is it," the travel guide announced, "Blackwater Ridge."

Sam walked ahead of him, looking straight ahead. "What coordinates are we at?" he asked.

The guide took out his electronic compass and turned it on, looking up the coordinates. "Thirty-five minus one eleven."

Dean, followed by Sarah walked over to stand beside Sam, looking out at the woods. "You hear that?"

"Yeah…not even crickets," replied Sam.

"I'm gonna go have a look around," the guide said.

"You shouldn't go off by yourself," Sam told him.

He had his arms folded in front of him, "That's sweet. Don't worry about me." The guide then walked in between the small family, continuing on.

Dean walked a few steps and turned around. "All right, everyone stays together. Let's go." And he continued walking, as well. Sarah hurried after him, glued to his side.

The group continued through the woods until they found the siblings' brother's campsite, in ruins as if a bear or wolf had done it. Dean found tracks, off some distance from the site and called Sam over to show him.

"The bodies were dragged from the campsite," he explained to Sam and Sarah. "But here, the tracks just vanish. It's weird." Dean stood up, straight as he looked ahead. "I'll tell ya what. It's no skinwalker or black dog." He turned and walked back to the group.

Sarah asked, "Black dog?" She hurried after him. "Like the movie? The black dog story is real?"

"Yes but not how they tell it," he replied. "I'll tell ya later."

Soon, they heard a male's voice cry out. After checking it out and returning to camp, the group discovered their packs missing. Sam figured it out, right then and there that they were hunting a Wendigo. Since it was getting late and no one would leave, Dean suggested they'd call it a night and set up camp. The guide and the siblings sat by a campfire while Sam sat, a few feet away, staring at the ground.

Sarah wandered over to her uncle, holding her hands pressed into her armpits. "Uncle Sam, mind if I sit with you? The fire's not helping."

Sam looked up. "Sure, kiddo."

Sarah sat down and snuggled up against her uncle. Sam wrapped his left arm around her. "Are you okay, Uncle Sam?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her.

"Doing some thinking, too?"

Sam forced a smile for his niece. "I guess you can say that. What are you thinking about?"

"My mom."

"You miss her, huh?"

"A little but I know she's in a better place with the angels," Sarah said.

"Oh, you believe in angels?" Sam asked.

"Papa and Gram took me to church with them, a lot. I learned a lot in my Sunday school class about how when we accept Jesus, we go to heaven when we die and how angels watch over us."

"That's a load of crap, Sarah." Dean was walking up to the two of them, his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "Angels aren't real and I don't want to hear about them again."

"Angels are real, Dad," Sarah told her father.

"Fine, believe what you like but keep it to yourself." Dean turned his attention to his brother. "You want to tell me what's going on in that freaky head of yours, Sam?"

"Dean…" Sam started to say but Dean cut him off.

"No, you're not fine," he said, sitting on Sarah's opposite side. "You're like a powder keg, man. It's not like you. I'm supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?"

There was a long, silent pause. The only sounds were the crackling of the campfire and crickets chirping away without a care in the world. Finally, Sam said, "Dad's not here. I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message. A sign, right."

Dean was looking up at the night sky. "Yeah, you're probably right. To tell you the truth, I don't think Dad's ever been to Law's Creek."

"Then let's get these people back to town and let's hit the road. Go find Dad." Sam threw a stick he had been holding onto the ground with force, "I mean, why are we even still here?"

Dean made Sarah, who had laid her head against him, sit up, and moved to the rock across from Sam. He took out John's journal and tapped it with his whole hand. "This is why. This book." Dean tapped it with his pointer finger. "This is Dad's single and most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here and he's passed it onto us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things. The family business."

Sam shook his head, trying to wrap his head around what his brother just told him, "That makes no sense."

Sarah sat up from where she was leaning against her uncle again. "It makes sense to me and I'm a kid."

Dean raised his eye brows. "Kid's got a point. See?"

"But why doesn't he just call us? Why doesn't he tell us what he wants? Tell us where he is?" Sam questioned, quietly. The Winchesters had been keeping their voices to just above a whisper.

"I don't know," Dean admitted. "But the way I see it, Dad's given us a job to do and I intend to do it."

"Dean…" Sam changed his tone. "No. I got to find Dad. I got to find Jessica's killer."

"But didn't you say that even if we find it, it won't change the fact that they're dead and they're not coming back?" Sarah spoke up. "Kind of sound like a hypocrite, Uncle Sam."

"It's the only thing I can think about, and you just wouldn't understand, Sarah."

"You're talking to a kid who can recite words that I don't even know the meanings of, plus name all forty presidents," said Dean.

"It's forty-three, Dad," Sarah corrected him.

"Whatever, the point is, Sam, we will find Dad, I promise. Listen to me, you got to prepare yourself. I mean, this search can take a while. And all that anger, you can't keep it burning over the long haul. It's gonna kill you. You gotta have patience, man."

"How do you do it?" Sam forced a laugh. "How does Dad do it?"

Dean looked over at the siblings, then back at Sam. "Well, for one, them."

Sam and Sarah looked over at the siblings.

"I mean, I figure if our family is so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. Makes things a little more bearable."

"So, we're like the Rescue Rangers," Sarah asked, "only with monsters?"

"No idea who they are but yeah, basically," he replied. "I'll tell ya what else helps, Sammy." Sam faced him again. "Killing as much sons of bitches as I can." Dean smiled at that, making Sam smile, too. He knew just what to say to make his younger brother feel better. Always looking out for Sam.

Suddenly, the same cry for help interrupted the brotherly chat. Everyone jumped to their feet. Dean and the guide had their guns out. "It's trying to draw us out," Dean told them. "Just stay cool, stay put."

"Inside the magic circle?" the guide asked, sarcastically with his rifle pointed up.

"Dad, can I hit him?" Sarah asked, annoyed.

"As much as I would like to say yes and how much the guy needs it, no," Dean replied, his eyes scanning the trees around them.

Rustling and movement was detected. The Wendigo had found them and of course, the guide had to go after it. The Winchesters followed after him but it was too late. He was gone.

Sarah shrugged, "Don't mean to sound mean but uh, he was asking for it. They're usually the first ones to go in the movies."

After Dean explained what a Wendigo was, the group continued the next day without the guide. Soon, they found the guide's body when it was tossed from a tree, almost flattening the girl. Everyone took off running. Sarah kept tripping over tree roots and rocks, falling forward. Sam went back to help his niece up. Because of that, the two of them and the girl's younger brother was separated from her and Dean.

"Dean!" Sam called out.

No answer.

"Sorry, Uncle Sam," said Sarah as she rubbed her arm, up and down, ashamed.

"It's okay, Sarah," he told her. "Come on, you two."

The two of them went looking for Dean and the girl until they came to a boarded up cave with a _Do Not Enter_ sign on it. The boy and Sarah followed Sam inside. Sam led the way down a dark tunnel with only a flashlight to light the way. Sarah gripped his jacket, tightly in her right hand as they walked. When they heard a growl, she hugged his leg.

Sam pushed Sarah and the boy back, along the wall of the tunnel with their backs pressed against it. They watched as a thin shadowy creature walked away from them. Sam had to cover the boy's mouth to keep him from making a sound. Sarah, on the other hand, was speechless. Her little heart was beating fast like it was going to leap out of her chest. She was wishing her father was there right about now.

When the coast was clear, the three of them continued walking. The boy stepped on a weak piece of wood and they all fell through, into a hole. Bones littered the ground around them, scaring both the boy and Sarah. Sam calmed them both down.

It was Sarah who noticed Dean and the girl hanging by their hands, from the ceiling. She ran over to them. "Daddy!" She tried getting him to wake up, shaking his legs.

Sam came up and helped, too. "Dean," he said. "Dean, you okay?" when Dean was awake.

Dean grunted a few times before he replied, "Yeah."

Sam cut the both of them down and he led Dean over to set him down while the boy did the same for his sister. Sarah tried to help, too but with her small size and Dean's larger, adult body, she wasn't really much use. Sam carried most of his brother's weight while Dean did what he could. When the siblings noticed their long lost brother was also there, Sam hurried over with them while Sarah stayed back with her father, hugging his neck.

"Okay, okay, Sarah," he told her, pushing Sarah off. "We need to stay focused here, okay?"

She nodded.

Dean curiously looked inside one of the packs that were sitting near the two of them and found flare guns, calling Sam's attention. He handed one to Sarah. "These are flare guns and you only get one shot so make it count or that's it. Got it?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, Dad."

Continuing on, with the siblings carrying their brother, the Winchesters kept them covered with the flare guns raised. Dean told the siblings to stay with Sam and Sarah that they would get them out. Sarah insisted on going with Dean.

"You said I never leave your side."

"You'll be with Sam, it's okay," he told her.

"No, I want to go with you and help."

"You want to help, then stay with Sam, understand?"

"No!"

"Sarah Lynn Winchester, I don't have time for this! Stay with Sam!" Dean exclaimed and ran ahead, turning a corner. Sarah ran after him. Sam tried calling her back but she continued. She lost him once because of the Wendigo, she wasn't about to let it happen again.

When Dean heard her footsteps running after him, he was pissed. They moved through the cave, trying to find it. When they did, the Wendigo was closing in on Sam and the siblings. Dean shot at it, burning it to a corpse. Everyone was relieved. Dean did not stop to breathe, though. Tossing the flare gun to the side, he turned on Sarah and landed a hard swat to her backside with his right hand before he kneeled to her level. "What did I say about following orders during a hunt?" he demanded of his daughter.

Sarah had immediately grabbed her backside, crying out in pain.

"Answer me, Sarah Lynn," he told her, sternly.

Sarah continued to cry, not answering her father.

"Do you want another one?"

She quickly shook her head.

"Then I suggest you answer me."

Sarah sniffed, wiping her face with her arm. "To…obey e-every or-der y-y-you give," she finally answered.

"Then tell me why you disobeyed me?" he asked.

She sniffed, wiping her nose on her arm but didn't answer.

"I'm waiting, Sarah."

"I was scared of losing you again, I wanted to help you."

Dean dropped his head, running his hand along his hair, and then looked up at her. "Sarah, when I give you an order, you have to follow it. It's only for your own good. I'm already a bad father for putting you in this, but that won't mean I won't do everything in my power to protect you and that means you got to do as I say. No ifs, ands, or buts. Understand?"

Sarah nodded, slowly.

Dean took his daughter into his arms and hugged her. "I'm sorry I spanked you so hard. It's just, if anything would to happen to you, like I said, I don't know what I would do. I love you, Sarah."

Sarah hugged him in return. "I'm sorry, Dad."

He kissed the side of her head. "It's okay. You were worried about me. But don't be. I've been doing this most of my life. I'm tough, nothing can kill me."

At the forest lodge, the Winchesters said good-bye to the siblings and Dean even got a kiss from the girl before she got inside the back of the ambulance. The brothers leaned against the front of the Impala, Sarah already passed out in the backseat, snoozing away.

"Man, I hate camping," Dean broke the silence.

"Me, too," agreed Sam as they stared ahead.

"Sam, you know we're gonna find Dad, right?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah, I know. But in the meantime…" He looked at Dean. "I'm driving."

Dean tossed the keys up into the air and Sam caught them before they got into the Impala and drove off.


	10. Chapter 10: Dead in the Water (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 10

Dean sat at the bar at a diner, looking at a newspaper of recent deaths. Sarah sat next to him, finishing a plate of scrambled eggs and toast. His eyes moved straight up when a young, beautiful waitress stopped in front of him on the other side of the bar.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked him.

Dean smiled with his pen he was using in his mouth.

Sam walked up, "Just the check."

The waitress nodded and walked away.

Dean turned to his brother. "You know, Sam, we are allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed to the waitress turning the corner in the kitchen. "That's fun."

Sarah looked over where the waitress had disappeared. "How is a waitress fun?" she asked.

He looked back over his shoulder, "I'll explain when you're older and dating. Anyway, I think I found another one." Dean showed Sam a news article he circled in blue ink. Sarah sat up, onto her legs as she leaned on the bar to get a look herself. "Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin. Last week, Sophie Carlson, eighteen. Walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water…nothing. Sophie Carlson is the third drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. Had a funeral, two days ago."

"Funeral?" Sam questioned, looking at the article.

"Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin. For closure or whatever."

"Are we gonna check it out?" Sarah asked.

"You bet we are," Dean told her, looking at the newspaper again before he looked over at his daughter and placed his right elbow on the bar. He held his pen towards her, "What are you going to remember while we're on this hunt?"

Sarah moaned. "Dad, I told you a hundred times, already."

"I don't care. I want to make sure you understand what is expected of you. Now tell me again."

Sarah dropped her forehead against his upper arm. "Obey every order you give me no matter what it is," she recited in an irritated tone.

Dean leaned over and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you."

"Dean," Sam interrupted his brother and niece. "The trail on Dad is getting colder and colder, why stop for another hunt?"

"Look Sam, you know I want to find Dad, too but until then I plan on killing anything bad between here and then. Okay?"

At that moment, the waitress walked behind them. Dean stared at her as she walked away. Sarah watched him. "Dad, it's impolite to stare."

Dean slid around on his stool to face his daughter and gave her a hard stare until he grinned and winked at her. "And I will explain that when you're older of why it's okay for a guy to stare at a girl." He took his wallet out and dropped a twenty on the bar. "Let's go, nerds."

Sarah jumped down from her stool and followed her father out of the diner. Sam rolled his eyes as he followed along, as well.

On the road, Sarah had fallen asleep since there was nothing to do and her PSP was dead. Visions of people drowning filled her mind, including a young boy around her age. She twitched in her sleep and shifted multiple times until Sam reached back and shook her. Sarah shot up, awake. She looked around.

Dean looked in the rear-view mirror as Sam asked, "You okay, Sarah?"

Sarah rubbed at her right eye with the palm of her hand and nodded.

Sam showed her a thick workbook he bought when they stopped at a store. "Hey, I bought this for you. I figured I would homeschool you in between hunts since you won't be going to school." He looked over at Dean when Sam said the last part. "You're in second grade, right?"

Sarah shook her head. "Third. I got bumped up a grade because I was too far ahead than the rest of my class. They wanted to put me in fourth grade but my mom wanted me to be with kids more closer to my age."

Sam took the book back. "Well, I think this is useless. What's the highest math you can do, by yourself?"

"I can already multiply single numbers. Two times two is four…uh, four times six is twenty-four…nine times seven is sixty-three."

"Uh…wow and how is she your kid, Dean?" Sam asked of his brother, giving him a hard time.

Dean gave him a cold glare. "For your information, her mother went to Stanford before dropping out to raise her. Plus, she is also related to you."

Sam was skimming through the workbook, trying to find the hardest page. He looked up when the first part sunk in. "Wait…Sarah's mom went to Stanford?" he asked.

"According to Sarah's grandfather. She went for a few years, then we met when you, me, and Dad were on that werewolf hunt in California. When she found out she was pregnant, she quit school."

"How did Sarah's mom find you after all these years?"

"She didn't. Sarah's mom passed away, remember?" Dean reminded him. He glanced up into the rear-view mirror. "Sorry, Sarah."

"It's okay, Dad," she replied.

"So how did you find Sarah, then?" Sam asked.

"Sarah's grandparents were looking for me. They got ahold of Dad somehow and he texted me coordinates to where they lived," explained Dean.

"He texted you? The man could barely turn on a computer, and he texted you?"

"I know, surprised me, too," he shrugged.

"So, Dad knows about Sarah already?"

Dean shrugged again, "Guess so."

"What did he say?"

"Nothing, he just told me to do the right thing. Never heard from him since which is why we came and got you."

Sam shook his head, returning to the workbook. He wished he knew why his father wasn't telling them anything or why he hasn't called. He stopped on a _words with two meanings_ work page and turned in his seat. "Sarah, come here."

Sarah scooted to the middle of the backseat, onto the edge.

Sam showed her the page. "I want you to do this page for me. Okay. You know what double meanings are, right?"

She nodded at her uncle.

"Like the example shows," he reviewed it to her, anyway. "Bark can mean the skin of a tree or the sound a dog makes. Make two sentences for each word using each meaning. Understand?"

Sarah took the workbook from him. "Yes, Uncle Sam," she said, rolling her eyes.

Dean passed back his pen he had been using back at the diner. "Here, you can use this." Sarah reached up for it but her father moved it higher, out of her reach. "Oh, too slow." She kept trying. "You have to be faster than that," he grinned, switching between the road and his daughter out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, too slow."

Sarah playfully glared at her father. "Dad, can I please have it?"

Dean smirked, "Okay. I guess since you said please."

"Thank you." Sarah went to take it when he did it one last time. "Daaaad."

"I'm just teasing you. Here." He finally let his daughter take the pen from him so she could work on the worksheet Sam assigned. When she was done with it, Sam checked it over and assigned another page. This time Sarah had to write the word that the picture shown.

When Sam checked that page over, an eyebrow was raised. "Ah, Sarah, you got number four wrong," he told her.

"No I didn't," she argued. "I got them all right, I know I did."

He showed her the page, pointing at the fourth picture with the pen. "Sarah, the arrow is not pointing at his…um…" Sam paused, not wanting to say the word to his seven-year-old niece.

"Yes, it's pointing at his lap."

That got Dean's attention. "What the hell are you two talking about?" He asked, grabbing the workbook from his brother's hands and looked at the picture, himself. "Seriously?" He saw the picture of a man sitting and an arrow pointing in the general area of his lap. "What is that supposed to be?"

"I think it supposed to represent sit," Sam shrugged.

Dean tossed it back at his brother. "I'd say just let her have that one because that's basically what it is implying."

"Dean, the answer is not…that word."

Dean continued driving until they finally arrived in Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin, stopping at the Carlson cabin first. Dean knocked.

"What am I today?" Sarah asked.

"Again Sarah, we are keeping the short lie. Okay? You are twenty-five and very short so quit…" A young man answered the door. "…Hello, are you Will Carlson?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"I am Agent Ford, these are Agents Hammel and Olson." Dean showed him a badge. "We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service."

The young man, Will looked down at Sarah then back at Dean. "Isn't she a little young to be an agent?" he asked.

"She has a condition that makes her look like she's a kid but she's an adult, trust me."

The men and Sarah walked towards the lake and stopped a few yards away. Will turned to look at them, his hands hanging out of his pockets. "She was about a hundred yards out," he nodded towards it before looking at the Winchesters. "It's where she got dragged out."

"Are you sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Will looked back at the lake. "She was a varsity swimmer. She practically grew up in that lake. She's as safe out there as she is in her own bathtub."

Sam spoke next. "So, no splashing? No signs of distress?"

"No, it's what I'm telling you," he said.

"Did you see any shadows in the water? Maybe some dark shape, breech the surface?"

"No, again she was really far out there."

"Did you see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" asked Dean.

"No, never. Why? What do you think is out there?"

Dean took in a deep breath. "We'll let you know as soon we do." He walked away. Sarah, of course followed after him. He stopped when Sam asked, "What about your father, can we talk to him?" making Sarah run into him. Dean looked back.

Will looked back, over his right shoulder where his father was sitting on the lake dock. "Look, if you don't mind, I mean he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

Sam nodded, "We understand." He turned and headed for the Impala.

At the police station, they spoke to the town's sheriff. "Now, I'm sorry but why does the wildlife service care about an accidental drowning?" the sheriff was asking the Winchesters as he let them inside the small wooden gate.

Sam walked through it. "Are you sure it's accidental? Will Carlson saw something grab his sister."

"Like what?" he asked with some irritation present in his voice as they made their way back to his office. "Gentlemen, ma'am, sit." The sheriff offered two seats. Sam and Dean took them while Sarah stood in between. "There is no indigenous carnivore in that lake. There's not even anything big enough to pull down a person unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

"Actually, the Loch Ness Monster is in Scotland," Sarah pointed out.

Dean pulled her towards him and whispered, "That was sarcasm."

"Look, Will Carlson was traumatized and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still, we dragged that entire lake, we even did a sonar sweep just to be sure and there was nothing down there," the sheriff continued.

Dean leaned forward. "That's weird though. I mean, that's…that's the third missing body, this year."

"I know. These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

He nodded, "I know."

The sheriff threw up his hands, leaning back in his chair. "Anyway, all this…it won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the dam, of course," he said.

Dean sat back in his own chair. "Of course, the dam." He and Sam exchanged looks between each other before turning back to the sheriff. "It's uh, it sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart."

Dean nodded.

"And the Feds aren't giving us the funds to repair it, so they opened the spillway." The sheriff leaned on his desk. "In another six months, there won't be much of a lake. Won't be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife, you already knew that."

"Exactly," replied Dean before there was a knock on the window.

A young woman walked in. "Sorry, am I interrupting?" she asked, embarrassed. Sam and Dean stood up, slowly, looking at her. "I can come back later." She turned to leave.

The sheriff stood up, as well. "Gentlemen, ma'am, this is my daughter."

Dean walked over to her and held his hand out. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean."

She returned the handshake as she smiled. "Andrea Barr."

He smiled at her, too. "Hey."

"They're from the wildlife service," the sheriff explained to his daughter. "About the lake."

"Oh," was all she said just as a little boy around Sarah's age peeked from around her.

"Oh, hi there," Dean greeted him.

The boy moved beside Andrea.

"What's your name?"

He just stared at the ground, catching a glimpse of Sarah waving to him, in a friendly-like matter. The boy turned and walked away. Sarah suddenly remembered him as the boy from her dream she had during her catnap. She watched as the boy left the office. Andrea followed after him.

"His name is Lucas," the sheriff answered when they were gone.

Sam turned around to face him. "Is he okay?"

"My grandson's been through a lot…we all have." He turned and headed towards the door. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

Dean thanked him as he walked out of the office. He stopped and turned around. "Now that you mention it, can you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

"Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner, its two blocks out," Andrea told him.

Dean pointed back, behind him, "two," thinking out loud. He turned to Andrea and asked, "Would you mind showing us?"

She laughed, "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble," he told her as Sam rolled his eyes, knowing what his older brother was up to.

"I'm headed that way, anyway." Andrea turned towards her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three."

The sheriff smiled, nodding.

Andrea bent over to tell her son, "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?" and kissed his head before standing up.

Sam thanked the sheriff, as well as the four of them left the station. As they walked to Lakefront Motel, Dean tried to do a little flirting with Andrea. "Cute kid."

Andrea smiled, "Thanks."

They crossed the street, speed-walking.

"Kids are the best, huh?" he told her.

They finished crossing, stopping in front of the motel. Andrea turned to face Dean. "There it is. Like I said, two blocks."

"Thanks," said Sam.

She sighed at Dean, "It must be hard with your sense of direction. Never being able to find your way to a descent pick-up line?" With that said, Andrea walked away. "Enjoy your stay."

"Kids are the best?" Sam questioned his brother with his hands on his sides. "You don't even like kids, which is why I was surprised you took Sarah in."

"I love kids," Dean tried to argue.

"Name three children that you even know." Dean was about to answer when Sam added, "besides Sarah."

Dean thought about it, not thinking of any. Sam just waved him off and walked away, towards the motel. Dean scratched his head and followed after his brother. "I'm thinking."


	11. Chapter 11: Dead in the Water (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 11

Sarah sat on one of the beds in the motel room as Dean was sorting through his clothes. She got a whiff of one of his shirts as it soared through the air and landed on the floor. "Dad, do you ever wash your clothes?" she asked, covering her nose.

"Hunting's not exactly a clean job, Sar," he told her. "Find anything, Sam?"

Sam was on his laptop, researching the drownings that happened over the years. "Well, there's the three drownings, this year," Sam replied.

"And before that?"

Ah, yeah, six more. All spread out over the past thirty-five years. Those bodies were never recovered either. If there is something out there, it's picking up its pace."

"So what, we have a lake monster on a binge?" said Dean.

"This whole lake monster theory…it just bugs me."

Sarah got up, onto her legs, sitting back on her heels, "I read about a lot of things but I never read anything about a lake monster."

"I ain't never seen one, either," Dean told her.

"People say they seen them but who knows," Sam shrugged. "But here, though, there's been nothing at all. Whatever is out there, no one is living to talk about it."

Dean walked over to stand over his brother's shoulder. He read what was on the computer screen and saw a name that sounded familiar to him. "Barr, Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"

Sarah crawled off the bed and wandered up to the men. "The sheriff's daughter was named Barr."

Sam brought up another webpage of a news article with a picture of the boy, Lucas. "Barr, the victim in May. Oh, Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas' father." Dean stood up straight. "Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating, wooden platform when Chris drowned, two hours before the kid got rescued." Sam scratched the back of his head, "Maybe we have an eye witness, after all."

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out," said Dean. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

Sarah looked up at her father then turned away. He was right. It's been almost two months since Emily died and Sarah still wasn't used to the idea of her gone. Sure, they fought and never seemed close, but Emily was still her mother and still loved her. Emily took care of Sarah through many hardships and even when it didn't seem like it, Emily loved her daughter, too.

She felt her emotions start to rise but masked it. The Winchesters headed over to the park where Andrea and Lucas were. Sarah hadn't seen a playground full of other kids since before her father came into her life and changed it. She remembered sitting on the swings all alone at recess, watching the other kids play.

Dean broke into her thoughts. "Let's go say hi, Sarah," he told her.

Sarah nodded and followed her father over to where Lucas was drawing pictures at a park bench.

"He might feel better if another kid was there," he explained.

She nodded but knew it wasn't true. Her psychologist tried doing group sessions with other kids and it never made things easier. Sarah tried sharing with them but everyone just laughed and the psychologist prescribed her a pill to take.

Dean kneeled in front of the bench. "How's it going?" he asked Lucas. He noticed the boy's little, green army men beside his drawing pad and picked one up. "Oh, I used to love these things. Ever play with these, Sarah?"

Sarah was still in her thoughts when he asked. She snapped out of them. "Uh, what did you say, Dad?"

"Look sharp, Sarah we're on a job, remember?" he told her. "I asked if you ever played with these before."

"Yeah, I had a whole bucket full of them. Want to play, Lucas?" Sarah turned to Lucas who completely ignored her. He just kept on drawing.

Dean smirked at him, "So crayons is more your thing. That's cool. Chicks dig artists." He looked through Lucas' drawings. "Hey, these are pretty good. You mind if we sit and draw with you for a while?" Dean stood up, picking up a blue crayon. "I'm not so bad, myself. Heh," he told him, standing up and sat on the bench, beside Lucas. Dean handed Sarah a piece of paper and Sarah kneeled on Lucas' other side, opposite him. She cleared a spot so she could have room, careful of his things. "You know, I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to talk. I don't know what exactly happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad." Dean stopped drawing for a second then continued, "I think I know how you feel."

Sarah was drawing her favorite Pokémon as her father talked. She paused, too, staring at the paper.

"When I was your age, I saw something." Dean paused again, longer this time. A lump rose in his throat as he thought about the night his mother died. He remembered her bursting into flames and fire everywhere. Sarah looked up at him and saw him stare into space for a moment, sad. Dean snapped out of his thoughts. "Anyway…Maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you or, uh…or believe you. I want you to know that I will."

Sarah listened to her father, closely. Her fears and worries were starting to cease with the possibility that maybe her father would believe her, after all.

"You don't even have to say anything. You could draw me a picture about what you saw that day with your dad on the lake." Dean finished his drawing. "Okay. No problem. This is for you. This is my family. That's my dad, and that's…That's my mom. That's my geek brother. That's my little girl," he smiled over at Sarah then returned to Lucas. "And that's me." Lucas just kept right on drawing not even looking up. "All right, so I'm a sucky artist. We'll see you around, Lucas." Dean stood up, placing the drawing pad where he was sitting and walked back to Sam and Andrea.

Sarah stood up, brushing dirt off her jeans. She looked at Lucas, placing her hands inside her sweatshirt pocket. "Thanks, Lucas," she told him and turned around. Sarah ran to catch up with her father.

The three adults were talking about Lucas when Sarah ran up to them. "We heard, sorry." Dean was telling Andrea.

"What do the doctors say?" asked Sam.

"Oh, that it's a kind of post-traumatic stress," she replied.

He shook his head, "That can't be easy for either of you."

"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot." Andrea looked over at Lucas. "It's just…when I think about what Lucas went through…what he saw…"

"Kids are strong," said Dean. "You'd be surprised what they can deal with." He looked down at Sarah, combing his fingers through her hair. Sarah leaned against his leg.

Andrea crossed her arms, lightly. "You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth. Now he just sits there, drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish…" Lucas walked up to them. "Hey, sweetie."

Lucas handed a drawing up to Dean who took it, thanking him. Lucas never even looked up or responded. He just turned around and walked back to the bench. The adults exchanged looks between each other. Andrea was surprised.

Back at the motel room, Dean and Sarah waited for Sam who was out, trying to find more answers. Dean was checking his voicemail to see if he had any messages. Sarah lied on her back with headphones on, listening to her PSP as she stared up at the ceiling. She was thinking about what her father told Lucas. Her heart really wanted to believe that he would believe her about the dreams and the mysterious man that talks to her. When the song that was playing ended, she sat up, pushing her headphones down to around her neck. "Dad."

"What?" he asked, returning a text from a fellow hunter.

"Did you really mean it?" she asked.

"About what?"

Sarah was staring down at her PSP. "What you told Lucas at the park."

Dean looked back at his daughter. "Yeah, you saw how freaked out he was."

"No, that's not what I mean. Would you really believe if I told you what I couldn't tell you before?"

He closed his phone and shifted around until he was sitting sideways on the foot of the bed. "Are you saying you're ready to talk?"

She nodded.

Dean stared at her. "Okay, you have until your uncle gets back. I'm all ears."

Sarah took a deep breath. "When I was five, I started having this dream."

"What kind of dream?"

She hesitated, "Dreams that later came true or that happened already."

Dean didn't know how to respond when he heard that. "You mean, like…like premonitions?"

Sarah nodded and slowly raised her head. "Dad, I saw what happened to your mom."

The moment he heard that, Dean shot to his feet, walking away from the bed. "That isn't funny, Sarah," he exclaimed and ran his hand through his hair.

"I'm not making this up, Dad. I see deaths in my dreams. I saw my aunt die. I saw Lucas on the way here, being pulled into the lake. You said you would believe me." Dean looked down with just his eyes, his back to his daughter and closed his eyes. "Please, Dad. " Sarah looked at her father, hoping and praying he would. "Uncle Sam believed me."

Dean looked back. "You already told your uncle?"

Sarah nodded.

"You felt you could tell him and not me? Did Sam even have to pull your arm to get you to talk?"

"I had to tell him, I was dreaming about Jessica's death, too. He had to know," she explained.

Dean looked forward again. It hurt to hear that his own daughter opened up to someone else when she couldn't open up to him. Sarah was like him more than he could ever know. Dean couldn't even talk to his own father and here he was, finding out his daughter couldn't either.

"I saw everything, the fire, Grandma and Grandpa, you carrying Uncle Sam out of the house…I…I would never, ever make fun of my own family especially when family is the most important thing in the world." Dean walked over and sat down in front of her. "That's why I'm so different, Dad and why Mom was so afraid of me."

Dean stared at the floor, nodding before he looked at Sarah.

"Do you believe me?" she asked.

"I do, Sarah."

A smile appeared on her face. "You do?"

He nodded, right as Sam came through the door. "So I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie."

Dean looked up at his brother. "What do you mean?"

"I just drove past the Carlton house. There was an ambulance there." Sam looked at Dean. "Will Carlton is dead."

"He drowned?" asked Sarah.

Sam nodded, "Yup, in the sink."

"What the hell?" Dean asked. "So, you're right, we're not dealing with a creature, we're dealing with something else."

"Yeah, but what?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water." Dean paused, coming to a conclusion. "Water that comes from the same source."

"The lake," said Sam.

"Yeah."

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count. The lake is draining. The lake will be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time," explained Sam.

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, anywhere." Dean stood up. "This is gonna happen, soon."

"And we do know one other thing for sure."

Sarah asked, "What's that, Uncle Sam?"

"We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

Dean was sitting on the other bed now. "Yeah, it took both his kids."

"And I've been asking around. Lucas' dad, Chris? Bill Carlton's godson," Sam continued.

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit." Dean stood up again. The Winchesters piled into the Impala and drove back to the lake where Bill Carlton was sitting on the lake dock again, just staring at the lake.

"Mister Carlton?" Sam spoke, getting his attention. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

"We're with the department…"

Bill cut Dean off, "I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today."

Sam spoke anyway. "Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?"

He didn't respond.

"Mister Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death, we think there might be a connection to you or your family."

"My children are gone," Bill said, still staring at the lake. "It's…" He paused for a moment then looked up at Sam and Dean. "It's worse than dying."

That made Dean look down at his daughter and hugged her head to him.

"Go away," he told them. "Please."

The Winchesters turned and walked back to the Impala. "So what do you think?" Sam asked when they got close.

"I think the poor guy's been through hell," replied Dean as he walked to his side of the Impala. "I also think he's not telling us something."

Sam leaned on the roof of the Impala. "So now what?"

He shrugged and looked over at the Carltons' house.

"What is it?"

"Huh," Dean said. "Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something." He took Lucas' drawing from inside his leather jacket and unfolded it. It was a picture of the house he was looking at. Dean looked over at Sam. They knew who to talk to next.


	12. Chapter 12: Dead in the Water (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 12

It took some persuading but Dean was able to talk with Lucas a second time. Like before, he did all the talking. Dean told Lucas how when he lost his mother, he didn't want to talk much either but knew he had to be brave for her. Lucas must have been listening because he gave Dean another picture he drew. Sarah listened as well as she stood in front of her uncle in the open doorway of Lucas' bedroom, gripping the doorframe in her hands. She remembered how she would hear strange noises in her closet and under her bed and how her mother told her not to be afraid. Sarah had to be brave, too for both her and her father.

Once Dean received the drawing, they went looking for the house that was across the street from a church. When they did find it, they spoke to an elderly woman. "We're sorry to bother you, ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a…a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

"No, sir," she replied. "Not for a very long time. Peter's been gone thirty-five years now." The woman sighed. "The police never…I never had any idea what happened. He just disappeared," she turned around from staring at an old framed photo of a twelve-year-old boy. "Losing him…"

Sam noticed several green army men over on a table and nudged Dean, who looked, too.

"…You know…It's…" the woman stared at the floor, sadly. Finally, she looked up. "It's worse than dying."

There was a long pause until Dean asked, "Did he disappear from here?"

"He was supposed to ride his bike straight home after school, and he never showed up," she explained.

Dean walked over to a mirror, to another old photo of the boy, Peter in a Boy Scout uniform, with another boy his age. Dean flipped it over and read the back, "Peter Sweeny and Billy Carlton, 1970." They hurried back to the lake to find Bill Carlton taking a boat out to the middle of it. Dean and Sam hurried over to the dock as fast as they could. They called out to Bill, trying to get him to turn around.

Sarah stayed back, near the Impala and watched as Bill's boat shot into the air and landed up-side down in the water. Bill never resurfaced.

Back at the station, after Lucas had a meltdown, grabbing onto Dean's arm, desperately wanting to tell him something, the sheriff blew their cover and suggested the Winchesters leave town. Deep down, Dean didn't want to. He was worried about Lucas. Even after they checked out of their motel room and hit the road, Dean just couldn't shake a feeling he had and decided to drive to Andrea's house.

When Dean rang the doorbell, Lucas appeared at the door, scared more than he had seen him, so far. "Lucas?" he asked, concerned and followed the boy upstairs. Dean moved him out of the way and kicked the bathroom door in and Sam ran inside.

Sam reached into the bathtub and tried to pry Andrea from under the water as something tried pulling her back down. Sarah, feeling a bit hesitant at first, rushed in and took hold of her uncle's waist from behind and tried to help pull Andrea out, too. She and Sam pulled as hard as they could while Dean held Lucas back, out in the hallway. Finally, they managed to get her out of the bathtub. Once Sam made sure she was okay, they left the bathroom so Andrea could get dressed.

Since Dean was taking care of Lucas, Sam tended to his niece, kneeling down to her level. "You okay, Sarah? I kind of smashed you in there."

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay. I never cried when I got hurt since I was four."

"What made you do that?" he asked, curious.

She just shrugged. "I don't know. I had a reaction and Dad told me to never think twice about reactions so I just did it. You're not mad, are you?"

Sam looked down, smiling for a bit. "No, of course not, that's what being a hunter is all about." He still wasn't a fan of his brother's decision of putting Sarah in the family business. Sam had to admit, though. She sure was learning fast. Sam shifted, sitting flat on the top of the stairs. "Sit down, Sarah."

Sarah sat next to her uncle.

Sam looked back at his brother who was still comforting Lucas. He looked back at Sarah, lowering his voice, "I've been thinking about what you told me before about your dream."

"I told Dad already."

He froze. "What exactly did you tell him?"

"That I have dreams of what happened or will happen," she said.

"You didn't mention me, did you?"

"Just that I told you first."

Sam had his arms hanging over his knees, grasping one in the other hand. "Not that I have them, too?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head. "Why?"

He moved closer to his niece and said, "You can't tell him, okay. Your dad cannot know that I have them, too."

"Why not, Uncle Sam? You don't think Dad would believe you, because he would. Dad believed me." Sarah was brightening up as she told her uncle how much her father believed her.

"It's not that, it's just…your dad has taken care of me for as long as I can remember. He wouldn't understand all this and would worry about me. I can't tell him I knew about Jessica's death and didn't do anything to stop it."

Sarah looked away at that.

"What?" he said.

"Dad may or may not already know about that," she admitted, uneasily as Andrea came out of the bathroom and went over to her son and Dean.

Sam moved his hands to his sides, leaning on them. "You just said you didn't tell him."

"I told him I had to tell you about my dreams because I was dreaming about Jessica. That's all, I swear."

"Do not tell him anything else, Sarah," he told her. "Keep this between us. Understand?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, Uncle Sam." Now that she was opening up to her father, Sarah really didn't want to keep anymore secrets from him. Sam seemed like he didn't want Dean to know, though and Sarah didn't want to disappoint her uncle. She didn't want to disappoint her father either. As long as he doesn't ask, maybe it would be okay.

The next morning while Dean went snooping through the sheriff's photo albums, Sam talked with Andrea. "Can you tell me?" he asked her.

"No," she replied, quietly. "It doesn't make any sense." Andrea started crying. "I'm going crazy."

"No, you're not," he assured her. "Tell me what happened. Everything."

Andrea leaned against her hands, "I heard…I…I thought I heard, um…There was this voice."

"What did it say?" asked Sarah, who was sitting beside her uncle, on her legs as she leaned on the table, on her arms.

Sam noticed how she was sitting and told her to not to lean on their table. She sat back on her legs. "Sorry about that," he apologized to Andrea. "What did it say?"

"It said…It said, 'come play with me,'" Andrea told him. She sat there, crying softly and scared out of her mind. "What's happening?"

At that moment, Dean came rushing into the kitchen, carrying a photo album. He set it on the table in front of Andrea. "Do you recognize the kids in these pictures?"

"What?" she questioned. "Oh, um…No…I-I-I mean, except that's my dad right there. He must've been about twelve in these pictures."

Dean looked between Sam and Sarah. "Chris Barr's drowning, the connection wasn't to Bill Carlton, it was to the sheriff."

"Bill and the sheriff," Sam added. "They were both involved with Peter."

"What about Chris?" asked Andrea. "My dad? Wha…? What are you talking about?"

Dean had looked over at Lucas, who was standing at the backdoor, staring outside. "Lucas?"

Andrea quickly looked back.

"Lucas, what is it?" he asked.

Lucas walked outside, not saying a word. The Winchesters and Andrea followed.

"Lucas? Honey?" Andrea called after her son.

He stopped and looked up at Dean, slowly.

Dean stared back at him, "You and Lucas get back to the house and stay there, okay?" he told Andrea.

Andrea took her son's hand and led him back to the house. Dean got his duffel bag from the Impala and took out a few shovels. The three of them then started digging until Dean's shovel hit something metal. Getting down on their knees, Dean, Sam, and Sarah used their hands to push away the dirt, and Dean and Sam pulled out an old bicycle covered in dirt.

Suddenly, a gun was cocked behind them, making them turn around on the spot. "Who are you?"

Sam and Dean slowly lowered the bike. Sarah grabbed ahold of her father's blue shirt, gripping it tightly as she stared at the gun in the sheriff's hand.

"Put the gun down, Jake," Sam told the sheriff.

The sheriff, Jake glanced down at the bicycle with just his eyes, "How did you know that was there?"

"What happened?" Dean asked him. "You and Bill killed Peter? Drowned him in the lake and then buried his bike? You can't bury the truth, Jake. Nothing stays buried."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You and Bill killed Peter Sweeny thirty-five years ago. That's what we're talking about," he told him.

Andrea hurried over to them. "Dad!"

"And now you got one pissed-off spirit."

"It's gonna take Andrea, Lucas, everyone you love," Sam added. "It's gonna drown'em, and it's gonna drag their bodies God knows where, so you can feel the same pain Peter's mom felt. And then, after that, it's gonna take you. And it's not gonna stop until it does."

"Yeah, and how do you know that?" Jake questioned, his gun still pointed at them.

"Because that's exactly what it did to Bill Carlton."

"Listen to yourself. Both of you, you're insane," he said.

"I don't really give a rat's ass what you think of us, but if we're gonna bring down this spirit, we need to find the remains, salt them and burn them into dust. Now, tell me you buried Peter somewhere. Tell me you didn't just let him go in the lake."

"Dad," said Andrea, shocked of what she was hearing. "Is any of this true?"

"No," he replied, sharply, "They're liars, and they're dangerous."

"Something tried to drown me," she told her father. "Chris died on that lake. Dad, look at me."

Jake slowly looked at his daughter.

"Tell me you…didn't kill anyone."

He couldn't speak. Jake just breathed, heavily.

"Oh my God," Andrea realized.

"Billy and I were at the lake…" he began.

During Jake's story of what happened when he was twelve of what he and Bill did to Peter, Sarah remembered her dream and got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She slipped away without the adults noticing and hurried down to the lake where Lucas was already walking towards it. When she got close, Sarah saw him kneel down and reach into the water. Her father and Lucas' mother called out to Lucas from behind her.

Thinking fast, Sarah ran over in time to pull Lucas away from the lake's edge, by the back of his shirt and shoved him far away from the lake as she possibly could. Lucas looked up at her, scared and confused of why she did it. Sarah was panting up a storm, "You're…welcome," she told him before she felt something wrap around her ankle and yank her into the lake.

Lucas quickly scooted back, farther away even more terrified, especially when Sarah didn't resurface.

When Dean and Sam were close enough, they saw Lucas but not Sarah. Dean sprinted faster and dove into the lake, almost forgetting to take in a breath of air. Sam jumped right in, behind his brother as Andrea fell to her knees beside her son, hugging him to her. She scanned the lake, waiting to see them resurface. They did, long enough to see if one of them had found Sarah. Dean dove back under, frantically searching everywhere.

Andrea looked back to see her father removing his jacket, walking into the lake. "Peter," he called out to the spirit. "If you can hear me…Please, Peter, I'm sorry."

"Daddy. Daddy, no," Andrea told him.

"I'm so…I'm so sorry. Take me instead, Peter. It's my fault! I'm so sorry! Just end it!"

"Jake, no!" Sam yelled out to him.

Suddenly, Jake was pulled down just as Dean resurfaced long enough to take in more air. Dean had to find his daughter. He just had to. No matter what it took, Dean wasn't about to lose her. Sam kept looking, too until he surfaced for the last time, feeling defeated on not being able to find his niece. It pained him to think about it and he barely knew the kid.

Andrea looked over at Sam, holding Lucas close to her. She could see how disappointed he was and understood he may have lost his only niece. She hugged her son, tightly, thankful he was all right when she heard someone rise out of the water. She looked up to see Dean holding his daughter in his arms, who wasn't moving.

Back on dry land, Dean laid Sarah onto her back and put his right ear to her chest. "She's not breathing," he declared. Dean started breathing into his daughter's mouth, pinching her nose as he checked again, in between. "Come on, Sarah. Please be okay. Don't clock out now."

Lucas watched as Dean continued the kiss of life with his daughter. Even Lucas had a scared look on his face. Finally, Sam couldn't bear to see his brother go through all that and stopped him.

"Dean, she's gone," he told his older brother.

Dean looked down at Sarah as tears filled his eyes and one of them ran down his right cheek. He dropped his head and shut his eyes, tight. Sam looked away, gripping the back of his brother's neck as he tried to hide his own tears.

"I'm so sorry," Andrea spoke, softly.

Dean got to his feet and started to turn and walk away. When he was a few feet away, he heard coughing. Dean turned on the spot to see Sarah coughing up lake water, her eyes still closed. "Sarah?" he asked, heading back to her side, falling onto his knees again.

Sarah coughed a couple more times before she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was her father staring down at her, hopeful. "Daddy?"

Dean scooped her up into his arms and hugged her, tight to him as he held his head against hers. Tears of joy replaced the tears of sorrow. Sam was amazed just how much his brother cared about his daughter. Two years ago before he left for college, Sam knew his brother wasn't fond of being around kids and all that love, mushy stuff. Now, here he was, embracing his daughter, lovingly as he let the tears flow. Eventually, Sam had Dean let go so he could hug Sarah, too.

Dean watched his younger brother hug Sarah, thinking of the huge responsibility he had with those two. The weight on his shoulders, he felt. Dean was an older brother and father now and he had to watch out for both.

Eventually, the Winchesters left the lake and headed back to their motel, rechecking in so they could get some rest before they had to leave in the morning. Sarah was the first to shower, followed by Dean, then Sam. When Dean came out of the bathroom dressed as Sam went in, he wandered over to his daughter, who was watching _Hey, Arnold_ on TV as she lied on her stomach, hanging halfway off the foot of the bed.

Dean sat right beside her, on the edge. "That kid has a weird shaped head," he stated, staring at the TV.

Sarah didn't respond. She just continued to watch TV.

He stood up onto his right leg and crawled to the other side of her, lying down next to her. "Sarah," he said.

Sarah pulled her eyes away from the TV to look at him.

"I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. Even though I almost lost you, you did it to save a life and because of you, Lucas is safe and sound," he told her.

"You're not mad I left your side on a hunt?" she asked him.

Dean looked down at the bedspread, "I was," he replied, truthfully before looking back at her. "But if you hadn't of, Lucas could have drowned."

Sarah did the same as her father and looked away for a second. "So, no spanking this time?"

He put his left arm around her and smiled. "No, just hugs and kisses."

Sarah returned the smile they shared.

Dean hugged her to him in one arm and kissed her head, before taking his arm back, folding it underneath him with the other arm. "You're getting a lot better with each hunt, Sarah, especially your boldness. You ran in and helped Sam pull Andrea out of the tub. You saved Lucas from falling in the lake. I have never been so prouder than I am right now. Great job, kid."

Sarah looked at him. "Thanks, Dad. Mom said, great job to me but it always sounded forced. Yours didn't at all."

"That's because I mean it," he said. There was a moment of silence until Dean said, "So, you wrestled with big boys, huh?"

She nodded, "My second cousins are all teenagers. They let me play football with them, and Mark, the one who I was closest to use to teach me how to wrestle. He was the one who gave me my PSP before he left."

"Where did he go?" Dean asked, curious.

Sarah looked away, sadly. "The war in Iraq."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he told her, softly.

"Besides you and Uncle Sam, he was the only one who encouraged me and listened to me."

Dean rubbed her back, up and down, and from side to side. To take her mind off her second cousin, he asked if she could show him what he taught her. Getting up, onto her legs, Sarah pounced on her father and wrestled with him. Not for real, but for fun. Sarah was able to pin her father down with her knee until Dean flipped her over and pinned her down. They continued even after Sam came out of the bathroom, dressed in pajamas and showered.

The next morning, Dean checked them out of the motel, and Andrea and Lucas came to see them off and drop off some sandwiches for the road, handmade by Lucas himself.

Dean and Lucas put the sandwiches in the Impala while Sam and Andrea talked. Dean placed the plate wrapped in plastic wrap on the front seat and sat down, facing Lucas. He sighed, "All right. If you're gonna be talking now, this is a very important phase so I want you to repeat it to me one more time."

Excited, Lucas said, "Zeppelin rules!"

Dean raised his hand up, "That's right, up high."

The kid returned the high five and even gave one to Sarah who was standing beside him. Lucas smiled at Sarah. When his mother and Sam walked over to them and saw his mother give Dean a kiss, he instantly reached over and gave Sarah a peck on the cheek, surprising her.

Dean and Andrea smiled at the scene before Dean stood up and started walking to his side of the Impala. "Sam, Sarah, move your asses," he told them.

Sarah waved good-bye to Lucas and started to get into the backseat when Sam offered her the chance to sit up front again. Excited, she took it, shutting the door as Sam got in the backseat, behind her. Sarah hadn't sat up front since she met her uncle.

Dean put the key in the ignition and put it into drive. The five of them waved good-bye one last time as he drove from the curb. They headed off to continue their search for John Winchester.


	13. Chapter 13: Home (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 13

On a chilly, dark night, behind a tall tree was a woman who tried to scream as she banged on the window. There was only one problem: there was no sound and the blond-haired woman tried desperately to get someone's attention and nothing could be done to help her.

Sarah shot up in the bed she shared with her father, breathing hard. She looked around the dark motel room the Winchesters had checked into for the night, in between jobs. A couple months had passed since their job in Wisconsin. They had several ones in between including one with a demon that was crashing planes, and both Dean and Sarah had to face their fear of flying. Oh yeah, Sarah was definitely a clone of her father Sam and Dean had learned. Believe it or not though, Sarah was more willing to face it than Dean was because she knew they had a job to do and people to save.

After that, they had run-ins with Bloody Mary, a shape-shifter, the Hook Man, and several bugs who were killing anyone involved with a realtor company when a housing development was built on sacred burial grounds. Over the last months since Dean found his daughter, he has seen her grow, mentally and maturely faster than any other kid he knew of. Not that Sarah didn't seem like a kid, she was seven years old, still. However, Sarah was becoming a great hunter like himself. It continued to pain him to see her have to go through this but he never let her get out of his or Sam's sights if he could help it.

Now, as Dean slept, unknown to him that Sarah had woken up in the middle of the night, she happened to look over and see her uncle awake as well. She pushed back the covers and slid down from the bed, running around it to climb onto his bed.

"Did you see the woman, too?" she asked him.

Sam looked at his niece and nodded.

Sarah looked over at the form of her still-sleeping father and then returned her gaze to Sam. "I'll tell Dad I dreamed it so he won't know you did, too."

Sam agreed. "Go back to sleep, all right. We'll figure this out tomorrow."

She nodded and he gave her a comforting hug and kissed her head before Sarah slid down from his bed. She returned to her side of hers and Dean's bed, climbing back into it. Covering herself back up, Sarah snuggled against her father, hugging his upper, left arm to her as he laid on his stomach, hugging his pillow to him. To her, her father was way better than having a teddy bear.

The next morning, Sam sat on his bed drawing the same tree over and over again in a notepad. Sarah sat next to him. "Did you see this tree?" he asked her, keeping his voice down so Dean wouldn't hear as he tried to wrap his head around why it looked so familiar to him.

Sarah nodded up at her uncle. "Yeah," she whispered, "Right in front of the house."

Dean was surfing the internet on Sam's computer, looking for more jobs. He found one about a crew who went missing off the coast of California and some cow mutilations in Texas. Sam and Sarah weren't paying any attention to him, though. "Hey!"

The two of them looked over at Dean.

"Am I boring you two with this hunting evil stuff?"

"No, Dad, we're just trying to sort something out," Sarah told her father.

Sam continued with his tree drawing, "Yeah, but we're listening to you, too."

Dean tapped his pencil on the table as he stared at the computer screen. "And here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head, three times." He held up the last three fingers on his hand towards his brother and daughter but neither of them was paying any attention. He moved the same hand up and down, and from side to side. "Any of these blowing up your skirts, pals?"

Finally, it dawned on Sam why the tree seemed familiar to him. "Wait, I've seen this."

"You have," Sarah asked, "where?"

"Seen what," Dean asked. "Are you two gonna let me in on this little tea party?"

Sam stood up and hurried over to his bag and started digging for his father's journal.

"What are you doing?"

He ignored Dean as he opened the journal and pulled out a photo of him and Dean when they were kids, with their parents. Sarah crawled over to her uncle, curious. She stared at it upside down before Sam stood up, taking the photo with him. "Dean, Sarah, I know where we have to go next," he said, looking between them.

"Where?" asked Dean.

"Back home," Sam looked at Dean with realization in his eyes. "Back to Kansas."

Dean stared at his brother and gave a small laugh. "Okay, random. Where that come from?"

Sam looked away, quickly, stealing a glance from Sarah before he walked over to Dean, setting the photo down. "Ok, uh, this picture was taken in front of our old house. Right? The house Mom died."

Dean picked up the photo as Sarah climbed down from the bed and hurried over to his side to get a better look at it. He looked up at Sam with an okay-where-are-you-going-with-this expression, "Yeah."

"And it didn't burn down, right? I mean, not completely. They rebuilt it right?"

Dean stuttered, confused, "I-I guess so. What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam sat down, "Okay, this is gonna sound crazy but the people who live in our old house…Sarah and I think they may be in danger."

"Why would you two…" Dean quickly looked at Sarah. "You had another dream, didn't you?"

Sarah nodded, slowly.

"Are you sure it's another one of your visions, Sarah?"

She nodded. "Positive, Dad. Why else would I be dreaming of your house?"

"But how do you know it's our house? Because of some tree?" he questioned.

Sarah looked over to her uncle for some help. So did Dean.

"There's something you two aren't telling me," Dean came to the conclusion. "So someone start talking." No one said a word. "Sarah, do I need to hold you down and tickle it out of you."

"No, Dad," she said, backing away. Sarah looked back at her uncle. "Just tell him, Uncle Sam. I did and nothing happened."

Sam looked down, and then stood up, walking away. "Just trust us on this, Dean."

Dean stood up, gently pushing Sarah out of his way as he walked over to him. "Trust you?" he asked. "Come on, that's weak. You have to give me more than that? Tell me what?"

"Uh…I can't really explain it, is all."

"I could explain it," Sarah shrugged from behind her father.

Sam looked over her, "Sarah, hush. You promised."

"Are you making my kid keep something from me?" Dean demanded of his brother.

"It's nothing important, Dean. I promise."

"Fine, if it's nothing important than…" Dean rounded on his daughter. "What's your uncle hiding?"

Sarah backed away, "I can't say, Dad. I was sworn not to tell."

He shrugged, "Okay. If that's how you two want to play." Dean grabbed her up in his arms and dropped Sarah onto the bed. He started tickling her, all over making her laugh. "Ready to talk yet, Sarah?"

Sarah laughed out loud as she tried to squirm away from his reach. It was no use. Dean held her down and did not ease off. "Dad…stop… That tickles!" she managed to say in between laughs and giggles.

Sam stood there, not saying a word. _Maybe it was time for Dean to know_ , he thought. He wondered how long Sarah could hold out before Dean got tired and stopped on his own. Except, Sarah had gave in and confessed anyway, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Okay…Okay! Sam has…visions…too!"

Dean stopped, staring at his daughter in shock as she tried to catch her breath. He looked up his younger brother. "Is it true?"

Sam looked at his niece, sadly and then closed his eyes as he sighed. "Yeah…yeah it's true."

Sarah sat up. "Sorry, Uncle Sam."

"It's okay, Sarah. It's not your fault." Sam looked at Dean. "Just like Sarah, I have nightmares that come true."

"So you both had the exact same dream?" Dean questioned.

Sam and Sarah both nodded.

Dean walked over and sat on the bed behind his daughter, running his hands along his hair.

"I dreamed about Jessica's death days before it happened. Sarah didn't even have to tell me and I still did nothing," Sam explained. "Now we're dreaming about that tree, our house, and that woman screaming for help."

"You said you believed me, Dad when I told you," said Sarah. "You did, didn't you?"

Dean looked over at her. "I…do…I mean I want to believe you, but…" He looked between her and Sam. "People sometimes have weird dreams. It doesn't mean anything."

Sarah looked as if she might cry right then and there. "Dad."

He looked at her.

"I promised myself I would never put my trust out there again after no one believing me and I did just for you. Because you told me you would believe me."

"Look Sarah," Sam spoke up, "We can worry about that later. Right now, this woman may be in danger." Sarah stood up onto her hands and knees, and crawled over to the head of the bed and dropped onto one of the pillows. He just shook his head. "Come on, Dean, let's just check it out." Sam shrugged. "It could be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica."

Dean leaped to his feet and walked away, his back to his brother. He looked back at Sam and forced a chuckle. "First you tell me you got this shining like Sarah and then you tell me that I gotta go back home. Especially when…"

"When what?"

"When I swore to myself that I would never go back there," he finished.

"Look," Sam stood up from his bed, "Dean, we have to check this out. Just to make sure."

He looked at Sam. "I know we do." Dean walked over to the computer and shut it down. "Why don't you start packing everything in the car? Sarah and I need to talk."

Sam agreed and once their stuff was packed, he started loading everything into the Impala. Dean walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, leaning on his knees.

"I'm sorry, baby girl," he told her, staring at the floor. "I'm human, okay. I admit I was a little skeptic about your dreams." Dean looked over at his daughter. "But I also realize how much it took to open up like that and tell me, especially after no one else would. " He shrugged, "I was supposed to be your last chance…"

Sarah lifted her head from the pillow to look over at her father.

"From now on, anything you tell me I will believe you, I promise."

"Really?" she asked him.

Dean nodded at her. "Look, about this next job we may have next…I will be learning from you."

"How?"

"You said you swore you would never open up to anyone and you still did with me," he shrugged. "Me, well, like I told Sam, I swore I would never go back home and it's looking like I have to. We both are doing things we never wanted to do."

"How come you never want to go back home?" she asked.

Dean looked back at the floor. "It hurts too much. I remember everything about that night." He forced another chuckle. "Look at me, telling my feelings to a seven-year-old."

Sarah crawled over to sit beside her father. "When Papa and Gram went to our apartment to pack up our stuff for storage I didn't want to go back either and Mom didn't even die at home."

Dean looked at her. "How come you didn't want to go back?"

This time, Sarah looked at the floor and shrugged. "Too many memories, I guess." Dean put his arm around her. "One of the rare times Mom would have a day off, we would watch TV or play a board game together. Those were my favorite because we spent time together, sort of."

"What do you mean, sort of?"

"We sat on opposite ends of the couch or with a table between us," she explained.

Dean rubbed her upper arm, affectionately and kissed the top of her head. "We better hit the road so we can check out yours and Sam's dream."

Sarah looked up at her father, a look of worry on her face. "Are you gonna be okay?"

He smiled at her, "Yeah," in a soft voice.

She hugged him around the torso. "I'll stay by your side the whole time, Dad."


	14. Chapter 14: Home (Part 2)

Family is Where is the Heart is

Chapter 14

Dean pulled up to his childhood home and parked on the street. He stared at it as he turned the car off. Never had he thought, after all those years, would he be back there. Dean could still hear his mother's voice echo through his mind. He could see the fire. Feel the warmth as it burned up his brother's nursery and soon the rest of the house.

Sam interrupted his thoughts. "You gonna be all right, man?"

A dog barked somewhere in the distance before Dean glanced at him, returning to the house. "Let me get back to you on that," he replied.

Sam stepped out of the Impala first, followed by Dean and Sarah. Dean stopped on the sidewalk, feeling his daughter take his left hand. "Sarah, I'm a grown man, you know," he told her. "I don't need my hand held like a kid on his first day of school."

"I was just trying to help," she told him.

He smiled at her. "I know you were." Dean took his hand away and held it on top of her head as they followed Sam up to the front door. He knocked and a blond-haired woman appeared in the doorway. "Sorry to bother you, ma'am but we're with the…"

Sam cut him off. He and Sarah both recognized her from their dream. "I'm Sam Winchester and this is my brother, Dean and my niece, Sarah. Um…We used to live here. You know, we were just driving by and we were wondering if we could come see the old place, show my niece where we grew up."

"Winchester," she replied. "Yeah, that is so funny. You know, I…I think I found some of your photos the other night."

"You did?" Dean asked, surprised by that. Surely everything would have burned up in the fire. They came out with nothing but themselves.

The woman invited them in and led the Winchesters into the kitchen where there were two kids inside. A girl around Sarah's age, older, and a little boy around two or three. The little boy was bouncing around in his playpen, chanting juice, over and over again. "That's Ritchie," she introduced her youngest child. "He's kind of a juice junkie."

Sarah was looking around the kitchen, her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. She smiled over at Ritchie. "My papa calls me a chocolateholic because of all the chocolate milk I drink."

The woman, Jenny shrugged, walking over to her son, "At least he won't get scurvy and you must have very strong bones." She smiled and then walked over to the table where her oldest child was sitting, coloring. "Sari, this is Sam, Dean, and Sarah. They used to live here."

"Hi," Sari, the little girl greeted, shyly.

Sarah waved at her. "Hello," she greeted back. "My dad and uncle lived here before I was born."

"Hey Sari," Sam greeted next as Dean just waved.

"So you just moved in," Dean said, noticing the still packed boxes around the house.

"Uh, yeah, from Wichita," Jenny replied.

"You got family here, or…?"

"No, I just, uh…Um needed a fresh start, that's all." She paused for a couple seconds. "So, new town. New job. I mean as soon as I find one. New house."

"So how are you liking it so far?" asked Sam.

"Well, all due respect to your childhood home, I mean, you must have lots of happy memories here. But this place has its issues," she told them.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just getting old. Like the wiring, you know. We've got flickering lights, almost hourly."

"Oh, that's too bad," said Dean. "What else?"

"Uh, sink's backed up," she continued. "There's, uh, rats in the basement. I'm sorry. I don't mean to complain."

He shook his head like it wasn't a big deal to him, "No. Have you seen the rats or have you just heard scratching?"

Jenny thought about it first. "Just the scratching, actually."

"Mom," Sari spoke up from the table. Her mother walked over to her and kneeled to her level. Sarah watched. Emily never got down to her level like that. Sarah always had to look up. It wasn't just Emily though. Her side of the family just believed adults had to keep authority over children. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here."

"What, Sari?" Sam asked the little girl.

She looked up at him, "The thing in my closet."

"Oh, no, baby," Jenny told her. "There's nothing in their closets." She looked up at Sam and Dean. "Right?"

"Right," agreed Sam. "No, no, of course not."

Jenny looked back at Sari. "She had a nightmare the other night."

"I wasn't dreaming," Sari told her mother. "It came into my bedroom and it was on fire."

Sarah looked up at her father when she heard that then back at Sari. In all the lore she read, she never read about any supernatural creature that was on fire. Sam was surprised to hear that, as well.

"We have to go," he announced and thanked Jenny for letting them see the house. Once they were outside and out of earshot, Sam told Dean, "You hear that? A figure on fire."

"And that was the woman? She was in your dreams?" said Dean.

"Yeah. Did you hear what she was talking about?" he asked. "Scratching, flickering lights. Both signs of a malevolent spirit."

"A spirit?" Sarah asked.

"Yes."

"But that's what I thought, too until Sari mentioned the thing on fire in her closet."

"Spirits can take any form, Sarah," Sam reminded her. "You think that's what killed Mom and Jessica, Dean?"

"I don't know," said Dean.

"I mean, did it come back or has it been there the whole time?"

"Or maybe it's something else entirely. We don't know," he told him.

"Whatever it is, shouldn't we get them out of the house?" asked Sarah. "I mean, if it's a malevolent spirit than they are in danger like we thought."

"Don't worry, Sarah," Dean assured her. "We will. We just have to figure something out first."

"Uh, we have to get them out now," said Sam.

Dean turned on him. "And how are we supposed to do that? Do you have a plan? A story she'll believe?"

Sarah couldn't take the arguing any longer. It's been bothering her since Sam joined them. "Can you just stop arguing for five seconds?!" she lashed out.

Sam and Dean stared at her, surprised.

"I'm sorry but all you both do is argue. No wonder Larry and that other realtor mistook you for a couple."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks before getting into the Impala and headed for a gas station. "We just gotta chill out, that's all," Dean was saying as he filled the tank up. "If this was any other kind of job, what would we do?"

Sarah was sitting crossed-legged on top of the trunk, to the left of her father. "Figure out what we're hunting," she answered, happily.

"Right, Sar," he nodded.

"Dig up the history of the house," Sam added.

"Except we already know what happened," said Dean.

"Yeah but how much do we know?" he asked. "I mean, how much do you actually remember?" Sam walked over to join them, leaning against the trunk.

"About that night, you mean?"

"Yeah."

Dean shook his head, "Not much. I remember the fire." He was looking everywhere but Sam and Sarah, remembering that night again. "The heat." Dean paused for a long time before he finished. "Then I carried you out the front door."

Sam looked up at him, at that. "You did?"

He looked at Sam. "Yeah. Why, you never knew that?"

Sam shook his head, "No."

"Wait, you never dreamed about it, Sam?" Sarah asked.

"I was just a baby when it happened," he told her.

"So?" she shrugged. "I wasn't even born yet and I dreamed about it more than once."

"Wait, your dreams show what also happened in the past?"

She nodded. "I thought you did, too."

"No, just what will happen." Sam looked over at his brother. "Did you know that she dreamed of that night?"

"Yeah, when she told me about the dreams in the first place," said Dean. "It's weird, though and kind of frightening, but…"

"But what?"

"Sarah not only has these dreams, she's immune to a skinwalker's bite."

Sam looked between his niece and brother. "How do you know that?"

"Before we picked you up, remember that hunt I told you about? We went on just me and Sarah?" asked Dean.

"She got bit?"

He nodded. "I thought I would have to shoot her right then and there but when I used a silver knife to test to see if she was affected, nothing happened."

"Maybe Sarah wasn't bit, after all," Sam shrugged.

"She was bleeding, Sam. All over."

"Wait, so do you think I could have immunity to skinwalkers?" he asked.

Dean turned around and sat on the trunk, too. Sarah scooted forward to sit on Dean's right side since Sam was on his left. "I don't know but I'm not taking any chances."

There was a moment of silence before Sam broke it. "Okay. So if we're gonna figure out what's going on now, we have to figure out what happened then, and see if it's the same thing. Sarah, when does your dream start in of that night?"

Sarah looked at the asphalt, remembering. "Usually, it starts when Grandpa runs upstairs to your room," she told her uncle.

"You never see any kind of spirit or some sort of creature of any kind?"

She looked up to shake her head at him. "No, the yellow-eyed man talks to me then suddenly, it cuts to a vision."

""Yellow-eyed man?" Dean questioned.

"Yeah, he talks to me. Says he has plans for Uncle Sam and me, but mostly him," she explained.

"Plans, what kind of plans?" asked Sam.

Sarah just shrugged. "He won't tell me. He says I'll know when the time is right."

Dean stood up and headed for the restroom. "You two keep talking, I have to use the bathroom." He went around the corner, far away from Sam and Sarah. Looking back over his shoulder, Dean took out his cellphone, calling John. It went straight to voicemail. "Dad," he started. "I know I left you messages before. I don't even know if you get'em." He swallowed hard and looked back over his shoulder again. "But Sarah and I, we're with Sam, and we're in Lawrence, and there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the thing that killed Mom or not, but, I don't know what to do." His voice started to shake a bit as he left the voicemail. "So, whatever you're doing, if you could get here…Please. I need your help, Dad. If it were Sarah in this position, I would come help her in an instant. Please." Dean hung up his cellphone, closing it before putting it away.

He wished John would just let him be found. It had been several months and they still hadn't found him. Now, when anyone calls John, his voicemail tells them to call Dean in case of an emergency.

The three of them asked around town, starting with the garage John worked in at the time Mary was killed and their lives were uprooted. A friend of his informed them how John was always reading strange old books after the fire and how he went to see a palm-reader. Sam looked up all the palm-readers in town and found quite a few. When he read off one by the name of Missouri Mosley, Dean looked it up in John's journal.

"I went to Missouri," he had Sam read, "And I learned the truth."

Dean shrugged, "I always thought he meant the state."

Sarah, curious, took the journal and on the way to Missouri Mosley's house, she started reading it. Every single page. Every little detail John wrote, Sarah read. In fact, Dean had to knock on her window quite a few times before he got her attention. Sarah set the journal on the seat next to her, leaving it open to the page she was reading and stepped out of the Impala, closing her door with two hands.

Inside, they waited while Missouri handled another person who wanted to know if his wife was cheating on him.

"Poor bastard," she said after she walked the guy out, "his wife is cold banging the gardener."

Sarah leaned over and was about to whisper," what did that mean?" to her father when Missouri answered, "Nothing you have to worry about until you're older" as she walked away.

"Wow, she's good," Sarah complimented.

"Thank you, sweetie," replied Missouri when she stopped to look back. She started to walk away when she stopped again. "Well, Sam, Dean, and Sarah, come on already. I ain't got all day." Then she walked away. The three of them exchanged looks between each other before they stood up and followed. "Well, let me look at ya." Missouri gave the three of them an once-over and laughed. "Oh, you boys grew up handsome." She pointed over at Dean, "and you were one goofy-looking kid." She looked down at Sarah. "Sarah here could almost pass as your twin if you had been a girl. She looks so much like you."

"Wait, are you saying I'm goofy-looking, too?" Sarah asked her.

"A little, yes."

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks as if to say, "We're not goofy-looking, are we?"

Missouri turned to Sam. "Sam," she said, taking a hold of his right hand. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry about your girlfriend. And your father, he's missing?"

Sam looked over at Dean before he asked her, "How did you know all that?"

"Well, you were just thinking it, just now."

"Where is he?" Dean asked. "Is he okay?"

Missouri sighed, "I don't know."

He shook his head, "don't know? You…you're supposed to be a psychic, right?"

She gave him a cold stare, "Boy, you see me sawin' some boney tramp in half? You think I'm a magician?" Dean was about to answer when she continued. "I may be able to read thoughts and sense energies in a room, but I can't just pull facts out of thin air."

Sarah was looking around the room. Something felt strange to her. It felt like someone else was there. "We're…"

"The only ones here at this moment," Missouri finished for the little girl. She hesitated then answered, "Yes, no one else here but us."

"Are you sure, because…"

"Girl, are you questioning me?"

Sarah shook her head, no. "No, but…"

"If there was someone here with us, I would know about it."

Sarah quickly hid behind her father for protection. Missouri was a little intimidating to a kid her age.

"Sit, please," Missouri offered.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah walked over and sat down. Sarah sat in between them. Dean was about to put his feet up when Missouri told him not to, threatening to whack him with a spoon. His feet hadn't even left the ground yet.

"I didn't do anything," he said, innocently.

"Well, you were thinking about it," she said across from him in an armchair.

Sarah snickered at her father's predicament.

"I'm so glad you find this amusing, Sarah," he whispered to her.

"Hey, how many other kids get to hear their parents being reprimanded instead of them," Sarah teased him.

Dean just tickled her side for a second before turning back to Missouri.

"Okay," Sam began. "So, our dad."


	15. Chapter 15: Home (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 15

"When did you first meet him?" Sam was asking Missouri Mosley.

"He came for a reading," she replied, "a few days after the fire. I just told him what was really out there in the dark. I guess you can say I drew back the curtains for him."

What about the fire?" Dean asked, leaning on his knees. "Do…do you know what killed our mom?"

"A little. Your daddy took me to your house. He was hopin' I could sense the echoes, the fingerprints of this thing."

"And could you?" asked Sarah, curiously.

Missouri shook her head, "I don't…"

"What was it?" Sam asked her.

"I don't know. Oh, but it was evil. So, you think something is back in that house?"

"Definitely."

Sarah shrugged, "Why else would I be dreaming of a real house I have never seen before?"

"You dreamed it?" Missouri inquired.

The little girl nodded. "I've had others too that came true."

"Sarah and I both dreamed about our family's old house," Sam explained.

Missouri took a deep breath. "I don't understand."

"What?"

"I haven't been back inside, but I've been keeping an eye on the place, and it's been quiet. No sudden deaths, no freak accidents. Why is it acting up now?"

Sam was about to say something but Sarah beat him to it. "Did anyone else live there after the fire and before this family?" she asked.

"After it was rebuilt a family did live there until their children graduated from high school but even then, it was still quiet," Missouri explained.

Sarah looked up between her father and uncle. "Maybe it isn't what killed Grandma. I read somewhere that when evil hits somewhere, it leaves something behind that can attract other paranormal entities. Why else would it be happening now?"

"But with Dad gone missing and Jessica dying, whatever is happening at our house has to be connected with what killed her, Sarah," Sam told her.

"That's just my theory, why don't you share with the class, yours?" she shot back.

"Sarah Lynn, don't talk to your uncle like that," Dean shook his head, scolding her.

"Sarah makes a valid point though," said Missouri. "Maybe I should go check it out for myself and see what this thing is."

Dean helped Missouri out to the Impala. Sam opened the passenger door for her and closed it when she was inside, getting into the back with Sarah. Dean drove back to their old house. Sarah continued reading her grandfather's journal on the way. Sam couldn't believe how far she had read already.

When they knocked on the door, Jenny was holding her son, terrified out of her mind. "Sam, Dean," she greeted them. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Jenny," said Sam. He nodded his head over at Missouri, "Um, this is our friend, Missouri."

"If it's not too much trouble," said Dean. "We were hoping to show her the old house. You know, for old times' sake."

"You know, this isn't a good time," Jenny told them. "I'm kind of busy." She reached out to close the door.

Dean stepped forward. "Listen, Jenny," he said. "It's important." Missouri smacked him on the back of the head. "Ah!"

"Give the poor girl a break," she scolded him. "Can't you see she's upset?"

Sam and Sarah tried to hide a couple snickers.

"Forgive this boy. He means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed," Missouri told Jenny. "But hear me out."

Sarah stopped snickering once she heard her say that. She could tolerate hearing her father reprimanded and smacked upside the head, but hearing comments like that weren't sitting too well with her. When Jenny did let them in after some persuasion, they headed for the stairs. Sarah placed her hand on her father's arm, wanting to whisper something in his ear. Dean looked ahead at Sam and Missouri before bending over to lend her his ear.

"What?" he asked of her.

"Why did you let her talk about you like that, Dad?"

"It's okay, Sarah."

Sarah shook her head. He could tell she was starting to get worked up over nothing. "She called you stupid and you're not." Tears were starting to fill her eyes.

Dean kneeled to her level. "Hey, why are you crying? It's okay, really, Sarah. There's no need to shed any tears. It doesn't bother me in the least. I just ignored it and let it go."

"But I don't like it when someone's mean to you. At first I thought it was funny but she took it too far." Sarah was crying by now, her chest heaving in and out.

Dean noticed and tried to get her to take deep breaths before she started hyperventilating. He stood up and lifted Sarah up into his arms. Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, crying into it.

Her cries brought Jenny in. "Everything okay in here?" she asked.

Dean had his right hand on Sarah's upper back, rubbing it in circles. "Yeah, everything's fine. Excuse us," he told her.

Jenny nodded at him and Dean headed upstairs to Sari's bedroom where Missouri was walking around.

"What happened?" Sam asked in a whisper.

"I'll explain later," Dean replied, also in a whisper. In a normal tone, he asked, "Anything yet?"

"There's a dark energy around here," Missouri repeated what she had told Sam before when they first entered the room. "This room should be the center of it."

"How come?" asked Dean.

"This was your brother's nursery. This is where it all happened."

Dean noticed some eerie whispering. Sarah must have heard it, too because she lifted her tear-stained face, looking around the ceiling. "There's something in here, Dad. I can feel it." She wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her sweatshirt.

"Not just one thing, little one," said Missouri. "There's more than one spirit in this place."

Dean shifted Sarah so he could take out his EMF reader, turning it on.

"That an EMF?" she asked.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"Amateur." Missouri walked away, towards the closet.

He just gave her a cold stare. Sarah watched him as Dean just ignored it. _Meanie Head!_ She thought to herself.

"Name-calling isn't nice, Sarah," she told Sarah, looking around still, trying to identify what was in there.

Sarah sulked on her father's shoulder. "It's not fair," she mumbled. She felt a little better when Dean kissed her cheek, returning his attention to the EMF meter.

"I don't know if you boys should be disappointed or relieved but it seems Sarah's theory was correct. Not one of these energies is the thing that took your mom."

"Wait, are you sure?" Sam asked, anxiously.

Missouri nodded.

"How do you know?"

"I can't feel the same one from the last time I was here," she explained. "They're somethin' different."

Dean turned his head to his daughter. "Sarah, if you can feel something here, yourself, can you feel what it is?" he asked her.

Sarah lifted her head again and looked around the room. She closed her eyes and suddenly a jolt of pain shot through her head. Sarah grabbed it, grunting in pain.

"Sarah?" he asked, concerned and worried now.

"There's two voices in this room," she managed to say.

Sam moved closer, "Can you make out what they're saying?"

"One wants this family dead…the other…I can't make it out." Sarah was squeezing her eyes so tightly, they were starting to water. Dean took her over to Sari's bed and sat her down on it, kneeling in front of her. He had his arms around her, lying on the bed. "It sounds like a woman's voice but…it's hard…I can't hear what she is saying…"

Sam and Dean exchanged quizzical looks between each other. Just what was Dean's daughter, none of them knew for sure.

Dean looked over at Missouri. "Do you know what's going on? Why my kid can hear these spirits?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

He looked over at Sam, "Can you hear them?"

Sam shook his head, "No, but I can sense something."

"She…she's crying," Sarah informed them.

Right then and there, Dean had decided that enough was enough and lifted his daughter back into his arms and carried her downstairs, out to the Impala. He set her on the side of the hood. "Hey, you okay, Sarah?" he asked.

Sarah opened her eyes and looked up at her father. "My head still hurts but I'm okay."

Dean went over and opened his car door, he reached in and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a bottle of Ibuprofen and looked around the inside of the Impala for something to wash it down with. Luckily, Sam came out at that point and Dean asked him to go ask Jenny for a glass of water.

Sam went back inside and returned with the water. Dean broke a pill in half and gave one half to Sarah. She tossed it into her mouth and took a gulp of water, washing it down.

Once Sarah was taken care of, they got to work purifying the house while Jenny took her kids to the movies. Each of them took a floor and pounded holes in the wall to place tied up handkerchiefs of Angelica root, Van Van oil, crossroad dirt, and a few other things. Sam was almost strangled to death but Dean got there in the nick of time. He kicked a hole in the wall with his foot and tossed one in there. The extension cord that had wrapped around Sam's neck, loosened and Dean was able to remove it just as Sarah had gotten there.

They waited for the family in the kitchen. "You sure this is over?" Sam asked.

Missouri looked back at him. "I'm sure."

"I'm not," Sarah spoke up, truthfully. "Something doesn't feel right. I can still feel something."

At that point, the front door opened and closed and the lights came on. "Hello?" came Jenny's voice. "We're home." She looked around the kitchen at the mess that happened when Dean was attacked. "What happened?"

"Hi. Sorry," said Sam. "Um, we'll…we'll pay for all of this."

Dean gave his brother a look that said, "We will?"

"Don't you worry, Dean's gonna clean up this mess." Dean didn't move. Missouri looked back at him, "Well, what are you waiting for, boy? Get the mop. And don't cuss at me." She told him when he turned around, shaking his head as if to say, "what the hell?"

Sarah felt her fists tighten and anger rise up inside of her. She couldn't control it anymore, she had to say something. "Quit talking to my dad like that! You're not his mom, you know!"

Everyone's heads turned towards her at the sudden outburst. Sam bent over and pulled his niece back towards him. "Sarah, calm down. It's okay," he told her.

"No it's not, Uncle Sam," she told him. "Dad didn't do anything to her and she treats him like he's some kid like me. Well, he's not and," she pointed to herself with her thumb, "I'm not gonna stay quiet about it."

Dean came back with a mop and bucket that Jenny had showed him where it was. "Sarah, relax. I told you, it's not a big deal. Just ignore her."

"No, Dad!"

Dean leaned on the mop. "Are you allowed to tell me no, young lady? Should we go out to the car?"

Sarah shook her head. "But…"

"Just leave it, Sarah Lynn." He added her middle name to let her know he meant what he said. Dean understood it upset her to hear him be talked to like that, but if he wasn't going to worry about it then Sarah shouldn't either.

Sarah and Sam helped Dean clean up and took Missouri home before coming back. Dean would have liked to head to a motel to get some rest but Sam and Sarah wanted to keep an eye on the place in case something happened. After a couple hours of waiting, the two of them saw their dream come true. Jenny was screaming at her window. Sam alerted Dean and the three of them ran inside the house. Sarah grabbed her shotgun from under the backseat before she rushed from the car.

Upstairs, Sam told her to get Sari while he grabbed Ritchie. Sarah ran inside Sari's bedroom to find some sort of creature on fire. She sidestepped towards the other girl's bed, holding her shotgun up and reached out her right hand towards Sari. Sari leaped from the bed and hid behind Sarah, which was kind of ironic considering Sari was a little taller than she was. Once Sarah got Sari to the door, Sam was there, holding Ritchie. He picked Sari up and told Sarah to follow him. Sarah backed away, still holding the shotgun up until she was out of the room, then she hurried after her uncle. If she didn't know better, Sarah could have sworn she heard it call her, Dean.

When they neared the door, Sam placed Sari down on her feet and told her to take her brother outside and to not look back. Once Ritchie was on the ground, Sam was pulled back. Sari screamed.

"Get out of here, Sari!" Sarah reminded her and turned on her heels after her uncle. Sam slammed into the kitchen counter then was thrown all over the place. Sarah turned every which way, trying to figure out what to do. Until her father could get in there, she had to do something. "Where are you, you ass?!"

When Sam was able to get to his feet, he was thrown against the wall and was pinned there. Sarah ran over and guarded him, raising her shotgun. Her heart was beating fast and her adrenaline rising with each passing second.

Sam screamed from behind her. "Sarah, get yourself out of here!" he ordered her.

"I'm not leaving you, Uncle Sam!" she told him, facing forward.

They heard Dean yell for them from outside as the fiery creature came from around the corner. Sarah shot at it several times but it wasn't doing a bit of good.

"Sarah! Stop shooting!" Sam told her.

"Why?" she asked. "It's gonna kill us."

"No…no it won't."

Dean got there at that point and raised his shotgun.

"Dean, no."

Dean asked why, as well.

"Because I know who it is," he told them. "I can see her now."

Dean and Sarah stared at the fiery creature as it came closer. It stopped and the fire vanished, revealing its true form. Sarah recognized her from one of her dreams and from Sam's photos. It was Mary Winchester.

Dean couldn't believe his eyes. He lowered his gun, his hand shaking. "Mom?"

Sarah quickly looked up at her father then back at her grandmother's spirit who was walking over to him.

Mary smiled at her first born son, "Dean." She then walked over to her youngest son. "Sam." They stared at each other, no one saying a word. "I'm sorry."

Sam scrunched his eyebrows together, "For what?"

She didn't respond. Instead, Mary turned around fast and walked away, stealing a glance at her granddaughter and smiled. She looked up at the ceiling. "You get out of my house. And let go of my son." At that, Mary burst into flames and shot up to the ceiling. Dean shielded Sarah as they all covered their eyes. Once it was over, Sam was released from the wall and stood there, panting.

Sarah looked around the room. "Now it's over," she said.

Sam agreed.

The next day, Dean was leaning against the Impala, looking through some old photos. The box that kept them safe along with some other stuff was open, sitting in his seat. "Thanks for these," he told Jenny.

"Don't thank me. They're yours," she replied.

Dean tossed them into the box and shut the lid.

Sam and Sarah were sitting on the front porch steps when Missouri came from inside. "Well, there are no spirits in there anymore. This time for sure." She sat down behind Sarah.

Sam and Sarah looked back at the lady. "Not even my mom?" he asked.

Missouri shook her head, "No."

Sam looked ahead for a moment. "What happened?"

"Your mom's spirit and the poltergeist's energy, they cancelled each other out," she explained. "Your mom destroyed herself going after that thing."

Sam looked at her. "Why would she do something like that?"

"Well, to protect her boys and grandchild, of course."

Sam looked away. Sarah reached up and touched his arm, resting her head against his leg to try and comfort her uncle. He used the other hand to rub the side of her head, affectionately.

"Sam, Sarah, I'm sorry," Missouri told him.

They both looked at her, confused. Sam asked, "For what?"

"You both sensed it was here," she replied, "even when I couldn't."

Sam shook his head, looking at the ground, and then looked back at Missouri. "What's happening to us?"

"I know I should have all the answers, but…I don't know."

Dean called out, "Sam, Sarah, you ready?"

Sarah stood up. "Coming, Dad." She turned around to face Missouri. "Um, Miss Missouri…" She placed her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. "Sorry about lashing out at you, last night. I got a little mad and I shouldn't have let my feelings get the best of me." Sarah shrugged. "It's just…My dad means a lot to me and usually when I get that close to someone, I can't just sit back and let someone be mean to them. You're a beautiful lady, by the way." Sarah turned and ran over to the Impala. Dean held his hand out and brushed it along the top of her head as she ran past him.

Sam looked at Missouri. "It's how she was raised, to say something nice to whomever she's apologizing to," he explained.

She looked back at him. "I know," Missouri smiled at him before he stood up, helping her up afterwards. Sam walked over to the Impala, too.

"Don't you three be strangers," Missouri called to the Winchesters.

Dean nodded once, "We won't."

"See you around."

Jenny waved from behind before Sam and Dean got into the Impala. Dean started the engine and with one last look, good-bye, drove away. Sarah was finishing her reading in the backseat already.

Later, Missouri walked inside her house, putting her purse down on the table. "Those kids. I mean, they have such powerful abilities. Why Sam couldn't sense his own father when Sarah could, I have no idea." She walked into the living room where none other than thee John Winchester, the man Sam, Dean, and Sarah were searching for, was sitting on the couch as he rubbed his face in his hands.

He stopped and looked at Missouri. "Mary's spirit," he said. "Do you really think she saved them?"

Missouri was silent for a moment. "I do."

He nodded and looked at his silver wedding band on his left hand, turning it with his other hand.

"John Winchester, I could just slap you. Why don't you go talk to your children?"

John continued to stare at his wedding band. "I want to. You have no idea how much I wanna see'em. How much I want to meet my only grandchild." He paused for a moment. "But I can't. Not yet." He looked at her. "Not until I know the truth."


	16. Chapter 16: Scarecrow (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 16

After finishing a hunt in an abandoned asylum, the Winchesters slept, resting in a motel room. Sam slept in his own bed, of course while Dean and Sarah shared one. Sarah slept hanging halfway off the bed on the side towards the nightstand in between both of them. Her arm hung down as she slept on her stomach, her father's arm around her, protectively.

When the sun was starting to rise, peeking through the blinds of the windows, Dean's cellphone rang from the nightstand. Sarah was the first to hear it. "Dad," she said, half asleep. "Dad, your phone." Dean did not wake up. Neither did Sam. "Dad," she said, a little louder. Sarah lifted her head to look at her father and shook his shoulder. Dean just turned over in his sleep and continued snoozing away. So, Sarah just reached over and answered it for him. "Hello?"

There was a pause first before a male's voice asked, "Is this Sarah?"

Sarah sat up, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Grandpa? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me," he replied.

Sarah looked back at her father's sleeping form. She hurried, quietly from the bed, into the bathroom and shut the door, softly. "We've been looking for you, Grandpa," she told him, keeping her voice down.

"I know, sweetheart," John told her.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about your father and uncle, are they okay?" he asked.

"They're just fine, Grandpa. Dad teaches me a lot." Sarah smiled, proudly.

John sighed, quietly but Sarah still heard it.

"What's wrong?"

"I was hoping your father would have put you up for adoption or something," he told her.

Sarah looked alarmed to hear her grandfather say that. "Do you hate me?" she asked, wanting to cry. "Don't you like me?"

"You're my first grandchild, sweetheart, I love you with all my heart but I never would have wanted this life for you," he explained in a very serious tone. "I didn't even want this life for your father and uncle."

Sarah stood there, leaning against the bathroom door, not saying a word. Finally, she said, "Grandpa."

"Yeah?"

"I know you're looking for what killed Grandma and that you're getting close…I…I…"

"What, sweetheart?"

"I-I…I think I know what it is. I figured it out a long time ago when we killed a demon on a plane," she told him.

John had to smile. She sounded so smart and reminded him a lot of Sam. "Yes, Sarah, it's a demon. How did you figure it out?"

Sarah hesitated before she said, "There's a man that talks to me in my dreams. He says you've been a pain in the ass."

"Language, Sarah," he scolded his granddaughter.

"Sorry," she apologized. "He shows me visions of things like the night Grandma died, and when my aunt died, and I saw Uncle Sammy's girlfriend die, too. I have other dreams that come true. I'm scared, Grandpa. He says he has plans for me and Uncle Sammy but he won't say what they are." Sarah was crying by now.

John tried to calm his granddaughter down, "Sarah, it's okay. I will find him and take care of him, I promise."

"Let my dad and Uncle Sammy help."

"No, it's too dangerous. Look, I need to give your father a list of names. Can you write yet?"

Sarah wiped away her tears on her left arm and sniffed back more. "I'm almost eight, Grandpa, of course I can write."

"Hey," he grinned. His granddaughter was so much like her father at that age. "Don't be a smartass."

She grinned, too.

"Take down these names, okay? I'll help you spell them."

Sarah turned around and opened the door. She went into her duffel bag and pulled out a blue-covered spiral notebook. Sarah took a pen from the inside cover and flipped to a blank page. "Okay, I'm ready."

While John helped her with the names, Sam stirred from his bed. He lifted his head from his pillow and looked over at his niece still trying to wake up. "Sarah?" Sam noticed she was on the phone. "Who are you talking to?"

Sarah looked back over her shoulder and turned forward again, quick. "Uncle Sammy's awake."

"Okay, take down this last couple of names and then hang up. And Sarah," John told her.

"Yeah?"

"Tell your father and uncle they need to stop looking for me, understand?"

"Okay, Grandpa…damn it!" Sarah caught her mistake but it was too late, Sam already heard.

"Is that our dad, Sarah?" he asked of her.

John quickly gave his granddaughter the last names, spelling them out. Luckily, Sarah was a fast writer. It still looked like it was written by a seven-year-old, though. By the time, Sam got over to his niece and grabbed the phone from her, John had already hung up.

Sam was pissed. "Why didn't you give us the phone, Sarah Lynn?" he demanded of his niece.

Sarah looked up at her uncle. This was the first time he had ever raised his voice to her. It was Dean who usually reprimanded Sarah. She backed away, slowly. "I-I…I don't know. I heard it was Grandpa and I just ran to the bathroom. I-I h-had to tell him what I knew."

"And what did you have to tell him that was more important than giving one of us the phone?" Sam's voice was rising more and more as his frustrations was getting the best of him. He didn't mean to raise his voice to his niece and terrify the poor girl but they had been looking for John for six months now and they haven't even come close yet. Now, John finally calls and they miss him.

Sarah stayed silent, staring at the floor as she rubbed at her upper arms.

"If one of our phones rings and we don't hear it, you wake us up. Got it?" he told her, sternly.

She dared a look at her uncle. "I tr-tried to wake Dad but he wouldn't wake up. I'm sorry, Uncle Sam," Sarah tried to explain.

"Then you wake me, Sarah. You don't go and answer it yourself."

"But Dad said I could if he can't."

The commotion eventually woke Dean. He sat up, rubbing his eye with the bottom part of his palm as he leaned on the other hand. "What's going on?"

Sam looked over at his brother. "Dad called."

That woke Dean, fully. "What? When?"

"Just now on your phone but Sarah didn't wake any of us up and he hung up before I could get to it on time," he explained.

Sarah hurried over and climbed onto the bed, crawling over to her father and buried her face into his chest. "I'm sorry, Daddy! I'm sorry!" she cried, her words muffled a little and soaking Dean's shirt with tears. "I did try to wake you but you wouldn't and it was still ringing. I didn't think to wake Uncle Sam, I just remembered you telling me that I could answer your phone when you're not available. I really am sorry."

Dean sat there, holding his daughter's shoulders while she cried into his chest. Finally, he said in a gentle voice, "It's okay, Sarah. You're not in trouble. You did exactly what I told you to do. Settle down, okay before you lose your breath."

Sam couldn't believe it. Their father had finally contacted them after six months of being missing and Dean was acceptable with them missing his call.

Dean shifted Sarah to where she was sitting sideways in his lap. "What did your grandfather say?" he asked of her.

Sarah sniffed as more tears fell from her eyes. He reached over to the nightstand and yanked out a couple tissues from its box. Dean used them to wipe away her tears before folding them once. He then held them on Sarah's nose and told her to blow. Sarah put in all of her strength as she blew into the tissues.

"Good girl," he told her, folding them again and wiped her nose with it. "Now, can you tell me, please?"

She looked up into her father's matching eyes. "He's looking for the monster that killed Grandma. It's a demon."

Sam, who was sulking on his bed as he stared at the floor, looked up. "A demon?" he asked.

Sarah nodded at him. "Grandpa says to stop looking for him, too and to look into a list of names he gave me. There may be a job over in Burkittsville, Indiana."

Sam stood up and went over to the table where Sarah left her notebook and father's phone and looked at the list. Dean stayed where he was sitting, still comforting her.

He rubbed her upper arm. "Is that all you talked about?"

"I told him something to help him," she replied, her head against the left side of his chest.

"What did you tell him?"

She didn't answer right away. "About the demon, that I talked to him in my dreams and that it's onto him."

Dean smiled down at his daughter, "Oh, so you were just warning him."

She nodded then looked up at him. "Grandpa loves me. He hasn't met me yet and he loves me."

"Of course, why wouldn't he?"

Sarah just shrugged.

Sam was on his computer now, researching the list of names John gave. "Sarah, for someone who is very smart for her age, you need to work on your penmanship," he smiled over at her.

Dean looked up at his brother. "She's seven, Sam. Of course her handwriting isn't gonna be neat."

"I know, Dean I was just telling her. I wasn't even being serious, I was messing with her," he explained.

"Dad," said Sarah.

Dean looked down at her. "What, baby girl?"

"Is it June yet?" she asked.

"No, it's April," he replied. "Why, what's in June?"

"My birthday."

Dean raised his eyebrows when he heard that. "Your birthday, huh?"

She nodded.

"So, my little girl's gonna be eight years old. Wow, you're an old woman," he teased her.

Sarah couldn't help smile. "No I'm not."

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Eight's pretty old."

"Then you're really old, Dad," she teased him back.

"Me, nah. I'm not old. Ladies still love me."

"If you're older than I am then you are," Sarah said.

"Okay, I guess you're not that old, then," Dean gave in, smirking at her.

Sarah got up, onto her legs and tackled her father, knocking him back. Dean grabbed her around the waist and pinned her to the bed to tickle her. Sam watched out of the corner of his eye and shook his head. He or Dean wouldn't have gotten off that easily if one of them answered their father's phone at her age.

Once Sam had finished researching, including looking up the phone number John had called from, they got dressed and hit the road.

"So, the names Dad gave us," Sam was saying as he drove this time. "They're all couples that have disappeared over the last few years. All from different towns and states."

"All took a road trip cross country," Dean continued, "never to be seen again. Or heard from."

"Same route took them to a small town in Indiana."

Sarah was leaning over the front seat, looking over her father's shoulder.

"Always on the second week of April," said Dean, looking over at Sam.

"Why?" Sarah asked from her folded arms.

"Don't know, that's what we're gonna find out, baby girl," he told her.

Sam took a deep breath, "So Dad is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?" he questioned.

"Isn't that the whole point of our job?" Sarah asked of her uncle.

"Yahtzee," said Dean to both questions. "Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? I mean the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master."

"Like dad, like son," Sarah smiled.

Dean looked up at her. "Trust me, kid, I am nowhere near as good as your grandfather."

She shrugged, "I think you are."

He kissed the side of her head before returning to the paperwork in his hands. Sarah's notebook was underneath everything, folded open to the list of names.

"Dad, just look at that page, okay?" she told him when she noticed they still had it.

"Why, you have a page in here with your boyfriend's name written all over it?" he asked her.

"No, but I use that notebook as my journal like Grandpa has."

"I won't read it, I promise. I can't say much for your uncle though." Dean grinned over at his brother.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean, I was nine years old," he reminded him. "Sarah, I won't read your journal either," he assured his niece.

"I trust both of you," she told them.

"So, guess our next stop is in Burkittsville, Indiana," Dean changed the subject back to the hunt they were starting.

"No," said Sam out of nowhere.

Dean looked over at his brother, again. "No? What do you mean no?"

Sam pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. "I mean no. We're not going to Indiana. We're going to California."

"What's in California?" Sarah asked.

"Dad called from a payphone in the Sacramento area," he told Dean.

Dean moaned at his brother's stubbornness, "Sam."

"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we gotta be there."

"But Grandpa said to stop looking for him, remember," Sarah reminded her uncle. "He says it's too dangerous for us."

"Maybe for you, Sarah but not us," he said. "We can handle it."

"He's given us an order, Sam," said Dean.

"I don't care. We don't always have to do what Dad says."

"What a good role model thing to say in front of your niece, Sam," he told him, sarcastically. "Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives."

Sam shrugged, "All right, I understand, believe me. But, I'm talking one week here. To…to find answers. To get revenge."

"All right, look I know how you feel."

"Do you?" He scoffed, "How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago."

Sarah shrugged this time, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Stay out of this, Sarah," Sam told her.

"Why," Dean asked, "because she makes valid points every time you try and argue with me? If Dad tells us to stay away, we stay away."

Sam just shook his head. "I just don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him."

"Yeah, it's called being a good son."

Sam opened his door and stormed from the car. Dean rolled his eyes and followed, telling Sarah to stay put. He walked back to the trunk where Sam was getting his stuff.

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want, don't care what anybody thinks."

"That's what you really think?" Sam asked of him, his backpack on.

"Yes it is."

He scoffed, getting the rest of his stuff. "Well, this selfish bastard is going to California." Sam turned and walked away.

"Come on, you're not serious," said Dean.

"I am serious," he called, still walking away.

"It's the middle of the night!"

Sam ignored his brother.

"Hey, I'm taking off!" Dean called after him. "I will leave your ass, you hear me!"

Sam stopped and turned around. He shrugged, "That's what I want you to do!"

The brothers stared at each other for a brief moment before Dean said good-bye and closed the trunk. He walked to the driver's side, putting his hand on the doorknob, looking back one last time. Sarah tried opening her door but Dean immediately shut it and opened his door, forcefully, getting in the car. He started the engine and drove down the road, not looking back. Sam's figure grew smaller and smaller as Sarah watched from the back window.


	17. Chapter 17: Scarecrow (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 17

In the early morning hours right before the sun awoke, Dean drove on the highway, nearing Burkittsville, Indiana. Sarah had been staring out the window for quite a while now. The car was silent except for its engine and Sarah's PSP, playing hers and Dean's music, lying on the seat between them.

Finally, Dean spoke. "Sam's gonna be okay."

Sarah continued to stare out the window.

He looked over at her. "Your uncle's just a little hardheaded and stubborn, always been that way since we were kids." Dean kept his focus on the road, as well, switching back and forth. "Maybe he'll come crawling back, maybe he won't. You can't let it eat at you, Sarah especially since we have another job coming up soon."

Her eyes stayed at the window. "Why didn't you let me get out? I could have tried to talk Uncle Sammy into staying with us."

"No you couldn't, Sarah. Did you not hear me? When that kid sets his mind on something, there is no changing his mind. Trust me. The night Sam left for college, our dad and I tried everything to get him to stay but he wouldn't have it any other way."

There was a moment when no one spoke again as a Metallica song played. Dean started singing along as he drove, drumming his thumbs on the steering wheel.

Once the two of them arrived in Burkittsville, they asked around the small town. Dean thought about calling Sam to see where he was and to check on him, but deciding not to. He and Sarah stopped in at a local car garage and asked if they saw a couple who had just gotten married when they disappeared. Dean passed them off as friends he was looking for.

The owners, a man and woman, also married looked at the flyers Dean had of the young couple and stated they never saw them before. That is, until a young girl possibly around Sam's age came downstairs, carrying a few boxes stacked on top of each other. She asked if the guy had a tattoo and got a look at the flyer herself.

The man changed his mind, stating he did remember them and pointed Dean and Sarah in the direction of an apple orchard. Dean and Sarah thanked them and headed out to where Dean parked the Impala. Driving out to the apple orchard, the EMF meter started going off from the back seat.

Dean looked back over his right shoulder, "What the hell?" He tried to reach back into his duffel bag while trying to watch the road. "Sarah, reach back and see if you can find it."

Sarah stood up onto her knees and leaned over the back of the front seat. "Ew, Dad," she said when she realized where the EMF meter was. "Do I really have to look through your duffel bag?"

"They're clean, Sarah," he told her, "Can you just do it, please?"

Sarah hesitated, not looking forward to going through her father's clothes, clean or not.

"Hurry up, Sarah."

Sarah reached into his duffel bag while looking away as she dug for the EMF meter. The EMF was buzzing louder and louder as she moved her hand around, squirming and moaning when she thought she had touched her father's underwear.

Dean finally pulled over to the side of the road, "For Pete's sake, Sarah." He turned around and dug for it himself. Sarah pulled her hand back, sitting back on her legs. "After the many things we've seen and touched, and you squirm going through my clothes?"

"Dad…" she tried to explain.

"Save it, I don't want to hear any excuses." Dean finally found it and looked at the screen. The meter was going all the way to the right, in the red. He looked around. "Okay, that's weird."

"What's weird?" she asked.

Dean opened his door, "Come on, we're definitely checking out this orchard." He stepped out of the car, followed by Sarah. They both wandered into the apple orchard, looking around. Sarah stayed as close to her father as she could.

"Do you think they'd mind if I take one?" she asked Dean.

He shrugged, "I don't think they'll miss one." He stopped and reached into a crate of apples left behind and handed it to her before picking one out for himself.

Sarah breathed on it, wiping it on her sweatshirt before taking a bite. "Wow, this is the best apple I ever had," she stated, chewing.

"It's a little too good," Dean stared at where he had taken a bite. "Almost like it was perfect."

"There's no such thing as perfect, Dad."

Dean looked around, ahead of him. "Exactly my point." He started walking again until they came to a scary-looking scarecrow, staring up at it. "Dude, you're fugly."

"What does that mean?" asked Sarah.

He looked at her, and then went over to move a ladder in front of the scarecrow. "Another word I don't want you repeating. It's basically short for fucking ugly."

She raised an eyebrow. "Why don't you just say that?"

Dean looked back over at her, his right foot on the bottom step. "Must you question everything?"

Sarah just shrugged and watched as her father climbed up the tall ladder, getting eye-level with the scarecrow. She moved forward to hold the ladder still for him. "Please be careful, Dad," Sarah called up him. Sarah bit her lip when Dean let go to take out the flyers. "What is it?"

"The scarecrow's tattoo matches the guy's tattoo," he called back down.

"What does it mean?"

Dean climbed down the ladder and put the flyers away in his pocket again. "It means, I think we found where everyone disappears."

Dean drove back into town, stopping at a gas pump where the young girl from before was standing beside it. He shut off the engine, and he and Sarah got out, walking towards the trunk.

"You're back," the girl greeted them.

Dean shrugged, "We never left."

"You still looking for your friends?"

He leaned on the trunk, on his left hand. "Mind filling it up there, uh, Emily?" he asked, barely remembering her name.

She nodded, smiling and grabbed the gas pump, sticking it inside the gas tank, in the back of the Impala.

"My mom was named Emily," Sarah told her, without thinking.

Emily looked up at Sarah before standing up. "Was?" she asked, sincerely.

"She died almost eight months ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that, sweetie."

Sarah shrugged, "It's okay, I guess. I have my dad and hopefully my uncle Sammy."

Dean forced a smile. He couldn't help but think of the hurt his kid was going through at the moment and how much it pained her having Sam gone. Dean hoped Sam would change his mind and would call and say he wanted back in with him and Sarah. Sarah had become very close to her uncle. Not as much as her father but close enough to miss him if he ever left.

"So, you grew up here?" he asked Emily, changing the subject.

"Came here when I was thirteen," she replied. "I lost my parents. Car accident. My aunt and uncle took me in."

"My gram and papa took me in until my dad found me," Sarah said.

Dean shrugged, "Well, they're nice people," he told Emily, both adults ignoring Sarah's comment.

"Everybody's nice here," said Emily.

"So, what, it's the, uh, perfect little town?"

She shrugged again. "You know, it's the boonies, but I love it."

"What's the boonies?" asked Sarah.

"Country town," Dean told her.

"Towns around us, people are losing their homes, their farms. But here, it's almost like we're blessed," Emily went on to explain.

Dean smiled and stared ahead before he asked, "Hey, you been out to the orchard? Seen that…That scarecrow?"

She exhaled, sharply. "Yeah, it creeps me out."

Dean chuckled, "Whose is it?"

Emily shrugged, "I don't know. It's just always been there."

He noticed the red truck over in the driveway. "That your aunt and uncle's?"

She looked back. "Customer. Had some car troubles."

"Is it a couple?" Sarah asked her.

Emily nodded down at the little girl, "Mm-hm."

Sarah exchanged looks with her father before they headed over to Scotty's Diner to have a chat with the truck's owners. Dean ordered a coffee for him and chocolate milk for Sarah, and two pieces of the town's famous apple pie. When he heard the couple's truck was gonna be ready at sundown, Dean offered to look at it himself, telling them he could have it running in an hour.

The couple declined, and Dean and Sarah were escorted out of town by the sheriff.

"Now what, Dad?" Sarah asked him.

Dean let out a sigh. "I don't know, baby girl. Guess maybe check to see if there are any libraries or colleges around to find out what is up with this town." He held the steering wheel in one hand.

"It's almost sundown, though," she pointed out. "Maybe we should wait by the orchard and keep that couple from disappearing, too."

"Yeah, that probably would be the smartest move, right now." Dean grinned at his daughter and ruffled her hair.

That night, they hid in the orchard and waited until they caught wind of the couple from the diner. Both of them had their shotguns with them. Screams were heard in the distance and the two of them ran in that direction, running into the couple.

"Get back to your car!" Dean told the couple. They looked back to see the scarecrow alive and coming around the corner. "Go! Go!" The couple took off running, around him and Sarah.

Dean and Sarah then cocked their shotguns and aimed at the scarecrow which didn't stop it in its tracks.

"Sarah, let's go!" he told his daughter before they took off after the couple, shooting back at the scarecrow some more. Sarah was still a beginner, sort of, at sprinting and shooting at the same time and tripped over her own feet. Dean stopped in his tracks and hurried back to help her up, shooting at it when the scarecrow was a few feet away. It stopped it for a brief moment, letting Dean and Sarah get ahead again.

They made it to the couple's car and turned around, shielding the couple with their shotguns raised.

"What?" the man panted. "What…? What the hell was that?"

"Don't ask," replied Dean, facing forward.

Once they knew they were safe, Dean fixed the couple's car for real this time and sent them on their way. While he worked on the car, Sarah had climbed into the backseat and dug into her duffel bag until she found an old book she found at a yard sale in her grandparents' neighborhood. Quickly flipping through the pages, she scanned the book until she came across a picture of a scarecrow.

When the couple was gone, Dean got in the front seat, shutting his door. "What ya up to back there?" he asked, curiously.

Sarah set the book on the front seat and climbed over the back before turning it around to show her father. "I didn't remember it until tonight but I think it has to do with pagan rituals, that scarecrow."

"What makes you say that?"

She pointed to the page, reading it up-side down. "Vanir, a norse god that is known for protection and pro-spere-ity and keeps settlements, it says, from harm."

Dean studied the picture and the page she was reading. "Some practiced human sacrifices, one male and one female." Soon, everything was making sense now. "Where did you get this?" he asked of her.

"Besides trading cards and action figures and cars, I started collecting old lore books I found at yard sales and book stores." Sarah pointed at the book, her finger at the top of the page with words. "This I found at my gram and papa's neighbor's yard sale for ten bucks."

"And your grandparents let you buy it?"

She grinned up at him, "With my puppy-dog look, no one can say no to me."

"You think so, huh?" he smirked.

"Yup," Sarah replied.

"You _are_ exactly like your uncle," he told her.

Dean and Sarah slept there for the night, inside the Impala with the doors locked. The next morning, Dean was awakened by his cellphone. It was Sam. Dean explained what it was and told him what they had found in Sarah's book.

"The scarecrow climbed off its cross?" Sam was asking.

"I'm telling you, Burkittsville, Indiana. Fun town," Dean said, sarcastically.

"It didn't kill the couple, did it?"

"No. I can cope without you, you know," he said.

"So, something must be animating it," Sam said. "Like a spirit."

"No, it's more than a spirit. It's a god. A pagan god, anyway."

"What makes you say that?"

"The annual cycle of its killings and the victims are always a man and a woman like some kind of fertility rite," Dean explained. "And you should see the locals, the way they treated this couple. Fattening them up like a Christmas turkey."

Sam nodded, "The last meal, given to sacrificial victims."

Sarah stirred, half asleep, lifting her head from her father's right leg. Dean switched ears and rubbed her upper, right arm, affectionately. "Yeah, I'm thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god."

"So a god possesses a scarecrow," Sam figured out.

"And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice," Dean finished. "And for another year, the crops won't wilt and disease won't spread."

"Do you know which god you're dealing with?"

"Yeah, Vanir, a norse god," he explained. "Sarah has this old book on this stuff and matches what we're dealing with. We just have to find this really old tree and burn it to the ground." Dean grinned, "It looks like I have a new geek kid to do research for me."

Sam had to smile at that then frowned. "How's she doing?"

Dean looked over at his daughter who was sitting up now and still trying to wake up, rubbing at her eyes, before looked down. "She really misses you."

"She does?"

"Yeah, and I want you to know…" Dean paused for a moment. "I mean, don't think…"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, too," Sam finished, knowing exactly what his brother was trying to say.

Dean swallowed a lump in his throat. "Sam…you were right."

Sarah looked over at her father when she heard her uncle's name. "That's Uncle Sammy? Is he coming back?"

He shushed her with his hand as he told Sam, "You gotta do your own thing. You gotta live your own life."

"You serious?" asked Sam.

"You've always known what you want," he continued. "And you go after it. You stand up to Dad, and you always have. Hell, I wish I…" Dean tried to fight back some tears coming as Sarah watched him, sitting on her left foot now. "Anyway…I admire that about you. I'm proud of you, Sammy."

Sam shook his head, blown away by his brother's words, "I don't even know what to say."

"Say you take care of yourself," he told him.

"I will. What about Sarah?"

"She'll be fine," Dean said. "Call me when you find Dad."

"Okay. Bye, Dean."

Dean closed his cellphone, hanging up on his brother.

Sarah continued to watch him. "Why couldn't I talk to him?" she asked, disappointed.

He didn't answer. Instead, Dean stepped out of the car to get some fresh air. Sarah leaned back against the seat, picking her foot up towards her, her knee sticking up. She rested her arms across her stomach and stared off into space as she thought about her uncle, her father, and everything else that had happened in the last several months.

After half an hour, she heard something as if someone was whacked over the head with a shovel. Sarah looked up to see her father nowhere in sight. Getting out of the car, she looked around. "Dad?" Sarah yelled out. "Dad, where are you? Dad!"

Suddenly, someone came up behind her and whacked her over the head with a shovel. Everything went black.


	18. Chapter 18: Scarecrow (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 18

Sarah awoke in a bed, in what seemed like a log cabin. She looked around the room and groaned when she realized where she was. There was a tall dresser across the room with a mirror but nothing else. The bed was the bottom part of a bunk bed one would find at camp. Sarah had been there plenty times before.

"Hello, Sarah," a male's voice spoke up from on top of the dresser. "It's been a while since we last chatted."

Sarah glared over at the man with yellow eyes. "And I was enjoying every minute of it, too."

The man jumped down and walked over to stand at the foot of the bed. "I heard you told your grandfather I knew he was after me. Not a wise decision, was it."

Sarah looked alarmed. "Why? What did you do to him?"

He shrugged, "Nothing…yet." The yellow-eyed man flashed an evil grin at her which made the hairs on the back of her neck rise. He walked away from the bed, turning back to face Sarah. "So, our Sammy ran away to go after your grandfather." The yellow-eyed man laughed.

"What's so funny?" Sarah demanded of him. "I miss my uncle."

"What's funny is I'm not there anymore. I can't stay in one place for long, I have stuff to do. Young soldiers to round up."

Sarah tried to stand up but was thrown back onto the bed, on her back.

"Now, now. Don't want to do that," he told her.

"Why are you doing this?" Sarah demanded of the yellow-eyed man. "Why are me and Uncle Sam special?" She tried to struggle to her feet but it felt like she was pinned to the bed, some invisible force keeping her down.

The yellow-eyed man walked over and lowered his face, inches from hers. Sarah's nose wrinkled. "Your breath smells like kitty litter and not the fresh kind either. The kind after the cat uses it."

"You're in no position to make snide remarks," he told her. "If you must know, I need the strongest of you special children to do something for me."

Sarah was trying to fight her fear but having him that close and staring into his yellow eyes and listening to him wasn't helping any. "B-but what could I do?" The fear was very apparent in her voice as Sarah felt tears start to fill in her eyes.

"I normally wait until each kid is at least twenty-two but you…" The yellow-eyed man pulled back but continued to stand beside the bed. "When I saw you, two years ago, Sarah Winchester, I knew you were the most special of them all. Maybe more than your uncle Sammy and he's…He's something." He was grinning as he nodded at the wall above the head of the bed.

Sarah looked at him, trying to lift her head. "Only my dad and I can call him, Sammy," she told him.

He just chuckled, coldly. "Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Keep up the nice work, kid 'cause the time will come when the real fun begins."

Suddenly, the lights went out and the room was pitched black. Sarah sat up, quickly. She wasn't in the room anymore. Looking around, it looked like she was in a cellar. Dean was shoving his body against the cellar doors.

He stopped and looked back when his daughter bolted awake. "You okay, Sarah?"

Sarah touched the back of her head where it still kind of hurt, trying to get her thoughts together.

"You were out for a long time. I was starting to get worried there."

Sarah looked up at her father and jumped up to her feet, running up the steps to her father. She wrapped him in a hug.

Dean grew concerned as he felt her grip tighten on him. "Baby girl, what's wrong? It's okay, we'll get out of this, I promise. I've been in worse cases than this."

She didn't respond. Sarah just kept holding on to him. The cellar doors opened behind him, letting in the afternoon gloomy light.

Scotty and Emily's aunt and uncle were standing there. Scotty was holding a shotgun rifle down to Dean and Sarah. "It's time," Emily's aunt stated.

Dean and Sarah looked up at them. The men tied the two of them up and loaded them up in Emily's uncle's truck. Out in the orchard, he and Scotty tied them each to a couple of trees. The sheriff was there, as well.

"So, how many have you killed, Sheriff?" Dean was asking him as he tied Dean's arms above his head. "How much blood is on your hands?"

The sheriff stared down at him when he was done. "We don't kill them."

"No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried?"

Emily was there, too. It was apparent to Dean and Sarah that she had no clue of any of the town's rituals. She looked between them. "Why are you doing this? For God's sake, she's a child," Emily asked her aunt and uncle.

"It's the last night of the cycle and we need a male and female," her aunt explained to her. "We don't want to do this either but we have no choice."

"She's my daughter, you know," Dean yelled over to her. "Not my girlfriend or wife. How will that work?"

"You're a man and she's the closest to a woman we have besides our niece. If your daughter wasn't here, we would have no other choice but to sacrifice her and we are relieved to know that isn't the case."

Emily stared over at her aunt, in disbelief. "You would do that to your own family?"

"We don't, though. We have her." Her aunt nodded over at Sarah, who was struggling against her binds.

 _Great!_ Sarah thought. _I was just binded before I woke up, now I really am. That's just…great._ She looked up at them. "Don't do this, let us go," Sarah pleaded with them. "Life isn't perfect. You can't expect to not have hard times. It's a part of life, that's what my papa said once. He got where he is today from all the hard work he did. So, why go through all this trouble of feeding a scarecrow?" Her pleas were falling onto deaf ears as they stared at her.

"It's all for the greater good," Emily's aunt told her, calmly.

"Give it up, Sarah," Dean called over his right shoulder. "They won't listen. They're just a bunch of dicks." He was staring up at the sheriff when he said the last part. Dean watched as they watched away. "Hope your apple pie is freaking worth it!"

Dean heard Sarah sniff back some tears. "So, what's the plan?" he heard her ask.

"I'm working on it," he told her.

Soon, it got dark and cold out as crickets chirped. Sarah tried shifting where she was sitting. After sitting on the hard ground for a couple hours, it felt like she couldn't feel her bottom. "Dad, you don't have a plan, do you?"

"I'm working on it," Dean replied.

"It's been forever, Dad and my butt and arms are numb, and I'm not sure but I think I need to pee."

He threw back his head, against the tree. _Of course!_ He thought to himself. "Can you see the scarecrow moving yet?"

Sarah tried to look back, over her left shoulder around her arm but she couldn't see anything. She could hear movement though. "No, but I hear it." Sarah's heart started racing until she heard a familiar voice.

"Dean? Sarah?"

Sarah's heart settled down when none other than Sam appeared. "Uncle Sammy!" she replied, happy and relieved to see her uncle.

Dean was relieved, too. "Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you," he said as Sam cut Sarah loose first then hurried over to him and cut Dean loose. "How'd you get here?"

"I, uh," Sam said, cutting through the binds, "I stole a car."

He laughed, "That's my boy! Keep an eye on that scarecrow."

"Dad, Uncle Sam! The scarecrow's gone."

Dean stood up, fast, taking a look for himself. "Crap," he said. "Come on, you two." The Winchesters took off at a run.

"Now, this sacred tree you mentioned before," Sam panted as he ran. "Did you find it yet?"

"No, not yet," replied. Dean. "But we will in the morning. Right now, let's just shag ass before Leatherface catches up."

Suddenly, the sound of shotguns cocking was heard and flashlights shined in their direction. The three of them looked around and saw they were surrounded. Emily stepped in the center, joining the Winchesters.

"Please just let them go," she pleaded with the townspeople as eerie groans were heard.

"It'll be over quickly," her uncle told her. "I promise."

"Please," she continued. "It's wrong."

"Emily, we have to let it take them. We have to…" Suddenly, the scarecrow came up from behind him and slashed her uncle with its small sickle. It grabbed Emily's aunt and his body and carried the two of them away into the shadows as her aunt's screams echoed through the orchard.

Emily screamed, too at the sight and turned to Dean for comfort. Sarah wanted to go after the scarecrow but Sam pulled her back.

"We have to do something, Uncle Sam," Sarah told her uncle.

"There's nothing we can do, Sarah," he said, holding her back. "We can't save them all."

Sarah stopped struggling and laid her head against his leg. She felt everyone they try to protect should be saved. Sarah didn't want anyone to die. Sam rubbed the side of her head.

The townspeople had taken off like the cowards they were when the scarecrow had showed up. Dean hurried Sam, Sarah, and Emily over to the road and stopped, looking back. They heard the eerie sounds once more than there was nothing.

The next morning, the Winchesters and Emily returned with a red, plastic gas can. Emily showed them where the tree was and Sam poured the gasoline all over it. Dean picked up a long stick and took his lighter out of his pocket.

"Can I light it, Dad?" Sarah asked, wanting to do a part, too.

"Sure, but be careful," he told her, holding the lighter out to her.

Sarah took the lighter and flicked it on while having some trouble at first. The lighter didn't want to light. Dean guessed it was almost out. When it did light, she held the lighter under where he showed her to light it. Emily was the one to throw it on the tree, though, not caring if her town would die afterwards. They watched as the old tree burned up.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other.

"Hey, all that's missing is some marshmallows," Sarah laughed, ruining the moment.

Dean couldn't help but crack a smile at his daughter. He wrapped his right arm around her head, pulling Sarah against him as they continued to watch the tree burn.

They gave Emily a ride to the bus stop where Dean and Sarah waved good-bye.

"Think she's gonna be all right?" Sam asked, looking over at his brother.

Dean shrugged, "I hope so."

"Me, too," Sarah agreed, looking up at the men.

"And the rest of the townspeople, they'll just get away with it?"

"What will happen to the town," said Dean, "will have to be punishment enough." They started heading over to where Dean parked the Impala.

Sarah looked up at her uncle. "Does this mean you're staying with us?" she asked of him.

Sam smiled down at his niece. "Yeah, I think you two are pretty much stuck with me."

That brightened the little girl's face. She hugged his legs to her, tightly.

Dean looked back at his younger brother, surprised. "What made you change your mind?"

Sam looked up from his niece. "I didn't," he replied. "I still wanna find Dad and you're still a pain in the ass."

Dean just shrugged, smiling.

"But Jess and Mom, they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You and me, and Sarah, we're all that's left," Sam shrugged, making Sarah look up as she still kept her arms around his legs. He glanced down at the ground, then said, "So, uh, if we're gonna see this through…we're gonna do it together."

Sarah smiled up at her uncle, her chin resting on his leg.

There was a moment of silence before Dean ruined the sentimental moment with his quirky remarks. "Hold me, Sam," he told his brother. That was beautiful." Dean placed his hand on Sam's right shoulder but Sam knocked it away, smiling. Dean walked over to his side of the Impala as Sarah let go.

"You should be kissing my ass," Sam called after him. "You both were dead meat, dude."

"Yeah right, I had a plan," he replied. "We'd had gotten out."

"I still think you didn't," Sarah said from Sam's side of the Impala before running over to climb into the backseat.

"You hush, Sarah," Dean teased as he got in and shut his door.

Sam was the last one to get in the Impala before the family drove off, out of town and on to what was in store for them next.


	19. Chapter 19: Faith (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 19

The Winchesters were on yet another hunt. This time they were after a Rawhead that had taken a couple children and the only way to kill it was using electricity. They hurried inside the old, abandoned house, down to the basement where they found the children inside a cupboard, scared to death. Sam hurried them up the stairs where something had grabbed his ankle, yanking him down. When he managed to stand, Sam tossed Dean his Taser gun since Dean already used his and quickly got the children out.

Sarah helped with the children, too but ran back inside just as the Rawhead was closing in on Dean as he tried to hurry to where he had dropped the gun. Thinking fast, Sarah shot hers at it. The Rawhead was electrocuted to a crisp, killing it. Unfortunately, the Rawhead and Dean were both inside a puddle of water and if watching _Pokémon_ has taught her anything, it's that water conducts electricity.

Sarah dropped the gun and hurried over to her father, water splashing everywhere from her feet. She fell beside him and tried to shake Dean awake. Nothing happened. "Dad, please wake up," Sarah pleaded, trying hard not to cry. "Please don't die. Don't die, Dad. You can't die."

At that moment, Sam ran down the basement stairs. "Dean!" he said when he saw his brother, unconscious. He hurried over and tried the same thing Sarah was doing.

Once the police had arrived for the children, the officers called for an ambulance to pick up Dean. Sam had to hold his niece back as the paramedics loaded her father into the back of the truck before they followed in the Impala. Sam drove with one hand on the steering wheel as the other was wrapped around Sarah.

"It'll be okay, Sarah," he assured her. "Your dad will be fine, I promise." Sam was mostly trying to assure himself into believing Dean was going to pull through. He couldn't lose his big brother, he just couldn't. Dean had done everything for Sam, pretty much their whole lives. How could Sam live without him? He didn't even want to think about it. And poor Sarah. She had already lost her own mother. She couldn't lose her father too, especially within one year.

At the hospital, Sam did the necessary paperwork and spoke to the police, lying about why they had been there. Dean's doctor had finally come out to speak to them after waiting there all night.

"Hey, doc," Sam said, "is he…?"

"He's resting."

Sarah was hanging onto her uncle's right leg, listening as well and praying her father was okay. The last few hours had not been easy. In fact, she couldn't even sit still. Sarah paced the floor of the waiting room. It didn't help calm Sam's nerves either to watch her.

"And?" asked Sam.

"The electrocution triggered a heart attack," the doctor explained, making Sarah grip Sam's jeans tighter in her hands. "Pretty massive, I'm afraid. His heart is damaged."

"How damaged?" Sarah asked, her voice cracking, sounding like a caught mouse when a cat is after it.

"We done all we can," the doctor explained. "We can, uh, try and keep him comfortable at this point, but I give him a couple weeks at most, maybe a month."

Sarah started breathing, heavily.

"No, no," said Sam, "There's gotta be something you can do. Some kind of treatment…?"

"We can't work miracles. I really am sorry."

Sarah lost it, into her uncle's leg as she cried loudly. Some heads turned in their direction as Sam looked around at them. He reached down and picked Sarah up into his arms and tried to comfort her. The doctor showed them to Dean's hospital room, leaving them alone.

Dean was watching TV, flipping through the channels and stating he wanted to hunt down the _Snuggie_ teddy bear before he turned his attention to his brother and daughter. He turned off the TV and dropped the remote beside him. He gestured for Sam to place Sarah beside him and took her into his arms.

Sarah cried into his chest, balling her eyes out. "I don't want you to die, Daddy!"

"Hey, look at me," he told her, in a stern tone.

Sarah shook her head, against him.

"Look at me, Sarah Lynn," Dean said, his voice louder a tad bit.

She slowly looked up at her father, sniffing loudly.

"It's a dangerous gig, it was bound to happen sooner or later," he explained to her. "It'll be okay, though. Sam will take good care of you and my car, and if he doesn't I will haunt his ass."

Sam shook his head, listening as well. "I don't think that's funny."

Dean looked up at his brother, "Come on, it's a little funny."

Sarah sniffed, "It's not, Dad."

"You two have no sense of humor," he told Sarah and Sam both. "But, anyway Sarah, I want you to be strong for me. Okay? Be the big girl I know you are."

She shook her head, fast. "No, I don't want to be a big girl anymore. I want you, Daddy."

This was Sam's first time seeing the seven-year-old in her since the other time he was more focused on his lower half being in pain. It pained him to have to see his niece like this. It hurt to lose his big brother, but to see a small child lose her father. He wasn't going to let it happen. Not on his watch, anyway. "Trust me, Sar," he spoke up, "I'm gonna find a way to save your dad."

Dean shook his head. "Don't get her hopes up like that, Sam. I'm gonna die and there's nothing you can do."

"Watch me."

Sam checked into a motel, nearby and got to work on calling every contact in John's journal, trying to see if anyone knew what to do about Dean's situation. Sarah wanted to stay with her father at the hospital and spend every lasting second with him but Dean had insisted she'd go with Sam.

Dean lied there, staring off into space as he thought of his daughter and brother. He was leaving them to fend for themselves. No longer would he be there to protect them. Sure Dean trusted Sam to watch out for Sarah but who was going to watch out for Sam? John was God knows where, hunting down that demon.

He closed his eyes as tears leaked from them, sideways. He saw his little girl, clear in his mind, smiling that crooked grin they both shared. His already pained heart ached more as he thought about her, about how Sarah would deal with losing him. She pretty much worshipped the ground he walked on. If Dean didn't know better he swore he was her hero. Sarah was always trying to copy his moves during a hunt, doing exactly what he did. The way he held his gun, the steps he took; everything.

Dean opened his eyes as his tears blurred his vision. "Oh, baby girl, Sammy," he thought out loud to himself. "I love you both. I can't…why did this have to happen? I can't leave you, not yet. It my job to keep you both safe. You're my responsibility." Dean ran his hands along his face and through his hair.

After some time, he realized he needed to spend every second left with them and pushed himself out of the bed, and quickly got dressed.

Sam was leaving his father a message. "Hey, Dad," he said into his cellphone. "It's Sam. Uh…"

"Answer the phone!" Sarah yelled from beside him.

Sam jerked back in utter surprise. "Sarah, please." He returned to the phone call and finished leaving his father the message as Sarah returned her headphones to her ears, listening to Carrie Underwood this time. Classic rock wasn't her only favorite music. Sarah also liked her music, as well. Emily was into all kinds of country music but was only able to get her daughter into one singer.

Sarah kept playing it over and over, singing along now and then. Sam tried to ignore it, but when his niece started to sing louder, he reached over and gently smacked her foot, motioning to lower the volume.

When Sam hung up there was a knock on the door. He shook his niece's right ankle, beside him and motioned for her to be quiet before he stood up, and cautiously went over to answer it. To his surprise, Dean was standing there. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Dean hobbled in, holding onto the doorframe. "I checked myself out."

"Are you crazy?"

"Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital when the nurses aren't even hot," he lied.

Sam scoffed, "You know this whole 'I laugh in the face of death' thing, it's crap. I can see right through it."

Dean turned away, "Yeah, whatever, dude." Sarah was right beside her father, trying to help him even when he started walking over to one of the beds. She reached up and held his arm in both hands as Dean limped on a cane. He couldn't help but notice his daughter trying so hard to be strong for him like he told her to. "Have either of you even slept? You look worse than me, especially you, Sam."

Sam helped his brother, too. "I've been scouring the internet for the last three days." They all sat down. He sat on his bed, Dean and Sarah sat on hers. The only time Sarah laid on her bed was during the day. In the middle of the night, she would get up and moved to her uncle's bed, falling asleep against him as he sat up in bed, on his computer. "Calling every contact in Dad's journal."

Dean asked, "For what?"

"For a way to help you," he replied. "One of Dad's friends, Joshua, h-he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. Specialist."

"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are ya?"

Sam grinned, "I'm not gonna let you die period. We're going." He drove them to a huge, white tent in Nebraska where a lot of people were gathering inside.

Sarah quickly got out of the backseat to try and help her father again.

"Sarah, for the last time, you're not strong enough to hold my weight," Dean told her for the umpteenth time since they left the motel. "I got it, okay?"

She stepped back, watching him step out of the car. "I just wanted to help," she said.

Dean cupped the side of her face in his left hand as he leaned against the Impala. "I know you were, baby girl," and he kissed her forehead. Dean let Sarah at least shut his door for him as he started walking. "You're a lying bastard, Sam. I thought you said we were going to see a doctor."

"I believe I said a specialist," replied Sam as he walked beside Dean. "Look Dean, this guy is supposed to be the real deal."

Dean walked, hunched over with his hands in his jacket pockets. "I can't believe you bought me to a guy who heals people out of a tent."

An older woman walked by. "Reverend La Grange is a great man."

"Yeah, that's nice," he told her, not giving a crap.

"We just want you better, Dad," Sarah smiled up at him.

They passed by a couple cops talking to someone who was protesting about the whole thing. Dean looked back at them, "I take it, he's not part of the flock."

"Well, when people see what they can't explain, there's controversy," explained Sam.

Dean looked at his brother. "Come on, Sam, a faith healer?"

"Maybe it's time to have a little faith, Dean."

"You know what I have faith in?" he asked.

"What?" Sarah asked.

"Reality," he answered. "Knowing what's really going on."

Sam scoffed, "How can you be a skeptic with the things we see every day?"

"Exactly, we see them, we know they're real."

"The wind's real and we can't see that," Sarah pointed out.

Dean turned back to his daughter. "We can feel it."

"Well…" Sarah tried to think of a comeback. "You can't see air, either."

"That's pretty much the same thing as the wind, Sarah."

"Uh…" She tried again, wanting desperately to win this argument. Nothing came to her mind, though.

Sam came to his niece's aid, "Dean, if you know evil's out there, how can you not believe good's out there?"

"Because I've see what evil does to good people," he replied.

"Maybe God works in mysterious ways." The Winchesters looked over to see a young woman with long, blond hair and carrying an umbrella, standing in front of them.

"That's what my Sunday school teacher says," Sarah told the woman who smiled at her.

"Did they now," she replied.

Sarah nodded. "She taught us a lot about God."

Dean got a good look at the woman. "Maybe He does," he smiled at her in his usual flirtatious way. "I think you just turned me around on the subject."

Sarah grew excited until Sam shook his head at her. He lowered his head to whisper, "your dad's trying to flirt again" inside her ear.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the woman replied to Dean.

Dean held his hand out to her, "I'm Dean. This is Sam and Sarah."

"Hello," Sarah smiled as the woman returned the handshake.

"Hello," she smiled at the little girl. "I'm Layla. She must be yours, Dean. She looks just like you."

He smiled in return, nodding once.

"So, if you're not a believer," Layla said, changing the subject, "then why are you here?"

"Well, apparently my brother and daughter here, believes enough for the three of us."

Sam and Sarah both smiled at that.

Another woman, older this time walked up to Layla. "Come on, Layla," she said. "It's about to start."

Layla told the Winchesters, bye and walked inside the tent.

Dean watched her. "Well, I bet she can work in some mysterious ways."

Sarah looked up at her father, confused. "Huh?"

"Nothing," he said and started walking towards the tent, too.

Inside, Sam found two empty seats left, towards the front and helped his brother sit down before he sat in the other chair. "Come here, Sarah," he told his niece. "You can sit on my lap."

Sarah crossed in front of her father and allowed her uncle to pull her onto his left knee, wrapping his arms around her waist as the service started. It had been awhile since she had been in a church setting if one could call this a church. Sarah was young though and wasn't even sure what a real church looked like from the inside. She had never gone into the service with her grandparents. She always went to her Sunday school class with the other kids.

The three of them were looking around at the many people wanting to be healed. To Dean, if by some miracle all this was real, he figured they needed it more than he did. He couldn't believe Sam had dragged him there and got Sarah excited in the process and who was going to have to break the news to her when Sam's plan blew up in their faces? That's right, he was. Dean wanted to spend his last few weeks spending time with the two of them. That's why he left the hospital in the first place. Not to spend it in a tent, listening to a guy say he can heal people when really he most likely couldn't.

The service began and a blind, middle-aged man walked out on stage wearing sunglasses. He started talking when Dean mumbled, "Or into their wallets" and the reverend heard him.

Dean apologized.

"No, no. Don't be," he said. "Just watch what you say around a blind man, we got real sharp ears."

Dean gave a small smirk.

"What's your name, son?"

He cleared his throat, "Dean."

"Dean," the reverend repeated and nodded. "I want…I want you to come up here with me."

The crowd applauded, especially Sarah.

"No…No, it's okay," Dean told him when it died down.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked in a low voice to his brother.

"Y-you…you've come here to be healed, haven't you?" the reverend asked.

"Dad, go up there," Sarah urged her father, pleadingly.

Dean hesitated, "Well, yeah but uh…maybe you should pick someone else."

"Oh, ho. No," he said, "I-I didn't…I didn't pick you, Dean, the Lord did."

Sarah slid down from her uncle's knee and inched around her father's legs to stand in the aisle. She took ahold of his left arm that was still in his pocket and tried to pull Dean to his feet. "Come on, Dad. Please, for me?" She tried to give him her best puppy-dog face until finally Dean gave in and allowed his daughter to pull him to his feet.

Sarah walked him up to the stage before she hurried back to sit on the edge of Dean's chair, grinning from ear to ear like a kid on Christmas morning. She watched as the reverend placed his hand on her father's head, even after everyone else but Sam bowed their heads to pray. When Dean fell over, Sarah immediately jumped back up and ran to his side, climbing onto the stage.

Sam followed, too.

"Dad, are you all right?" she asked on his left side.

Dean didn't say a word. He was just staring ahead as if he saw someone vanish. Sarah and Sam didn't seem to notice the person though.

Outside, Dean felt like his old self again. He even lifted his daughter up into his arms and hugged her. Something didn't feel right to him though. Something was urking at him, like something wasn't right about what just happened.

Out of nowhere, a young male's voice called out in their direction. "Hey, Sarah!"

The three of them turned to see a man around Dean's age, sitting in a wheelchair with a young woman, the same age, standing behind him.

Sarah could not believe who it was, her eyes wide in surprise.


	20. Chapter 20: Faith (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 20

Sarah could not believe who she was staring at. She hadn't seen him in over a year, not since he left for Iraq. Now, he was standing, or rather sitting there, right in front of her. Sarah ran over and jumped into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck as she called out, excitedly, "Mark!"

The young man, Mark held onto the little girl, tightly.

"I missed you so much, Mark," she told him from his shoulder.

"So did I, Sar Bear," he replied. Mark unhooked her arms and looked at her. "But what are you doing here?"

"My uncle Sam and I brought my dad here to be healed."

Mark looked at her as Dean and Sam walked up.

Dean asked, watching Mark like a hawk, "Sarah, mind introducing us?"

Sarah climbed down from her second cousin's lap and went over to stand in between her father and uncle, turning around to face Mark. "Dad, Uncle Sam, this is my cuz, Mark." She moved her head towards Mark, "Mark, this is my dad and uncle Sam."

Dean held his hand out to him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Dean," he told him. Mark never took the handshake, he just looked at it. Dean took his hand back, feeling the air get really awkward as Mark continued to stare at him. "So, um…"

"So, you know my niece," Sam finished for his brother, trying to make small talk, also feeling the awkward tension.

Mark looked at him. "Yes," he replied. "Guess you can say I taught her everything she knows."

"Not everything, now Dad teaches me stuff," Sarah spoke up, happily.

Mark looked at his second cousin. "Like what?" he asked, curious.

"I can't say, it's the family business," she told him.

He looked up at Dean, staring daggers at him, coldly.

Dean rubbed the back of his head, clearing his throat. He could tell this guy had beef with him, most likely about Sarah's mother. "Uh, Sam," he turned his head to his brother. "You mind taking Sarah to the car and waiting for me? I'll be there in a minute."

Sam nodded once, "Sure."

Sarah tried to object. "But I want to keep talking to Mark. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"I know, baby girl," Dean told her. "I will make sure you can see him again before we leave town."

She moaned as she followed her uncle to where they parked the Impala. When they were out of earshot, Dean turned back to Mark. "Want to tell me why you're giving me the stink eye?" he asked of him.

"You slept with my cousin and then left her without a good-bye, you arrogant sack of shit," Mark replied, coldly.

"Look, we all do things we regret as youngsters," Dean said in his defense.

"Yeah, the stupid ones," he scoffed. "Emily cried for days after she stopped hearing from you. And then when she finds out she's pregnant, she tries to call you one last time and you still don't pick up your phone. I told her to have an abortion and she had her heart set on it, too then she decides to keep it all of a sudden,"

Why couldn't Dean remember ever hearing about Emily being pregnant? Even if he had missed her call, he would have checked his voicemail. "Well, obviously you cared about our daughter because you were teaching her to wrestle and play football, and Sarah seems like she looked up to you," Dean shrugged at him.

"Yeah, because I'm not the kind of guy who takes it out on a kid for some jerk-off's dumbass decision."

"Okay, I get it," he said. "Yes, I screwed up and got a girl pregnant. It was a mistake that I wish I could take back, but let me tell you something, pal. That little girl back there," Dean pointed over his right shoulder with his thumb, "she is the beautiful outcome of it. The only good thing that came out of a couple one night stands."

Mark continued to stare up at him, "Yeah? Well that outcome cost my cousin her own life. Emily had to quit school just so Sarah could be clothed, fed, and have a roof above her head. Emily had to do things that she was not proud of."

Dean crossed his arms across his chest. "Yeah, like what?"

"Did Sarah ever tell you they were homeless for a month before my uncle finally managed to find them?"

Dean's arms loosen as his mouth slowly dropped open. "H-h-homeless?" He thought that over in his head. Sure, Dean, Sam, and Sarah didn't have a permanent house to live in they still had a nice warm bed to sleep in, now and then. Dean didn't even want to think about how terrified Sarah must have been during that time, if she even remembered. "I'm sorry, all right."

Mark shook his head. "Don't even apologize. Emily could have gone places, done things but she couldn't. She was tied down to motherly duties, all because of you. And what is it you're teaching her, by the way? Deuce bag 101?"

Dean leaned on the guy's wheelchair, his face inches from Mark's. "I said I was sorry. You don't know our life. You don't know what we're going through. What your own cousin is going through."

He looked away, trying not to look Dean in the eye.

Dean stood up. "Sarah has told me some things about her mother, but never had she said anything bad about you. I'm beginning to think she was lying or something. You don't seem like the role model she goes on about." With that said, Dean turned and walked away, leaving Mark sitting there to sulk. He saw Sam in the driver's seat again so Dean got in on the passenger's side, slamming his door shut.

Sam and Sarah watched him. "You okay?" Sam asked him.

He placed his elbow on the door and happened to glance up as Mark's woman friend was pushing Mark to their car. Dean looked back at Sarah. "Sarah, do you remember ever living on the streets with your mother?"

An eyebrow slowly rose as she stared back at her father. "I don't think so. Why?"

Dean turned forward and leaned his face against the back of his fingers. His nose was resting on his knuckles. Maybe she was too young to remember. Sarah could have been a toddler at the time. It hurt to hear about his daughter having to sleep out in the cold with barely any food. A tear escaped his eye. They must have seen it, too because Sam asked, "dude, are you crying?"

He quickly wiped it away. "No I'm not crying. Ugh," Dean wiped at his eyes. "My eyes have been itchy and watery since that guy healed me."

"Well, I just called the nearby hospital to see if you're completely better," he told him.

Dean moved his hand to the side of his forehead and leaned on it. "I'm fine, Sam."

Sam shrugged, "I just want to make sure." He drove to the hospital where the doctors ran some tests on Dean's heart. They didn't find anything wrong with him. Nothing, it was as if Dean had never even had an electrocution to his heart.

The Winchesters learned of another man that died just yesterday to a heart attack. Dean's age, too. In fact, it strengthened Dean's bad feeling. So, he sent Sam to find any information on the guy while he and Sarah went to talk to the reverend.

"I feel great," he was telling the reverend and his wife. "Just trying to make sense of what happened." Sarah was leaning over his right knee, her arms hanging over. She loved the hunts where she could be herself and sit with her father.

The reverend's wife sat down. "A miracle is what happened.

Dean nodded at her.

"Well, miracles come so often around Roy."

He looked over at Roy. "When did they start, the miracles?"

"Woke up one morning stone blind," Roy explained. "Doctors figured out I had cancer, told me I had maybe a month. So, uh, we prayed for a miracle. I-I was weak, but I told Sue Ann, 'you just keep right on praying.' I went into a coma. Doctors said I wouldn't wake up but I did. And the cancer was gone."

Sarah looked up at him, listening.

Roy removed his sunglasses, "If it wasn't for these eyes, no one would ever believe I had it."

"So, you can't see a thing?" she asked, with a normal childhood curiosity.

He shook his head. "Not a thing."

Sarah held up four fingers on her right hand. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Roy laughed while Dean popped her on her bottom. It wasn't too hard, just enough to get his point across. Sarah didn't even flinch or yelp.

"Sarah, knock it off," he warned her.

"No, no, it's all right," Roy told him. "Kids are usually the most curious when it comes to my blindness."

"So, then you were able to heal people?" Dean asked. "Once you woke up I mean."

"I discovered it, afterwards, yes," he replied. "God's blessed me in many ways." Roy placed his sunglasses back on.

"And his flock just swelled overnight," Sue Ann added. "And this is just the beginning."

Dean looked down at Sarah, who was now trying to balance on his leg as she held her legs up. "Can I ask you one last question?" he asked.

Roy nodded at him, "Of course you can."

He licked his upper lip, "Why? Why me? Out of all the sick people, why save me?"

Sarah looked back up when she heard her father ask that. Why couldn't he just accept it? She didn't understand how he could keep questioning and arguing about being saved.

"Well, like I said before," Roy told him. "The Lord guides me. I looked into your heart and you just…" He shook his head, "stood out than all the rest."

Dean was silent for a moment before he asked, "What did you see in my heart?"

"A young man with an important purpose, a job to do. And it isn't finished."

"You mean like, being my dad?" Sarah asked, hopeful.

Roy shrugged, "Maybe. Only the Lord knows your dad's future."

Sarah looked up at her father who was watching her. She smiled at him. Dean forced a smile for her before thanking Roy and Sue Ann for their time. He stood up and headed for the door. Sue Ann walked them out.

As Dean and Sarah were coming down the stairs, Layla was walking up to the house. "Dean. Sarah, hey," she greeted them with a smile.

The two of them stopped. "Hey," Dean returned the greeting.

"Hello, Layla," Sarah also returned.

Layla looked at Dean. "How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"I feel good, cured, I guess," he replied. "What are you doing here?"

"You know, my mom, she wanted to talk to the reverend." Layla's mother was coming up the steps towards them.

"Layla," said Sue Ann, stepping closer to them.

"Yes," Layla looked over at the older woman before walking over to her. "We're here again."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but Roy is resting. He won't be seeing anyone right now."

Her mother wasn't thrilled to here Sue Ann say that. "Sue Ann, please," she pleaded with her. "This is our sixth time. He's got to see us."

"Roy's well aware of Layla's situation, and he very much wants to help just as soon as the Lord allows. Have faith, Mrs. Rourke." Sue Ann touched her shoulder and then went back inside.

Mrs. Rourke sadly looked at the ground and turned away. When she looked up, Dean and Sarah was standing right there in front of her. She stared at Dean like she was trying to figure him out. "Why are you even still here?" she asked of him. "You got what you wanted."

"Mom, stop," Layla told her mother, stepping towards them.

Her mother looked at her. "No, Layla," she said. "This is too much. We've been to every single service. If Roy would stop choosing these strangers over you," Mrs. Rourke looked back at Dean, "strangers that don't even believe."

Sarah glared at her from her father's side.

"I just can't pray any harder."

Sarah eased off when Mrs. Rourke said that, remembering when she was praying for her own mother every single day, right up until Emily died. She knew when constant praying and receiving no answer was no fun. It still bugged her how her prayers for her father were answered but not for her mother. Did God hate her mother or something, she wondered.

Dean looked over at Layla. "Layla, what's wrong?"

Layla took in a deep breath and shook her head like it was nothing. "I have this thing."

He shrugged as if to ask, "and?"

Mrs. Rourke answered, "It's a brain tumor."

That shot Sarah's head up again, her attention caught.

She walked in between the three of them. "It's inoperable. In six months, the doctors say…" Layla touched her mother's shoulder.

"What's inoperable mean?" Sarah asked her father.

Dean looked down at her, sadly. "It means Layla can't have an operation to get rid of it," he explained.

"But my mom had a lot of operations, they just didn't help."

"Did your mother have a brain tumor, honey?" Layla asked Sarah.

She nodded up at her, slowly.

"It must have been another kind of tumor, then."

"It caused her to lose her memory. Then she died during her last surgery," Sarah told her.

Layla looked at the little girl, sadly. "I'm sorry to hear that. So, if the reverend hadn't of healed your dad, you would lost both of your parents, huh?"

Sarah nodded and rested her head against her father's leg. "All in one year, too."

Layla looked at Dean. "Her mother just died not that long ago?"

He nodded, brushing Sarah's hair with his fingers.

She shook her head, slowly, "That would have been very hard for a young child to handle, I bet. I'm relieved the reverend choose you then."

"I still would have offered you or someone else my place," Dean shrugged. "She has her uncle, and her grandfather is out there, somewhere. They would have taken care of Sarah. Not that I don't love her, I do. Her and my brother, they're the only thing I live for, you know?"

Mrs. Rourke turned sharply to look at him. "Children have to learn the harsh reality someday. That's still isn't an excuse why you deserve to live more than my daughter." With that, she headed back down the steps.

Layla followed after her.

Dean watched them go then looked at the ground. Sarah interrupted his thoughts, "Dad, am I selfish?" He squatted down to her level, "Why would you think that?"

"Because I wanted you to be healed when other people needed to be healed, too," she said.

"Sometimes, when a loved one is in that spot, all you can think of is them getting better," he explained. "You block out all the rest like they don't matter. It's a normal human thing, Sarah."

A tear escaped her right eye and ran down her cheek. "What if Layla doesn't make it? What if she dies like my mom did?"

Dean looked down again for a moment. He looked up at her, "Sometimes, people die, baby girl. It's a part of life and sometimes we can't do anything about it. Maybe Layla will get better," he shrugged, "maybe not. I don't want her to die, either but who knows what will happen."

Sarah stared at the ground, listening until her father was done talking, then she looked up at him. "Life sucks."

Dean had to smile at that. "Don't I know it, baby girl."


	21. Chapter 21: Faith (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 21

Dean unlocked the door to their motel room, letting Sarah in first and shut the door behind him. He tossed the keys on the bed, closest to the door before removing his jacket, not saying a word. Sarah wandered over to her uncle, who was sitting at the small table, on his computer.

She wrapped her arm around him, "Hey, Uncle Sam. Did you find anything?"

Sam kissed her head. "Hey, peanut," he told her.

Dean had tossed his jacket on the bed farther from the door and walked over to them. "What did you find out?" he asked his brother.

"I'm sorry," Sam told him.

He stared at him. Sorry about what?"

"Marshall Hall died at 4:17." Sam let out a sigh.

"The exact time I was healed," Dean realized.

"What does that mean?" asked Sarah, looking between her father and uncle.

"Well, I put together a list. Everyone Roy healed, six people over the past six months," Sam explained. He reached for a stack of papers and handed it to Dean, "and I cross-checked them with the local obits. Every time someone was healed, someone else died and each time the victim died of the same symptom Le Grange was healing at the time."

"So someone is healed of cancer, someone else dies of cancer?" Dean questioned.

"Somehow, La Grange…" he let out a deep breath. "…is trading a life for another."

Dean, who had sat down across from his brother, shook his head. His bad feeling was taking a turn for the worst as he learned the truth behind Roy's "healing powers." "Wait, wait, wait. So…Marshall died to save me?"

"Dean, the guy probably would have died, anyway, and someone else would have been healed."

"You never should have brought me here," he said, standing up once again.

"Dean, I was just trying to save your life," Sam told him. "For Sarah's sake," he nodded towards his niece still beside him.

Dean was walking away. He turned back to face him, raising his voice, "But, Sam, some guy is dead now because of me."

"I didn't know."

Sarah stared at the floor, torn. Torn between her father alive and well, and torn from the fact that someone had to die in order for Dean to live. She loved him so much that she never, ever wanted to lose him. But to think of this Marshall guy dead. His friends and loved ones crushed from the lost and now probably grieving over him. Sarah didn't like it. In fact, she ran from the room and out of the lobby, pushing the front, main doors with full force that it flew open and bounced closed after she was outside.

She hid her face in her arms that she folded them on the hood of the Impala and cried. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't Roy have been a real healer? Why couldn't her father have been healed without anyone having to die in his place?

If luck would have it, Mark was sitting out there, puffing on a cigarette, enjoying the chilly, cloudy day of the beginning of May. He had looked over when he heard the door fly open and saw Sarah run out.

He took one last puff and flicked it on the ground. The lit cigarette landed in a shallow puddle. Mark wheeled over to her. "What's wrong, Sar Bear?"

Sarah lifted her head and sniffed back a whole lot of mucus. "Roy's a fake," she just blurted out, without thinking of what she was saying and who she was saying it to. "Someone else died so my dad could be healed. Who probably didn't even deserve it."

Mark stared at his second cousin. "A fake?" he asked. "I traveled all the way from South Dakota just to hear the guy's a fake?"

She sniffed, wiping her eyes. "What's with you, Mark?"

He held his arms out. "My legs."

"What happened to them?"

"I was wounded over in Iraq during a battle. I told my friend to just leave me there and save himself. Well, he's dead and I'm alive. Not even able to use my legs." Mark looked away, at the wet pavement. "I rather have died then live like this."

Sarah dried her eyes and scrunched her eyebrows together. She stepped towards her second cousin. "Didn't you tell me once that it's not what's on the outside that counts, it's what's on the inside?"

"That was before, Sar Bear," he told her, sadly. "Now, just thinking about sitting here not able to do anything… I rather be dead."

Sadness turned to anger. "Don't say that, Mark!" she snapped at him. "Just because you can't walk, doesn't mean you're useless. Don't you look around when you see Roy heal someone? See the pain they're going through? There's people who are worse off than you, Mark. Like today, someone miles away, died so my dad could live. My dad has to live with that fact. That Roy ended the man's life so he could heal my dad."

"Big deal, it should have been me," he replied. "You don't know what your dad did. To you. To your mom."

Sarah stepped forward, towards her second cousin just as Dean opened the door. "My dad didn't do anything to me or Mom. He wasn't even around, remember?!"

Dean froze in his tracks, holding the door open. He shook his head and said, "Sarah, come inside. You know better than to run out like that without your uncle or me."

She turned and walked over to her father, looking up at him. "I'm sorry, Dad."

"Just don't do it again," he told her. Looking over at Mark, Dean said, "Stay away from my daughter. The last thing she needs is you filling her head with a bunch of crap."

Sarah looked back at Mark, then at Dean. "What's going on? Are you both fighting?"

"It's nothing, Sarah. Let's go back inside." Dean placed his hand on the back of his daughter's head and led her inside the door. They headed back to the motel. "What's wrong," he asked her.

She shoved her hands inside her sweatshirt pocket. "It ain't fair, Dad."

Dean looked ahead. "I know, but neither you or Sam knew."

"It still doesn't make it right," Sarah told him, bitterly.

"True." He stopped in front of their room's door and turned to face her. He had been walking with his hands in his jeans pockets. "You know what I have to do though, right?"

Sarah stared up at him and shook her head. "No, what?"

"Think, baby girl. You ran out without me or Sam, into a parking lot where something could have happened to you."

Her eyes grew wide when it finally sunk in. Sarah backed away. "I said I was sorry, Dad. I was upset."

"And I realized that, but I have told you never to leave the motel unless Sam or myself was with you."

Sarah hugged her father's legs to her. "Please don't, Daddy. I won't do it again, I promise."

Dean just looked down at her. He closed his eyes, hating the fact of what he had to do when they got in the room. This was the part of fatherhood he was not looking forward to but knew he had to do it. Sarah had to learn what she needed to know. He had to keep her safe and that meant doing what he told her to do. Dean removed his hands from his pockets and lifted his daughter up into his arms, rubbing her back in circles. He kissed the side of her head and carried Sarah inside.

"Sam, can you step out for a moment while Sarah and I have a chat?" he asked of his brother.

Sam nodded and stood up, closing his laptop. "I'll go get a soda. Want one?"

"No, but get Sarah a Sprite."

He nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Dean sat down on the foot of the bed, closest to the door, setting Sarah on his lap, facing him. "Look at me," he told her, nudging her off his shoulder. "I understand you were upset by what Sam said. Believe me, I'm pissed, too. But that's no reason to go running out to the parking lot. What if someone had taken you, Sarah? What if someone had hit you with their car?"

Sarah wiped her nose on her sleeve, sniffling.

Dean watched her, grossed out. "We have got to wash your sweatshirt, kid," he stated, looking her sweatshirt over.

"I won't do it again," she told him.

"I know you won't but I still need to punish you for this time."

Sarah hid her face in his chest. "Please don't, Daddy," she pleaded with him.

Dean rubbed her back, his chin resting on top of her head. "I have to, baby girl. I hate to, but I don't have a choice." Dean then lifted her off of his lap and tried to lay Sarah on her stomach. She fought against him as best as she could but lost. He wrapped his arm around her waist and began to spank her, pulling way back on his strength so he wouldn't seriously hurt her.

Sarah cried out, trying to get away but her father kept his grip on her. After a dozen swats, Dean stopped and pulled his balling child back into his arms.

"It's over, baby girl," he assured her, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry I had to do that. But I was very serious about you not leaving my sight. I just don't want anything to happen to you, that's all."

She was crying on his right shoulder. "I want Uncle Sammy."

"He'll be back. Sam went to get a soda." Dean's heart ached, hearing his daughter request for someone other than him. He hated having to punish his little girl. Sarah still loved her father, though and Dean knew it. He remembered the many times when John had punished Sam, and Sam only wanted Dean.

After a few minutes, Sam knocked, peeking his head in. Dean told him he could come in and Sam walked in, closing the door behind him. When Sarah saw her uncle was back, she got off of her father's lap and ran over to him.

Sam stacked the soda in his right hand onto the one in his left, and lifted his niece up, careful of her sore bottom. He walked over to the table to set the cans down. Sam then rubbed his left hand on his shirt before rubbing Sarah's back in circles.

Sarah cried into her uncle's chest, hugging his neck. "Shh, shh, it's okay, peanut. I got ya," he told his niece in a gentle voice. Sam looked over at Dean who had his face in his hands, knowing both of them were having a tough time with this. "We care about you and don't want anything to get you." She just continued to cry into his chest.

After a while, once Sarah was feeling better, the Winchesters discussed what it was they were hunting. Dean had come to the conclusion that it was a reaper.

"You really think it's thee grim reaper?" Sam was asking him. "Like Angel of Death, collect your soul, the whole deal?"

"No, no, no," said Dean, looking up from his research. "Not the reaper, a reaper. There's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on Earth, go by a hundred different names. It's possible there's more than one of them."

Sarah was sitting at the table, looking at the pictures of reapers. "But Dad, you said it was a guy in a suit. Aren't they skeletons in black robes, that carrying around a scythe?" she asked.

Dean shook his head. "Sam, you said the clock stopped, right?" He held up a picture of a reaper skeleton holding an hourglass. "Reapers stop time. And you can only see them when they're coming at you which is why I could see it and you two couldn't."

"Right, I know that but…" Sarah said.

Dean cut her off. "Times are different and I am sure reapers updated their attire. There, satisfied?"

She nodded.

"Maybe," Sam muttered.

"There's nothing else it could be, Sam," Dean told him. "The question is, how's Roy controlling the damn thing."

"Are you sure it's Roy?" asked Sarah.

He looked up from his research. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. When we talked to Roy, he looked like he really believed he can heal people. Maybe it's someone else. Maybe Sue Ann is doing it or something. I mean, the guy woke up from a coma with "healing powers," no one could cock that up, themselves." Sarah did quotation marks with her fingers when she said, "healing powers."

"You could be right, Sarah," Sam spoke up, from realization. "That cross."

Dean and Sarah looked over at him. "What was that last part?" asked Dean.

Sam picked up a deck of Tarot cards, and began scanning through them. "There was this cross, I…I noticed it in the church tent. I knew I seen it before." He found the card and scoffed, showing it to his brother. Sarah got up, onto her legs, leaning on the table to see, as well. "Here."

Dean took it, looking at it. "A tarot?"

"It makes sense," he said. "Tarot dates back to the early Christian era, right? When some priests were still using magic, and a few of them veered into the dark stuff. Necromancy and how to push death away, how to cause it."

"So, Roy," Dean glanced at his daughter, "or Sue Ann, possibly," he turned back to Sam, "could be using black magic to bind the reaper."

Sam took the card back," They are then they're riding a whirlwind. It's like putting a dog leash on a great white."

Sarah was trying to figure out her uncle's last statement. "How do you put a dog leash on a shark?"

"It's a figure of speech, peanut," he told her as Dean stood up to put his cup in the sink.

Dean turned around and leaned against it, on his hands. "Okay, then we stop them."

"How?" asked Sam.

"You know how."

"What the hell are you talking about, Dean? We can't kill them."

"Sam, whether it's Roy or Sue Ann, or whoever, they're playing God. They're deciding who lives and who dies. That's a monster in my book."

"No, we're not going to kill a human being, Dean," Sam told him. "We do that then we're no better than they are."

"Okay, we can't kill them," said Dean, "we can't kill death. Any bright ideas, college boy?"

Sam looked down, "Okay, uh…if one of them is using some kind of black spell on the reaper, we gotta figure what it is and how to break it."

They drove back to the church's tent to find some answers on how Roy or Sue Ann was controlling the reaper. Sam and Sarah searched their house, while Dean tried to keep Roy from healing anyone. If things weren't bad enough, Roy had chosen Layla next, which made it harder for Dean to stop it. Sure enough, he did. Sam had found an old spell book with news clippings in it of people, one of them or both, thought were immoral. Heading outside, Sam and Sarah tried to keep the reaper away from the protestor in the parking lot while Dean faked a fire, getting everyone out. It didn't stop the reaper though until Dean saw Sue Ann and hurried over to her, catching her with a cross necklace.

Sue Ann called for help and Dean was dragged out of the tent. After stating she was disappointed in him, Sue Ann told the police that they could let Dean go with no charges. Dean saw Layla who also couldn't believe what Dean had done and walked away from him, sadly. Dean felt worse than she did about the whole thing.

"So Roy really does believe," Sam was saying when they were back in the motel room.

Dean was looking out the window where he saw Mark smoking again. "I don't think Roy has any idea what his wife is doing."

"Well," he said, holding up the spell book, "I found this hidden in their library. It's ancient. Written by a priest who went dark side. There's a binding spell in here for trapping a reaper."

Dean had sat down beside where Sarah was sitting on the bed next to the one Sam was sitting on. "Must be one hell of a spell."

"Sam agreed, "Yeah. You gotta build a black alter with seriously dark stuff: bones, human blood." He shook his head, "To cross a line like that… That preacher's wife… Black magic, murder. Evil."

Dean looked through the book as Sarah looked, too. He looked up at Sam, "Desperate. Her husband was dying, she would've done anything to save him. She was using the binding spell to keep the reaper away from Roy."

"Cheating death," Sam nodded and chuckled. "Literally."

"But why keep doing it if Roy's okay now?" Sarah asked them.

"Good question, baby girl," said Dean.

"Right," agreed Sam, too. "To force the reaper to kill people she thinks are immoral."

He scoffed, shaking his head and shutting the book in his hands. "May God save us from half the people who think they're doing God's work."

"We gotta break that binding spell, Dean."

Dean glanced up at Sam and reopened the book to a picture of a cross. "Sue Ann had a Coptic cross like this and when she dropped it, the reaper backed off."

Sam placed his hand on his knee, "So you think we gotta find the cross or destroy the alter?"

"Maybe both," shrugged Sarah.

"Possibly," said Dean, "but whatever we do, we better do it soon. Roy's healing Layla tonight." He stood up and headed over to the kitchen. They drove once again back to the tent in time for the healing service to begin. "If Roy had picked her instead of me, she'd be healed right now."

Dean, don't," Sam told him.

"And if she's not healed tonight, she's gonna die in a couple months."

Sarah leaned over the back of the front seat. "It's like you said, though, people die. It's a part of life," she reminded her father.

"And you also said this, yourself, Dean," Sam added, "You can't play God."

Dean didn't respond to any of them. He stared over at the tent where Roy and Layla were starting the service. Dean knew it was all true, he just wished it wasn't. Eventually, he opened his car door and stepped out. Sam and Sarah followed, all shutting their doors.

While Dean distracted the police, Sam and Sarah hurried up to Roy and Sue Ann's house, wandering around the porch for a way in. Sam noticed some cellar doors and hurried over to them. Sarah followed, closely behind. She looked around as Sam opened the doors. He climbed in first, letting Sarah in before he closed the doors behind them. Uncle and niece descended the stairs that led into the cellar. The room was dark as they looked around.

Sarah was the first to notice a table with a bunch of black magic stuff and lit candles laid out on it. "Uncle Sam," she pointed with her thumb at the table.

Sam hurried over to the table and looked at it.

"Ew, gross," she said, beside him.

"What were you expecting? Thanksgiving dinner?" he asked her. Sam noticed a picture of Dean with a black X over his face. He picked it up and looked at it.

Sue Ann's voice startled them from behind. "I gave your brother life and I can take it away."

The two of them turned their heads to find her standing behind them. Sam now angered, told his niece to move out of the way where he tipped the table over, knocking everything off. He and Sarah then ran after Sue Ann in time to have the cellar doors shut in their faces. Both Sam and Sarah tried to push them open but Sue Ann held it closed with a piece of board.

"Can't you both see? The Lord chose me to reward the just and punish the wicked, and Dean is wicked. And…"

That overly set Sarah off. "My dad is not wicked!" With the hardest push she could muster, something happened and the board snapped in half as the cellar doors flew open, sending Sue Ann flying back into the air.

Sam stared at his niece for a second, unable to comprehend what just happened before he realized they were on a job. He hurried from the cellar and ran over to where Sue Ann lay on the ground, on her back where he yanked the cross from her neck and threw it on the ground. The cross shattered into pieces, and blood oozed out from inside.

Sue Ann quickly got to her knees and kneeled over the broken cross as Sarah hurried up, behind her uncle. "My God. What have you done?"

"He's not your God," Sam told her.

She looked up in time to see the reaper standing there, staring back at her, grinning. Sue Ann tried to run but it reappeared behind her and placed a hand on her head. Sam and Sarah watched as the life was sucked out of her and lay lifeless on the ground.

Sam looked around then walked away back to the Impala, putting his arm around his niece. They met Dean there. "You okay?" he asked Dean.

"Hell of a week," Dean replied.

"Yeah."

"You can say that again," agreed Sarah.

"All right, come on," said Sam. "We should get going."

After a good night's sleep, the Winchesters packed up to leave town. Layla came over to say good-bye. Sam and Sarah left the two of them alone, grabbing some drinks for the road.

While Sam was putting in the first dollar in the soda machine, he couldn't help remember Sarah's little episode from the night before. "Hey Sarah, about last night," he said, pressing the Coke button.

"What about it?" she shrugged.

"How did you do that? Open those doors I mean."

She shrugged. "I don't know. Strange stuff like that happens when I'm really mad or scared."

Sam reached down and grabbed the can of soda and took another dollar from his wallet. He shook his head, placing the dollar inside the machine. "You just opened that like it was made of paper. And you're only seven."

"Seven and a half, actually," she told him. "It happened when Dad and I were on that skinwalker job, too."

"Sarah, don't tell me you're still reading that crap." Mark had wheeled up to them while the two of them were talking.

"Mark…uh…" Sarah looked to her uncle for help.

"Yeah, my niece was just telling me about these stories she was reading the other day," Sam lied to the man.

Mark scoffed, "We used to try and get her away from reading that garbage before it rots her brain."

"Look, I don't think it's a good idea for her to read and know about this stuff at her age either but there's nothing anyone can do," he told Mark. "This is who Sarah is and we can't change that."

"She was five years old reading stuff about ghosts and other supernatural creatures that most kids are afraid of, that she used to be afraid of. That sound healthy to you?" Mark demanded of him.

Sam shrugged, "No. No it doesn't but at least she isn't scared anymore."

The guy rolled his eyes then turned back to his second cousin. "Sarah, why don't you come back to South Dakota with my girlfriend and I. We would gladly take you in since we're getting married this summer. You can be flower girl."

Sarah exchanged looks with her uncle and then looked back at Mark. "No."

"No?" he questioned.

"You heard me," she told him, calmly.

"But you loved coming over to my house and hanging out with me."

She shrugged, "Yeah, I did but that was before I found the part of my family who wasn't afraid of me. Who believes in me."

Mark raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, I know the truth. In fact, I heard you and Mom talking once. You never believed in me, you thought I was a heavy burden on Mom. Well, I have my dad and Uncle Sammy here that say otherwise. Sorry to say this, but I want nothing to do with you. We're on a quest to find my grandpa and I want to finish it with my dad and uncle."

Mark stared up at Sam. "What did you people do to my cousin?"

Sam smirked, shrugging his shoulders at him, "Love her."

He looked back at Sarah who crossed her arms. When his girlfriend walked up to them from outside, Mark stormed away in his wheelchair, fuming.

Sam turned to his niece. "You would choose this life over a normal one?"

Sarah shrugged at him, too. "Even when I had a normal life, it never felt comfortable to me. Having this life of hunting evil and finding Grandpa has been more comfortable than anything else before."

Sam frowned when he heard his niece tell him that. He had her make a selection of what soda she wanted and when Dean was ready, the Winchesters left town.


	22. Chapter 22: Nightmare (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 22

Sarah tossed and turned as visions of a man trapped in a garage, in his car ran through her mind. Exhaust fumes quickly filled around as he tried to escape. Sarah whimpered in her sleep, wishing she could run in and save him.

Sam shot up over in his bed, looking around. He looked over at his brother and niece when her whimpers caught his attention. He shook Dean's hand that was hanging over the side. "Dean," said Sam, trying to wake his brother up after he turned on the bedside lamp.

Dean groaned, half asleep. He rubbed his left eye, "What are you doing, man? It's the middle…" He happened to glance over at Sarah, who was still tossing and turning, and whimpering. Dean quickly sat up in bed and shook his daughter, trying to wake her as Sam ran around the motel room, getting his stuff together. "Sarah. Wake up, baby girl."

Sarah bolted out of a sound sleep, sitting up.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned.

She looked straight at her father. "Dad, I think someone's gonna die soon."

"I saw it, too, Sarah," Sam said as he shoved his clothes inside his bag. "Man trapped in his car?"

Sarah nodded at her uncle.

"Come on, we have to go. Now." Sam grabbed his duffel bag and hurried out the door.

Dean pushed back the comforter and swung his legs out of bed, onto the floor. "Don't bother getting dressed, okay? You can go back to sleep in the car. Just get your shoes on."

Both of them threw on their shoes and grabbed their stuff before going outside to the Impala. While Dean drove, Sam called posing as a policeman calling about the man in his and Sarah's dream.

"I would say this is just a normal, everyday, naked-in-class nightmare but if both of you are having it, I guess something's up," said Dean. "Unless it's a coincidence."

Sam moved the phone away from his mouth. "Since when do two people have the same dream at the same time?"

He shrugged, gripping the top of the steering wheel in one hand, "It could happen in families."

"I don't think so." Sam returned to his call.

"But why would you two be dreaming of some random dude?" asked Dean.

"I have before," Sarah said from the backseat. "I have the dream and two days or sometimes a day later, I see that it really happened on the news."

Dean looked at his daughter in the rear-view mirror. "And you never met them at all?"

She shook her head, "No."

Sam was confirmed that the dream checked out. The guy was named Jim Miller from Saginaw, Michigan.

Soon, they pulled into a suburban neighborhood, up to a house that had an ambulance, police cars, and a crowd of people standing across the street.

"How come when there's anything with a siren at a house, the whole dang neighborhood has to come and watch?" Sarah asked, hanging over the back of the front seat as they watched Jim Miller get rolled up inside a body bag.

The Winchesters stepped out of the Impala and wandered up to the crowd to try and get some information. Sarah stopped beside a middle-aged woman. "What happened?" She asked her.

The woman glanced down at her. "Shouldn't you be home, in bed? Where are your parents?"

"Dad's over there," Sarah pointed over to where Dean was talking to a man. "So, you're going to tell me or do I need to ask someone else?"

"You're too young to understand, sweetheart."

Sarah sighed, "Look, I know some stuff that would probably make your head spin. So, again, what happened?" She tried to remain as calm and patient with the woman.

"Fine, it was suicide," the woman gave in.

"Did you know him?" Sarah asked.

"Saw him every Sunday at St. Augustine's. He always seems…seemed…so normal. Guess you never know what's going on behind closed doors."

Sarah was finding it hard to see the house or the family Jim Miller left behind. All she could see was the lower halves of everyone. "Guess not, huh? How did he do it?"

The woman was staring over the crowd of people. "Locked inside his car with the engine running."

"I never knew you can die that way."

She nodded, "In a small closed in space like that, breathing in car exhaust fumes can be hazardous to your lungs."

"How long ago did it happen?"

"It happened about an hour or two ago," the woman told her before she sighed. "Poor family. I can't imagine what they're going through."

Someone finally moved out of the way and Sarah got a look at the family. There was a woman crying, comforted by another man and a young man around Sam's age. Sarah noticed he didn't show any emotion which she figured, he was masking it. After talking to the woman, Sarah walked away where Sam and Dean were talking.

"So what do you think killed him?" Sam was asking Dean.

"Maybe the guy just killed himself, you know? Maybe there's nothing supernatural going on at all," Dean shrugged.

Sarah had her hands in her sweatshirt pocket. "I saw it, Dad. The man was trying to escape but none of the doors would unlock. It has to be something going on, right, Uncle Sam?" She turned to her uncle.

"Like what?" Dean shrugged, "A spirit? A Poltergeist? What?"

Sarah just shrugged at him.

"I don't know why Sarah and I are having these dreams," said Sam. "I don't know what the hell is happening." Dean stared at him. "What?"

"Nothing. Man, I'm just…I'm worried about you."

"Well, don't look at me like that," he told him.

"You don't worry about me?" Sarah asked her father.

"You seem a little more mellow over this than Sam is." Dean walked over to open his car door. "We'll check out the house, talk to the family."

"You saw them," Sam told him. "They're devastated. They're not gonna want to talk to us."

Dean looked over at the Miller family. "Yeah, you're right." He looked back at Sam. "But I think I know who they will talk to."

Sarah asked, "Who?"

Dean smiled his crooked smile at them which got a raised eyebrow from his daughter. The next day, Dean rang the Millers' doorbell. All three of them were dressed as priests.

"This has got to be a whole new low for us," Sam muttered.

"You ever see a midget priest?" Sarah scowled at her father and uncle, mostly at her father since it was his idea. It was one thing to pretend to be an adult but to pretend to be a male priest was another. "I hate this! I hate this! I ha…." The front door opened and the guy hugging Mrs. Miller the night before was standing there. "Hello," Sarah quickly changed her tone to a cheerful one.

"Good afternoon," Dean greeted the guy. "I'm Father Simmons. This is Father Freely and Father…Cornfeld."

Sarah rolled her eyes at the name he had chosen.

"We're new junior priests over at St. Augustine's. May we come in?"

The guy glanced down at Sarah. "Isn't he a little young?"

"Nope, I'm the same age," Sarah replied.

The guy shook it off and let them in.

"We're very sorry for your loss," Sam told him.

"It's in difficult times like these," said Dean, "when the Lord's guidance is most needed."

The guy held up his hands at them, "Look, you wanna pitch your whole "Lord has a plan" thing? Fine. Don't pitch it to me. My brother's dead."

Mrs. Miller came from the other room. "Roger…please," she told him, holding a casserole dish.

"Excuse me," the guy, Roger told the Winchesters before he walked away.

The Winchesters turned to face Mrs. Miller. "I'm…I'm sorry about my brother-in-law. He's…He's just so upset about Jim's death. Uh, would you like some coffee?"

Dean smiled at her, "That would be great" while Sarah politely declined.

While Sam and Dean had some coffee to drink, they asked Mrs. Miller about her husband. "Did your husband have a history of depression?" Dean asked her.

She shook her head. "Nothing like that. We had our ups and downs, like everyone but we were happy." Mrs. Miller started crying. "I just don't understand…how Jim could do something like this."

Sam shared a look with his brother before he said, "I am so sorry you had to find him like that."

"Actually…our son, Max…" She pointed behind her towards the young man also from last night. "He was the one who found him."

"Do you mind if…if maybe I go talk to him?"

"Oh, oh thank you, Father," she told Sam who stood up and went over to where the young man, Max was sitting alone. Sarah stood up and followed after her uncle.

"Max?" Sam asked him. "Hey, I'm Sam."

"And I'm Sar…lic," Sarah made up on the spot getting a raised eyebrow from her uncle.

Sam sat down to be at Max's level. "So what was your dad like?" he asked him.

Max just shrugged, "Just a normal dad."

"Yeah. And you live at home now?"

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm trying to save up for school, but it's hard."

There was a slight pause as Sam forced a smile. "So when you found your dad…?"

"I woke up," Max told them, "I heard the engine running. I don't know why he did it."

Sam nodded, "I know it's rough losing a parent. Especially when you don't have all the answers."

Max just shrugged as if it was nothing, growing Sarah more curious. To her, it seemed like Max didn't actually care about his father's death. When they were done talking, her and Sam went in search of Dean who had stated he needed to use the restroom. They found him upstairs, scanning for anything supernatural. Dean didn't find anything.

When they got back outside, Sam had to say something to his niece. "Sarlic?"

"What?" she shrugged. "It was the first thing to pop into my head. Have you ever heard a boy named Sarah? I don't think so."

"Yeah, but Sarlic?" he said. "What kind of name is Sarlic?"

Sarah opened her door, climbing in before she shut it. "That Dragonball Z movie that was on TV the other night was still on my mind. Okay? And I needed something that went with Sar."

"So you chose Sarlic?" Dean questioned. "That's not even a real name."

"Dad, don't even get me started on the last name you picked for me."

Dean started the engine. "What's wrong with the name I chose?"

She stared at him. "Really, Dad? Cornfeld? You got that from cornfield, didn't you?"

"Okay, so we both suck at thinking up names," he gave in.

Sarah took off the white collar that was making her neck itch and reached underneath the seat for her PSP, turning it on. "By the way, the countdown is eleven days," she said as her _Need for Speed: Most Wanted_ game started.

Sam sighed, "For the fifteenth time, peanut, we may not be able to have your birthday."

"We had yours," she pointed out, looking up from her game.

Sam placed his left arm across the back of the front seat. "You jumped on me at five in the morning, waking me up, singing _Happy Birthday_ , then gave me a candy bar as a gift."

"She woke you at five?" Dean questioned. "Sarah woke me up at four to sing _Happy Birthday_ to me."

"Really? What did you get?" he asked.

"A big hug and kiss and a homemade birthday card," Dean smirked.

"What?" Sam looked outraged, but smiled. He looked back at his niece, "How come I didn't get a homemade birthday card?"

Sarah looked up from her game again. "I ran out of paper. My whole journal is full."

He smiled at her, "So if I get you another notebook, you'd make me a belated birthday card?"

She nodded, "Yeah. I was bummed when I couldn't make you one like Dad's."

"Okay, so after we're done here, we'll stop at a drug store or something and I will get you one."

Dean looked back really quick to say, "And don't worry, Sarah. We'll think of something to do for your birthday."

Sam looked at him. "Dean, what about finding Dad?"

"Like a hundred times before, we will find him but until then, I want my daughter to have at least some happy memories besides hunting monsters," Sam looked out his window, "Even if we just grab some burgers and a small cupcake and celebrate in a motel. I want to do something for her birthday." Dean looked back at Sarah again. "What's the day, again?"

"June second," Sarah replied, not taking her eyes off her game as she tried to outrun a couple cop cars that were on her tail.

Sam looked out the back window of the Impala. "Are we being followed by a cop?" he asked before he realized it was coming from his niece's PSP.

"No, it's Sarah's game," said Dean as he drove for real. "How many you have after you, Sarah?"

"Two, I think," she replied.

"That's my girl," he laughed, proudly getting a death glare from his brother which he noticed. "What? It's not like I would really want my daughter to be outrunning the cops."

Sam just shook his head as they headed for a motel.

At the Escanaba Motel, Sam did some research while Dean and Sarah cleaned their weapons, sitting crossed-legged on the bed.

"So, what do you have?" Dean asked as he cleaned out a gun barrel.

"Whole lot of nothing," replied Sam as he pinned up some news clippings. "Nothing bad has happened in the Miller house since it was built."

"What about the land?" He was inspecting Sarah's cleaning job, giving it back to her. "More thorough than that, Sarah."

Sarah took the gun barrel back and cleaned it again, more thoroughly, this time.

"No graveyards, battlefields, tribal lands, or any kind of atrocity on or near the property," Sam explained, walking towards them and sat down on his own bed.

"Hey man, I told ya," said Dean, putting a gun together. "I searched that house up and down. No cold spots, no sulfur scent, nada."

Sam looked back at his brother, "And the family said everything was normal?"

"Well, if there was a demon or poltergeist, don't you think someone would have noticed something? I used the infrared thermal scanner, man. There was nothing."

"There has to be something, Dad," Sarah spoke up, putting the gun she was cleaning, together. "I don't have dreams of non-supernatural deaths. Something is up with that house."

"No, I'm pretty sure there's nothing supernatural about that house," Dean told her, working on another gun now.

"Yeah. Well," said Sam, his back to them, "you know, maybe, uh…maybe it has nothing to do with the house." He winced in pain, grabbing his forehead. "Maybe uh, it's just, uh…gosh. Maybe it's connected to Jim…in some other way."

Dean stopped testing the gun to stare at him. "What's wrong with you?"

Sarah made to crawl over to see if her uncle was alright. When she climbed onto his bed and crawled over to Sam, her head started hurting, as well. Sarah dropped onto her stomach as she held her forehead in both hands.

Sam slowly dropped to a squatting position onto the floor beside the bed as he and Sarah both groaned in pain. Dean stood up and hurried around to Sam, kneeling to his level. He touched Sam's right, upper arm and Sarah's left shoulder.

"Hey. Hey!" he told his brother and niece. "What's going on? Talk to me. Someone."

Sam was gasping, his hands away from his forehead as Sarah continued to hold hers. Visions of Roger Miller in his apartment, being murdered flashed through their minds, ending with his head in the dirt box on the outside of the kitchen window. "It's happening again. Something's gonna kill Roger Miller."

Sarah painfully agreed, nodding her head.


	23. Chapter 23: Nightmare (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 23

Sarah sat in the back seat of the Impala, curled up in a ball. It's been seven, eight months since she started having nightmares of people dying but never had she had one while she was awake. It scared her to no end, too. Why was this happening to her? To her uncle? She wanted to fall asleep and try and get that demon to come but who was she kidding. Sarah already tried to ask him. He wouldn't tell her anything. What difference did it make now?

Her father interrupted her thoughts. He was looking at her through the rear-view mirror. "You okay, baby girl?"

Sarah just nodded, not looking at him.

"Like I told Sam, if you need to hurl I'll pull the car over," he told her.

Sarah just brought her knees up more and folded her arms on top, hiding her face.

Sam watched his niece. He knew how she was feeling. Afraid, confusion, wonder. Sam desperately wanted to know what the hell was going on with them, too. He turned to his big brother, the guy that has always been there when he was afraid or upset. "Dean, I'm scared, man. These nightmares weren't bad enough, now Sarah and I are seeing things when we're awake? And these visions or whatever, they're getting…more intense. And painful."

Dean just drove, calmly. He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye. "Come on, man," he assured Sam. "It'll be all right. You'll both be fine."

"What is it about the Millers?" Sam asked. "Why are we connected to them? Why are Sarah and I watching them die? Why the hell is this happening to us?"

Sarah listened as she stayed curled up. Those were questions she was asking herself. Why? What made her and Sam so important that they could watch people about to die? She heard her father say, "I don't know, Sam but we'll figure it out, okay?" There was some frustration apparent in his voice. "We face the unexplainable every single day. This is just another thing."

Sam shook his head, "No. It's never been us. It's never been in the family like this. Tell the truth, you can't tell me this doesn't freak you out."

Dean didn't answer right away. "This doesn't freak me out," he replied. Deep down though, it did. It scared Dean to no end. He didn't know what was happening to his little brother or his daughter. Dean glanced up into the rear-view mirror at Sarah, who was still in a ball like a hedgehog. He wanted to help them. Protect them. But what could he do? He already felt bad that he sleeps right through when Sarah has a nightmare and was thankful Sam could be awake for her, but that wasn't Sam's job. Dean was her father, not Sam. Unlike his father, Dean felt that Sarah was only his responsibility not someone else's.

By the time, they reached Roger's apartment, it was too late. Roger wouldn't listen to the Winchesters so they had to climb the fire escape. By the time the three of them reached Roger's kitchen window, it was too late.

Dean pulled out a couple handkerchiefs and handed them to Sam and Sarah, telling them to start wiping down their fingerprints so the police wouldn't know they were there while he took a look inside. Sam and Sarah got to work while Dean climbed through a window into Roger's apartment.

"I'm telling you, there was nothing in there," Dean was saying as they headed back to the Impala. "There's no signs, either, just like the Millers' house."

"I saw something. In the visions," said Sam, walking beside him. "Like a dark shape. Something was…" A car horn honked and Dean stopped Sam from walking out in front of it so the car could go by without hitting him. Sarah was walking behind her father with her head down and her hands in her sweatshirt pockets, running into the back of his legs. "…Something was stalking Roger." Sam turned to his niece. "Did you get a good look at it, peanut?"

Sarah didn't answer. In fact, she was starting to act like the way Lucas was, back in Wisconsin as she continued to stare at the ground.

Dean snapped his fingers at her. "Hey, remember what I told you," he told her. "We're on a job."

But Sarah still did not respond. Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other.

"That's not good," said Sam.

Dean looked between him and Sarah, "You're telling me." He lifted Sarah into his arms and held her as Sarah immediately latched onto his neck. "It'll be all right, baby girl. I promise."

The next day, the Winchesters returned to the Millers' house. There was a possibility that Max was endanger too so they wanted to get more information. They posed as priests, once again, against Sarah's better judgment, and talked to Max, himself.

"My mom's resting," Max was explaining as they walked into the living room, "she's pretty wreaked."

"Of course," said Dean.

"All these people kept coming," he went on, "with, like, casseroles. I finally had to tell them all to go away. You know, because nothing says "I'm sorry" like a tuna casserole."

"Ew, gross," Sarah just blurted out.

"I agree," Max shrugged.

Sam quietly chuckled at the two of them.

Max smiled to himself. "Uh…"

All of them sat down.

Sam sighed, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm okay," he replied.

"Your dad and uncle were…were close?"

Yeah, I guess," said Max. "I mean, they were brothers. They used to hang out all the time when I was little."

Sam shook his head, "But not lately, much?"

"No, it's not that. It's just…we used to be neighbors when I was a kid and we lived across town in this house, and…Uncle Roger lived next door, so he was over all the time."

"Right," said Sam. "So, how was it in that house, when you were a kid?"

"It was fine. Why?"

Dean asked, "All good memories? Do you remember anything…unusual? Something involving your…father and your uncle, maybe?"

Max shook his head. "Why do you…Why do you ask? Wh…"

"Just a question," he told him.

Max took a deep breath. "No. There was nothing. We were totally normal. He paused before he said, "happy."

"Good. That's good." Dean looked over at Sam while Sarah watched Max. Something wasn't right to her. Sarah could tell he was hiding something that the young man wasn't telling them. She heard her father tell him that he must have been tired and they got up to leave, thanking Max for his time. "Nobody's family is totally normal and happy," he said when they were outside. "Did you see when he was talking about his old house?"

"He sounded scared," said Sam before he walked to his side of the Impala.

"I don't think Max is telling us everything," Sarah spoke up.

"I couldn't agree more," Dean agreed as he removed the white collar, opening his door. "Nice to hear ya talking again, though." He grinned before getting into the Impala. Sarah hadn't spoken since last night, before hers and Sam's vision and Dean could admit he missed hearing his daughter's sweet voice. "I say we go find that old neighborhood. Find out what life was really like for the Millers." Dean drove across town to the Millers' old neighborhood where they talked to a man that lived across the street from their old house.

"Have you lived in the neighborhood very long?" Sam asked him.

"Well, almost twenty years now," he replied, cheerfully. One of the most cheerful Sarah had ever heard from the people they had interviewed over the last six months. "It's nice and quiet. Why, you're looking to buy?"

"No. No. Actually, we were just wondering if, uh…If you might recall a family that used to live right across the street, I believe."

"Yeah, the Millers," said Dean. "They, uh…They had a little boy named Max."

"Right," said Sam.

"Yeah, I remember." The man looked gloomy at that point. "The brother had the place next door." The Winchesters looked back at the house. "So, uh, what's this about? That poor kid okay?"

Sarah raised an eyebrow as Sam asked, "What do you mean?"

"In all my life, I've never seen a child treated like that," he explained. "I mean, I'd hear Mr. Miller yelling and throwing things across the street. He was a…He was a mean drunk. He…He used to beat the tar out of Max. Bruises, broke his arm two times that I know of. "

"And this was going on regularly?"

"Practically every day."

Sam just shook his head as Dean placed a loving arm around Sarah. How anyone could hurt their child like that was beyond them. Sarah remembered nights when Emily drank. Oh yeah, her mother was a drinker, too. But never had she gotten drunk and taken a swing at her own child. Sarah put her arm around her father, looking at the cement as the man went on.

"In fact that thug brother of his was just as likely to take a swing at the boy."

Sarah looked over at her own uncle and switched over to his leg. Sam brushed his hand along the top of her head.

"The worst part…was the stepmother. She just…stand there, checked out…Never lifted a finger to protect him. I must have called the police seven or eight times. Never did any good. "

"Now, you said stepmother?" asked Dean.

"I think his real mom died. Some sort of…accident. Car accident, I think. Uh…" The man looked over at Sam and his niece who were both clutching their foreheads again. "Are you okay there?"

Dean looked over at them as they groaned. "Uh, yeah," said Sam, trying to look up at the man as Sarah clutched onto his leg in a very tight grip.

Dean thanked the man before he peeled his daughter from her uncle and started to lead the two of them away towards the Impala. It was too much for Sarah who dropped to the ground. Dean tried his hardest to focus on both her and Sam but it wasn't easy.

Another vision was running through their minds of Mrs. Miller cooking while she talked to Max. "I don't know what you mean by that," she was saying. "You know I never did anything."

Max stepped towards her, tearfully, "That's right. You didn't do anything." A knife on the counter started to rattle. "You didn't stop them. Not once." The knife hovered in mid-air.

"How did you…?"

The knife flew in front of her face and hovered where her right eye was.

Mrs. Miller backed away, towards the door frame. "Max. Please."

It moved closer, making her eye water.

"For every time you stood there and watched…" Max told her. "Pretending it wasn't happening."

"I'm sorry."

He shook his head, "No you're not. You just don't want to die."

The knife slowly moved back and stabbed her, going all the way through and into the wall behind her as Max watched.

The vision ended as Sarah screamed out at the top of her lungs. Dean scooped her up, quickly as the man and several other neighbors who were out looked over in their direction. Sarah cried into her father's shoulder as he rubbed her back.

"It's okay," he assured her. "I got you, baby girl."

"Dean, we have to go," Sam told him, making his way to his side of the Impala, holding onto to it as he walked.

Dean opened his door and set his daughter in the middle of the front seat before he got in, beside her. He started the engine as Sarah clung to him again and when Sam was sitting on Sarah's other side they drove back to the Millers' house.

"Max is doing it," Sam was saying as they drove. "Everything Sarah and I've been seeing."

"Is that what you saw, baby girl?" Dean asked his daughter.

Sarah nodded against his side. Dean drove with one hand while the other was wrapped around her.

"So, how is he pulling it off?"

"I don't know," said Sam, placing his elbow on the door and rubbing his eyes with the same hand. "It looked like telekinesis."

"So, he's psychic? He's a…? A spoon bender?"

"I didn't even realize it but this whole time, he was there. He was outside the garage when his dad died. He was in the apartment when his uncle died. These visions, this whole time, we weren't connected to the Millers, Sarah and I was connected to Max," he explained. "The thing I don't get is why, man. I guess…because we're so alike?"

Dean looked over at his brother. "What are you talking about? Dude's nothing like you, and he's definitely nothing like Sarah."

"Well, the three of us have psychic abilities. We're all…"

"All what?" he asked. "Sam, Max is a monster. He's already killed two people, and is gunning for a third."

"Well, with what he went through," said Sam, "the beatings…To want revenge on those people. I'm sorry, man. I hate to say it, but it's not that insane."

"Yeah, but it doesn't justify murdering your entire family," Dean told him.

"Dean…"

"He's no different from anything else we hunted. All right? We gotta end him." Dean parked in front of the Millers' house.

"We're not gonna kill Max," said Sam.

Dean shrugged at his brother, "Then what? Hand him over to the cops and say, lock him up, officer. He kills with the power of his mind."

"Forget it. No way, man."

"Sam," Dean tried to argue.

"Dean, he's a person."

Dean turned off the engine, looking out his window.

"We can talk to him. Hey, promise me you'll follow my lead on this one."

He looked back at Sam. "All right. Fine," he gave in, reluctantly and had Sarah sit back so he could lean over to grab his gun out of the glove compartment. "But I'm not letting him hurt anyone else." Dean stepped out of the Impala, letting Sarah out, too before shutting his door.

Sam stepped out as well, shutting his door.


	24. Chapter 24: Nightmare (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 24

The Winchesters ran up to the house and the boys rammed right through the door. Max and his stepmother stared over at him, surprised. The Winchesters looked back, too. "Well, this is awkward," Sarah said.

"Fathers?" Mrs. Miller asked, confused.

"What are you doing here?" Max asked as well.

"Uh…" Dean tried to think of something to say. They had run in there without any explanation planned. "Sorry to interrupt."

Sam joined in, "Max, could we, uh…? Could we talk to you outside for…for just one second?"

Max stared at them, "About what?"

"It's…It's private," he told him, smiling while remaining calm."

"Probably shouldn't bother your mom with it since she's already been through enough," Sarah added. She was trying so hard to stay focused. After two painful visions, Sarah wanted nothing more than to be Patrick Star's roommate and live under a rock for a while. They had a job to do and she had to be brave for her father and uncle.

"We won't be long, at all," said Sam. "I promise."

Max shared a look with his stepmother, before turning back to the Winchesters. "Okay."

"Great," said Sam. They slowly turned and headed for the door, however, Max saw Dean's gun in his pocket and slammed the door shut from Dean's grasp, shutting the blinds as well.

"You're not priests!" Max yelled as Dean reached for his gun. He used his mind to take the gun and pointed it at the Winchesters.

"Max, what's happening?" his stepmother asked him.

"Shut up!"

"What are you doing?" Suddenly, she was thrown back against the kitchen counter, knocked out and bleeding.

Max held his hand against his forehead. "I said, shut up!"

Sarah swallowed and stepped towards him. Dean tried to pull her back but Sarah shook away from him. She looked at Max, her hands up. "Look Max," she began. "I…I know how you feel."

"No you don't," he snarled at her, still pointing the gun at them.

"Since I met you, I've felt something about you. Something familiar. Look, just let us talk to you. Please, I promise we won't hurt you."

"You're lying, that's why you brought this."

"That was a mistake," Sam told him. "But she's right, we just want to talk to you."

"We saw you kill your dad and uncle," Sarah told him. "And you were going to stab your stepmom in the eye."

Max demanded, "How?"

"We have powers like you do, Max."

"We have visions about you," Sam added.

"You're crazy," he told them.

"Is it hard to believe?" asked Sam. "Look what you can do. The three of us, me, my niece, here, and you."

"Niece?" he questioned.

Sarah glanced away with her eyes, "Uh, yeah, my name's not really Sarlic. It's Sarah. But like I said, no more lies, I swear."

"I think we're here to help you, Max," said Sam. "Like Sarah and I were drawn here."

Max stood there, holding them at gunpoint still. Finally, after some more persuasion for not only Max, but Dean as well since he didn't want to leave his brother and daughter alone with Max, Dean carried Mrs. Miller upstairs to tend to her head wound.

Sam and Sarah sat in the living room with Max who twirled a letter opener on the table. Sarah actually stood in front of her uncle's chair. Sam sat on the edge of it, leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Look…we can't begin to understand what you went through," Sam began.

"That's right, you can't," Max told him, angrily.

"Did it feel like your dad was afraid of you?" Sarah asked. "Like he didn't know who you were? That it was your fault your mom died."

He looked at the little girl. "How did you know that?"

"Because that's how my mom felt about me," she told him.

"It doesn't matter, though," said Sam. "It has to stop."

"It will," said Max, staring at the spinning letter opener again. "After my stepmother."

"Even if they all die, the pain won't go away. It will always be there in your mind," Sarah said. "Just let her go."

"Why?"

"Did she beat you?" asked Sam.

"No, but she never tried to save me. She's a part of it, too."

"Look, what they did to you. What they all did to you growing up, they deserve to be punished."

He looked at Sam, "Growing up? Try last week." Max stood up and pulled his jacket and shirt up to reveal a bruise and a couple cuts.

Sarah couldn't believe what she saw and that it was done by his own father. Someone that was supposed to be protecting him, loving him. Sarah had no idea people could be cruel just like the monsters they hunted. She remembered the looks she would catch from her mother and wondered if Emily ever thought about hurting her. Or worse, killing her. Why not, Emily wanted to do it when Sarah was still growing inside her stomach.

"My dad still hit me," Max continued. "Just in places people wouldn't see it." He lowered his shirt and jacket. "Old habits die hard, I guess." Max slowly sat back down.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah told him, wanting to cry now that the cuts and bruises were etched into her mind.

"Same here," agreed Sam.

Max returned to staring at the knife. "When I first found out I could move things…it was a gift. My whole life, I was helpless. But now I had this. So, last week…" He took a deep breath. "Dad gets drunk. First time in a long time. And he beats me to hell."

Sarah hugged her uncle around the neck. Sam held her as Max continued.

"First time in a long time and then I knew what I had to do."

"Why didn't you just leave?" asked Sam.

"It wasn't about getting away." The letter opener dropped making Sam and Sarah both jump. "Just knowing that they'd still be out there." It rocked from side to side as Max continued. "It was about…not being afraid. When my dad used to look at me…there was hate in his eyes. Is that how it felt with your mom?"

Sarah stood back up, straight and nodded. "Like it would have been better if you were never born," she told him, understanding.

He nodded in return. "And blames you for everything."

She nodded again, "Yes."

"For his job."

"Yes," Sarah repeated.

"For his life."

"Yes."

"For my mom's death."

"My aunt's death," she said.

"Why would he blame you for your mom's death?" asked Sam, confused.

Max leaned forward, his elbow on his right knee and chuckled tearfully, "Because she died in my nursery, while I was asleep in my crib." Sam and Sarah exchanged looks as he said, "As if it makes it my fault."

"She died in your nursery?" Sam asked of him.

"Yeah," he told them. "There was a fire. And he would get drunk and babble on like she died in some insane way. He said that she burned up…pinned to the ceiling."

Uncle and niece once again exchanged looks as if to say, "What the heck is going on here."

Sarah looked back at Max. "Did…have you seen a man with yellow eyes? Like in your dreams?"

Max looked at her like she was crazy. "What the hell? No, why would I see that?"

"Listen, Max," Sam changed the subject. "What your dad said about what happened to your mom…" He hesitated for a brief moment. "It's real."

This time, Max stared at Sam like he was crazy. "What?"

"It happened to my mom, too and my niece's aunt," he told him. "Exactly the same. My nursery, my crib."

"It happened at my aunt's house," Sarah added. "When she was watching me, her and my other uncle. He saw her pinned to the ceiling.

"And my dad saw my mom on the ceiling, too."

"Then your dad and uncle must have been drunk as mine," Max told them.

"My uncle doesn't drink," said Sarah.

"How do you know?"

"Getting back on track, it's the same thing, Max," Sam said. "The same thing killed them."

"It's impossible," he argued.

Sam looked at his niece. "This must be why we've been having visions during the day. Why they're getting more intense. Because the three of us must be connected."

"So, this demon must have plans for you, too, Max," Sarah looked over at him.

"Demon?"

"Your abilities, they started six, seven months ago, right?" Sam asked him. "Out of the blue?"

"How'd ya know that?"

"Because that's when our abilities started, Max," he told him.

"My nightmares, actually," Sarah pointed out. "My other power started two years ago."

"Yours, Max, seem to be much further along, but still, this…This means something. Right? I mean, for some reason, you and I, and Sarah, here…we were chosen."

For what?" he asked. "Whatever she said?"

"Maybe," Sam shrugged. "I don't know. But Dean, and Sarah, and I…my brother and us, we're hunting for your mom's killer and we can find answers. Answers that can help us both but you gotta let us go, Max. You gotta let your stepmother go."

"Like I let my cousin go," Sarah added.

Max sat there, staring at the floor for a long time, breathing hard. Finally, he said, "No." He was crying. "What they did to me…I still have nightmares. I'm still scared all the time, like…like I'm just waiting for that next beating." Max stood up, walking around the couch. "I'm just tired of being scared. If I do this, it will be over."

Sam and Sarah hurried over to block his way. "Don't you get it?" Sam asked of him.

"It will never be over," Sarah added. "Trust me when I say that the nightmares won't end. I still see my mom's stares in my head. I can still hear her talking to our cousin about how I forced her to quit school so she could take care of me. It won't ever be over, Max."

"It's just…more pain," Sam shook his head. "And it makes you as bad as them. Max…you don't have to go through all this by yourself."

Max stared at Sam, breathing through his nose. "I'm sorry." Suddenly, the closet door flew open and both Sam and his niece flew back, into it. The door closed and Max moved a cabinet in front of it as they banged on the door. Not only that but the door handle flew off, too from the cabinet moving hard against it.

Sam and Sarah continued to bang on the door as Max made his way upstairs. Soon, a painful jolt went through their heads as they had another vision. Sarah dropped to her knees, holding her head in her hands.

Max wandered into the master bedroom as Dean was tending to his stepmother, kneeled in front of her. He stood up when he saw Max. The door shut behind Max. Dean took a step towards Max but was knocked back, against the wall as Max pulled out Dean's gun from his own pocket.

"Max," she said as Dean tried to get to his feet again.

"Son of a…" Dean mumbled.

"No."

Max pointed the gun at Dean and removed his hand, letting it hover in mid-air like the knife before. Dean walked towards it, stopping in his tracks when the gun moved forward and cocked. Then the gun was turned to point at Max's stepmother, who shook her head, standing up.

"No, Max," she pleaded with him.

Dean tried to get between her and the gun.

"Stay back," Max told him. "It's not about you."

Dean did not budge an inch. "You want to kill her, you're gonna have to go through me first."

There was a pause then Max shot Dean clear in the forehead.

The minute Sam and Sarah saw Dean get shot they both called out for him, loudly, somehow moving the cabinet from in front of the door. Sam got his thoughts straightened and pushed on the door. It opened, freely.

Sarah didn't hesitate to ask questions, though. She burst through the door and bolted up the stairs to the master bedroom, crashing through the door. The door being thrust open knocked Max's concentration away and the bullet was shot elsewhere. "You kill my dad and that will be the last thing you ever do!"

Dean stared at his daughter in great surprise. He had never heard something come out of her mouth like that. Where had that come from?

Sam ran up behind his niece. "Please, Max!" he continued to plead with him. "We can help you, all right? But this…what you're doing…It's not the solution."

It won't fix anything, you dumbass!" Sarah told him.

"Sarah, not helping," Sam told his niece then returned his gaze to Max.

"You didn't see it, Uncle Sam?" she eyed Max like a wolf on a hunt. "He's gonna kill Dad!"

"Name-calling won't help."

"No, but she's right," Max finally said.

Sam smiled, hoping he was getting through to him. Instead, Max just turned the gun on himself and dropped to the floor like a rock. "NO!" Sam shouted.

Everyone stared at Max's lifeless body for a moment before Sarah ran over and hugged her father around the legs, crying into them. It shook Dean from his own shock and he kneeled down to her level, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's over, baby girl," he assured her. "It's all over."

Sarah cried into his shoulder. "I can't lose you, Dad! I refuse to lose you! I won't ever let you die, I promise! And if it happens, I will make sure you're revenged!"

Dean stared at her then stared up at Sam. He shook his head and grabbed Sarah by her upper arms. "Sarah, look at me," he told her. "I told you, it is not your job to look out for me. I'm supposed to watch out for you."

Sarah shook his grip from him, shoving his hands away. "I don't care! When I saw Max shoot you in the head…I…I…I couldn't take it! You and Uncle Sam, you're the most important people in my entire life. You mean more to me than Mom, Mark, and even Papa and Gram have ever been." She shook her head as tears ran down both sides of her cheeks. "You can say whatever but we're watching out for each other and not even you can stop me from protecting you."

Dean and Sam stared at Sarah, blown away by her words. Mrs. Miller was especially impressed by the little girl's outbursts. They watched as Sarah lowered her head and cried silently to herself.

Dean took his daughter into his arms again and held her close, his own tears forming in his eyes. He tried so hard to keep the cycle different but a weight was already placed on her small shoulders. If nothing else made Sarah a mini Dean, this definitely did.

The police was called and asked Mrs. Miller questions. She lied, stating the Winchesters were family friends. When the police said they could go, Sarah walked over and gave Mrs. Miller a hug.

"It will be okay, Mrs. Miller," she told her afterwards.

Mrs. Miller sniffed back some tears. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Sarah walked over to where her father and uncle were waiting for her and the three of them left the house.

Sam let out a breath of air, "If I had just said something else…Gotten through to him somehow."

"It's my fault for calling him a dumbass." Sarah was walking between them with her hands in her sweatshirt pocket, watching her feet.

"Ah, don't do that, you two," Dean told them."

"Do what?" asked Sam.

"Torture yourselves. It wouldn't have mattered what you said. Max was too far gone."

"I'm thinking about when he looked at me, man, right before…I should have done something."

"Come on, man," said Dean. "You both risked your lives. I mean, yeah, maybe if we have gotten there twenty years earlier." Dean and Sarah split from Sam at their side of the Impala.

Sam exhaled as he walked around to his side. "I'll tell you one thing. We're lucky we had Dad."

Dean looked up at his brother when he heard him say that. "Well, I never thought I'd hear you say that."

He breathed in, deeply through his nose and let it out through his mouth. "Well, it could have gone a whole other way after Mom. A little more tequila, a little less demon hunting…then we would have had Max's childhood. All things considered…we turned out okay. Thanks to him."

Dean smirked and looked back at the Millers' house. He returned to his brother, "All things considered." He then got into the Impala, followed by Sarah.

After a moment, Sam did too and they headed back to the motel where they started loading up. "Dean, I've been thinking," he told him.

Dean carried his clothes over to his duffel bag. "Well, that's never a good thing."

"I'm serious," said Sam. "I've been thinking, why would this demon, or…whatever it is…why would it…kill Mom, and Jessica, Sarah's aunt, and Max's mother, you know? What does it want?"

"No idea," Dean said, folding his clothes before placing them inside his duffel bag.

"Well, you think maybe it was…after us? After…Max, Sarah, and me?"

Dean looked up at his brother. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, it did tell Sarah it has plans for us," Sam shrugged. "I mean…either telekinesis or premonitions…we all had abilities, you know? Uh, maybe…Maybe it is after us for some reason. Maybe there are some truths to what its telling Sarah."

Dean looked up, straight ahead for a moment before returning to his folding. "Sam, if it wanted you, it would have just taken you. Okay? This is not your fault." He told him. "It's not about you."

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about that damn thing that did this to our family. The thing we're gonna find. The thing we're gonna kill. And that's all."

Sam stood there frozen before he started packing again. "Actually, there's, uh…There's something else, too."

Dean tossed his shirt down on the bed and walked over to the desk behind him, "Oh jeez, what?"

"When Max locked Sarah and me in that closet…" Sam began.

Sarah looked up from where she was folding her clothes into her duffel bag, while sitting on the bed Dean was standing at. She looked over at her uncle, a pretty good guess where he was going with it.

"With that big cabinet against the door, uh…I moved it," Sam said, subtlety. "Or Sarah did, or we both did it."

Dean chuckled, surprising Sarah, "One of you got a little bit more upper body strength than I gave you credit for. I was actually surprised, Sarah when you came crashing through that door like that."

"No, man…wait, what?" Sam looked over at his niece.

"Max closed and locked that door when he came in," Dean told him.

"Dean, that doesn't scare you," he asked in bewilderment. "A soon-to-be eight-year-old does not possess the strength to knock open a locked door, with her mind or physical strength."

Dean looked back at him. "Mind?"

"Like Max…and me."

"Oh," was all he said which didn't help Sarah's nerves. "Okay." Three of them started packing again when Dean picked up a spoon. "One of you bend this."

Sam looked at him while Sarah smacked her forehead down to her hand. "We can't turn it on and off, Dean," Sam told him.

"How did you do it?" he asked.

"First time Sarah did it, we were locked in that cellar when that reverend's wife tried to kill you back in Nebraska, then when we saw you die, I don't know, it just happened, and it just came out of us. Right, Sarah?"

Dean looked over at his daughter who nodded at them.

"Like some adrenaline thing," he said

He dropped the spoon back into a bowl and walked back to the bed, "Well, I'm sure it won't happen again."

"But Dad, it's happened twice now with me," Sarah pointed out. "Three times, actually."

Dean looked up from his bag. "Three?"

She nodded, slowly. "Remember back before we got Uncle Sam from school? On that skinwalker job."

He thought back to it and finally it sunk in. "That was you, wasn't it? With that dog."

Again, she nodded.

"It seems to always be linked to when you're in danger," Sam shrugged, "when our emotions get the best of us. Aren't you worried we could turn into Max or something?"

"Nope, no way," he said as he folded his jeans. "You know why?"

"No, why?"

Dean looked over at Sarah. "How about you, baby girl, you know why?"

She shook her head at him.

"Because you both have one advantage that Max didn't have."

"Dad?" asked Sam. "Sarah has her father but ours isn't here, Dean."

"That's exactly my point," he said, putting his leather jacket on. "You _both_ have me. As long as I'm around…nothing bad is gonna happen to either one of you." Dean swung his duffel bag over his right shoulder and walked towards the door. "Now then. I know what we need to do about your premonitions. I know where we need to go."

"And where's that, Dad?" asked Sarah, zipping her own duffel bag closed.

He looked back at her, "Vegas," and smiled at Sam who just scoffed before heading outside to the Impala. "What?" Dean asked him. "Come on, man." He followed after his brother. "Crab's table, we'll clean up."

Sarah laughed and stood up to hurry pass her father, tossing her bag into the trunk before getting into the backseat. Dean watched the two of them and turned out the light, shutting the door.


	25. Chapter 25: The Benders (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 25

The Winchesters were at a bar, going over another job. A man had gone missing a few nights ago and a little boy said that he had been pulled under a car and never seen again. The boy also said he heard a whining growl. When the boy's mother stated he tell the Winchesters what he was watching on TV, they weren't sure what to believe.

"So, the local police have not ruled out foul play," Sam was saying, sitting at a table as he went through the research. "Apparently, there were signs of a struggle."

Dean was playing a friendly game of darts with Sarah. He looked back at Sam, "You know, they could be right. Could be just a kidnapping." Dean faced forward, towards the dart board, aiming a dart, "maybe this isn't our kind of gig," and threw it.

"Yeah, maybe not," agreed Sam. "Except for this. Dad marked the area, Dean. Possible hunting grounds for phantom attackers."

Dean walked over to look for himself. "Why would he even do that?" he asked.

"Well, he found a lot of folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night, grabs people, then vanishes. He found this, too," Sam turned a page in John's journal. "This county has more missing persons per capita than anywhere else in the state."

"That is weird." Dean walked back to finish his turn.

"Maybe it was some kind of dog," said Sarah. "Dogs have whining growls."

"There was no sign it could have been an animal attack, Sarah," Sam told her.

"Oh," she said. "Well then, I got nothing."

"Wait, don't phantom attackers usually snatch people from their bed?" Dean realized, looking over his left shoulder. "Jenkins was taken from a parking lot."

"Well, there are all kinds, you know, Springheeled Jacks, Phantom Gassers. They take people anywhere, any time."

Dean finished his turn and let Sarah take hers as Sam continued. "Look, I don't know this is our kind of gig either."

"Yeah, you're right," he said. "We should ask around more tomorrow."

Sarah finished her shots. They were pretty good for someone her age but Dean still one that game. Dean went over and pulled them off, giving three to Sarah.

"Right," Sam agreed.

Dean started the next game.

"I saw a motel about five miles back."

Dean looked back at his brother again. "Woah, woah. Easy. Let's have another round."

"We should get an early start," Sam told him.

"You really know how to have fun, don't you, grandma?"

"First of all, you have your daughter who is a minor in a bar with a bunch of bikers when she should be in bed, by now," he pointed out to his older brother. "Should I continue?"

Dean felt defeated, knowing Sam was right. "All right." He threw his last dart at the board and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. "I'll meet you outside. I need to take a leak. Need to use to use the restroom before we go, Sarah?"

Sarah tossed a dart at the board before looking up at her father. "Nope," she shook her head.

"Go with Sam, then. Okay?" he told her and walked away, towards the restrooms.

Sarah tossed the other two darts, one at a time at the board and followed her uncle out of the bar. The two of them walked through the parking lot as biker men came and went.

"I want a motorcycle when I'm older," Sarah stated, looking around at the motorcycles.

Sam looked down at his niece. "You want to be a biker chick?"

"Yeah," she replied, excited. "I can be a biker hunter or something. Cruising around, fighting ghosts and stuff from the back of it." Sarah made like she was riding on a motorcycle, making the noise with her mouth.

"Don't you want to go to college, become a doctor or something? Start your own family?"

She shrugged, "I hate shots and everything else sounds too plain."

Sam stared at her. "Too plain?"

"Yeah."

Sam looked away, sadly. He really did want his niece to do other things besides hunting. Joining the circus was better than this life. A weird feeling came over him and it felt like someone was there. Sam placed his father's journal on the trunk of the Impala and took out his flashlight from his jacket pocket, shining it around.

"What is it, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked, quietly.

Sam put his finger to his mouth and kneeled onto the ground to look underneath. Sarah did, too, curious. They moved in closer until suddenly, a cat swiped at them, scaring the crap out of them both before it ran away.

The two of them broke into a laugh, together. "You got scared of a cat, Uncle Sammy," Sarah snickered.

They stood up. "So did you," he pointed out to her, laughing.

Sarah folded her arms across her chest. "Did not. It just surprised me, that's all."

"Oh sure," he grinned. Suddenly, Sam was yanked to the ground and was pulled under the Impala. Sarah tried to pull him back by his arm but whoever was on the other end was a lot stronger, and grabbed both of them, knocking them out.

Dean finally came out of the bar, himself and walked over to the Impala. However, Sam and Sarah were nowhere in sight with John's journal still where Sam left it. He looked in the car but it was empty. Dean frantically looked around the parking lot. He was alone.

Dean ran over to where some people were coming out of the bar. "Hey. Hey," he asked one biker couple. "You guys been outside, round here in, like the last hour or so?"

They shook their heads and continued walking.

Dean continued looking for his little brother and daughter, growing more and more worried. This could not be happening to him. Where were they? "Sam! Sarah!" He looked around some more. "Sarah! Sammy!" He walked around the parking lot, trying to spot them when he noticed a surveillance camera and walked out to the middle of the street to see if he could spot anything like a car or something. "Sam. Sarah," he said, quietly.

First thing, the next morning, Dean headed to the police station.

"So, what can I do for you, Officer Washington?" a policewoman asked him as she examined his fake badge.

"I'm working a missing persons," he told her.

She shrugged, "I didn't know the Jenkins case was being covered by the state police."

Dean shook his head. "Uh, no. No, this is someone else. Actually, it's my cousin and his niece. We, as in my cousin and I, were having a few last night at this bar down by the highway, and I haven't seen him since and his niece is gone, too."

"Does your cousin have a drinking problem?"

"Sam?" Dean scoffed. "Two beers and he's doing karaoke. He wasn't drunk. He was taken. They both were."

She looked at him, "Was his niece with you?"

"Yeah, but she wasn't drinking, herself. Unless you count root beer," he smirked.

"How did you sneak a minor into a bar?"

He shrugged, "They didn't seem to care all that much."

The policewoman nodded and walked back to her desk, "All right. What's their names?"

"Winchester," Dean replied. "Sam and Sarah Winchester."

"Like the rifle?" she asked, sitting down.

Dean sat next to her desk, "Like the rifle."

The policewoman typed in Sam's name into the box on the computer screen and both his and Dean's names popped up. "Samuel Winchester," she said, reading the screen. "So you know that his brother Dean Winchester died in St. Louis…and, uh, was suspected of murder?"

"Yeah, Dean," he chuckled to himself. "Kind of the black sheep of the family. Handsome, though."

The policewoman started typing again. "Well, Sam or his niece isn't showing up in any current field reports."

"Oh, I already have a lead. I saw a surveillance camera out by the highway."

"Uh-huh. County traffic cam?" she asked.

"Right, yeah. I'm thinking the camera picked up whatever took them." She stared at Dean. "Or whoever," he quickly added.

She breathed in through her nose. "Well, I have access to the traffic cam footage down at the County Works Department. But in the meantime, let's do this the right way." The policewoman stood up and walked back to receive a missing persons form, handing it to Dean who stood up.

Dean looked down at it. "Officer, look, uh…they're both family. I kind of look out for the kids. You gotta let me go with ya."

"I'm sorry, I can't do that," she told him.

Dean looked back down, "Well, tell me something." He looked up again. "Your county has its fair share of missing persons. Any of 'em come back?"

The policewoman didn't answer to that.

"Both Sam and Sarah are my responsibility," he continued, "and they're coming back. I'm bringing them back." That still didn't change the policewoman's mind and Dean ended up having to wait while she went to check the traffic cam footage.

Meanwhile, Sam woke up, gasping. He looked around and saw he was in a small cage. It was dark with minor light overhead. Sam sat up and noticed Sarah was lying next to him, still asleep. Or he hoped she was just asleep.

He got up onto his legs and shook her awake. "Sarah. Please wake up, Sarah." There was panic and worry apparent in his voice. Sarah stirred, moaning just a little. Sam blew a sigh of relief. "You okay, peanut?"

Sarah slowly pushed herself up onto her hands and knees to sit back on her legs. She looked around, trying to pierce through the darkness. "Where are we, Uncle Sam?" she asked, groggily.

Sam was looking around now, as well, "I don't know." He tried to stand up but was too tall for the cage and had to stand hunched over.

Sarah stood up, too but didn't have to hunch over. She went over to the bars and peered over at another cage. "Uncle Sam, I think someone's in there," she looked back at her uncle. "Maybe it's Mister Jenkins."

Sam walked over to stand beside her. He looked out, holding onto the bars. Over in another cage similar to the one they were in, was an older man lying on the ground, asleep. Sam moved to get a closer look.

"Uncle Sammy, are we gonna die?"

He looked back at his niece and saw a terrified look on her face. Sam turned his whole body to fully face her. "Look at me, Sarah," he tried sounding like his brother when Dean was assuring her. "Your dad is still out there. He'll find us. In the meantime, we have to be brave and do our part. Okay?"

She nodded at him and Sam dropped to one of his knees to pull her into a comforting hug. "I hope Dad finds us soon," she said from his right shoulder.

"Me, too, peanut," he said.

Dean was waiting on a park bench when the policewoman walked up. She handed him some black and white-printed pictures of the night before. "These traffic cams take an image every three seconds. It's part of the Amber Alert program. These images were all taken around the time that your cousins disappeared," she told him as Dean flipped through the pictures.

"Uh, this really isn't what I'm looking for," he said.

"Just wait. Next one."

Dean turned the page once more to a picture of an old trailer.

"This one was taken right after Sam and Sarah left the bar. Look at the back end of that thing."

Dean glanced up her.

"Now, look at the plates," she continued.

He shrugged, "The plates look new. It was probably stolen."

"So, whoever's driving that rust bucket must be involved."

A black van drove by, behind them making a horrible screeching sound. Almost like…a whining growl and Dean realized it.

Sam was busy, trying to bust him and his niece out, using his feet. It was no use though, the bars were hard metal. He dropped to the ground, worn out. Sarah caught him from behind so he wouldn't fall back.

"Don't you have your phone, Uncle Sam?" she asked.

Sam sat there, leaning on his left hand. "No, whatever grabbed us took it."

Sarah squeezed by him and sat in his lap, snuggling into his chest. "I'm really trying to be brave, honest."

He hugged her to him with one arm, placing his chin on top of her head. "I know you are."

Suddenly, they heard movement and groans coming from the other cage. Sam and Sarah looked up to see the man sitting up, slowly. "You're alive?" Sam asked.

He groaned again. "Huh?"

"You okay?"

"Does it look like I'm doing okay?" the man asked.

"Where are we?"

He shrugged, "I don't know. Country, I think. Smells like the country."

"Are you Mister Jenkins?" Sarah asked the man.

"Yeah," he replied.

Sam laughed to himself. "Wow. We were looking for ya."

"Oh, yeah? Well, no offence, but this is a piss-poor rescue."

"My dad's out there and he'll save us." Sarah hoped that saying that out loud would help keep her assurance up. She really did want to believe that her father will get there in time to save them.

"So he's not gonna find us," said Jenkins.

"No, he will," she argued with him. "My dad is the best in the whole wide world and strong and brave."

"Kid, we're in the middle of nowhere…waiting for them to come back and do God-knows-what to us."

"What are they?" Sam asked him, getting up onto his feet in a squatting position. "Have you seen them?"

"What are you talking about?" Jenkins asked him.

"What grabbed us," he said. "How do they look?"

Just then, the door opened.

"See for yourself."

Sam looked over as a couple hooded figures came into the room where the three prisoners were being held. Sarah grabbed onto her uncle's neck as they watched them unlock Jenkins' cage from a lockbox. One of the hooded figures walked over to his cage and set a plate of food inside. When the other one banged on Sam and Sarah's cage with a blunt instrument, Sam fell back. Sarah continued to cling to his neck with her face buried his neck, shaking from fright.

"I'll be damned," Sam told himself when the hooded figures left. "They're just people."

"Yeah," said Jenkins, eating, "what did you expect?"

"How often do they feed you?"

"Once a day. They use that over there to open the cage," he explained.

Sam looked over at the lockbox. "And that's the only time you see 'em?"

"So far but I'm waiting."

Sam pushed his niece off of him to move to the other side of the cage. "Waiting for what?"

"Ned Beatty time, man," Jenkins replied.

"Who's he?" asked Sarah, sitting on her legs.

"Never mind, peanut," Sam told her. "That's the least of our worries right now."

"What do you think they want then?" Jenkins asked Sam.

Sam reached up, through the bars for a metal pipe. "Depends on who they are."

"They're a bunch of psycho hillbilly rednecks, if ya ask me…looking for love in all the wrong places."

Sam was pulling on the metal pipe by now.

"What are you doing, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked, watching him.

Sam did not answer. He was too focused on pulling down the pipe. Sarah crawled over to a far corner of the cage and sat down, flat on her bottom. She brought her knees up and hugged them to her. She shivered from the cold. They had taken her sweatshirt and Sam's jacket which kind of sucked to her considering that was the only one she had at all. Sarah didn't even own a jacket. It had always been the same black sweatshirt for two years now. It had started out a little big on her and now that it fit her right, some messed-up humans with a sick mind takes it.

Sarah felt a tear and quickly wiped it away. She couldn't cry. She had to stay strong, like a big girl. Hunters were brave. There was no room for tears. As Sarah thought about never seeing her father again, she couldn't help but let another tear slide down her right cheek.


	26. Chapter 26: The Benders (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 26

The police car soared down the country road in the quiet of the night. Dean sat there in the passenger seat, thinking about his brother and daughter. He had to get them back. There was no arguing or questioning that fact. Nothing was going to stand in his way. Dean thought about how scared his daughter probably was and hoped wherever they were, she and Sam were together. Thoughts of the last year crossed his mind since he and Sarah met. Every now and then, he would crack a grin, getting a look from the policewoman.

He couldn't help think of the many wisecracks Sarah had said so far and all the things she had done that just put a smile on Dean's face. He could admit it now how hilarious it was when Sarah and Sam first met. How a little kid could bring someone as tall as Sam to his knees, in agonizing pain, tickled him to no end. Hopefully when they find John though, it won't be dark. John probably won't be easily forgiving as Sam was if Sarah punched him in that area.

Dean also remembered all the times Sarah had come through for him. She doesn't question an order like she used to or fight him when he tells her to go with Sam when they split up on a hunt. No matter what it was, Sarah was always willing to do it. If she was still scared, she hid it well as far as Dean was concerned.

The policewoman interrupted his thoughts. "Okay, the next traffic cam is fifty miles from here, and your pickup didn't pass that one. So…"

"So it must have pulled off somewhere," he concluded. "I don't see any other roads here."

"Well, a lot of these backwards properties have their own private roads," she explained as she drove, focused on the road.

"Great," he mumbled.

The computer in between them beeped and the policewoman looked at it while switching back and forth with the road. "So, Gregory," she said, afterwards.

Dean glanced at her for a second before he returned to keeping a look out for a turnoff, "Yeah."

"I ran your badge number. It's routine when we're working a case with state police for accounting purposes and what have you."

Dean nodded, "Mm-hm."

"And, uh…they just got back to me." She pulled over to the side of the road. "Says here your badge was stolen and there's a…" the policewoman turned the monitor so Dean could see it. "A picture of you."

Dean stared at a picture of an African-American male that didn't have any hair and wearing an officer's uniform. "I lost some weight, and I got that Michael Jackson skin disease…"

The policewoman stopped him there and undid her seatbelt. "Okay. Would you step out of the car, please?"

"Look, look, look," Dean tried to stop her. "You wanna arrest me, that's fine. I'll cooperate, I swear. But please… Let me find Sam and Sarah."

She shook her head, "I don't even know who you are. Or if these people are missing."

"Look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying about this."

"Identity theft? You're impersonating an officer."

Dean looked away for a brief moment then tried to explain to her, his reasons. "Here's the thing. When Sam and I…when we were young, I pretty much pulled him from a fire. And Sarah…I'm pretty much a father to her. Since the fire and meeting Sarah, I felt responsible for them. You know, like it's…it's my job to keep them safe."

The policewoman looked ahead.

"I'm just afraid if we don't find them fast…" Thunder crashed from outside. "Please. They're my family."

She was shaking her head. "I'm sorry. You've given me no choice. I have to take you in." The policewoman glanced up at a picture of her and a young man and sighed. She put her seatbelt back on. "After we find Sam and Sarah Winchester."

Meanwhile, Sam was still busy trying to yank down the metal pipe. Sarah was lying on her back now, with her feet up on the side of the cage.

Jenkins watched every now and then. "What was your name again?" he asked.

Sarah looked over at the man, "Who?"

"The guy."

"It's Sam," Sam told him, grunting.

"Why don't you give it up, Sammy," he told Sam. "There's no way out."

"Don't…c-call me…Sammy." With the anger from being called Sammy, Sam was finally able to yank the pipe down, along with some dust and a bracket that clanged onto the ground. Both Sam and his niece coughed. Sarah shot up into a sitting position, trying to clear her airways. "Sorry, peanut," he apologized when he stopped.

"What was that supposed to prove, Uncle Sam?" she asked after she finished coughing, too.

Sam picked up the bracket and examined it.

Jenkins asked, "What is it?"

"It's a bracket," Sam replied.

"Oh, thank God, a bracket," he shrugged, sarcastically. "Now we got'em, huh?"

Sarah glared over at him. "Dude, you're lucky we're in separate cages, 'cause I'd kick ya in the shines."

"Sarah, be nice," Sam scolded her, still examining it. They looked up when they heard a sound and Jenkins' cage opened.

Jenkins moved, slowly towards it. "Must have been a short. Maybe you knocked something loose."

Both Sam and Sarah watched as he climbed out. "I think you should get back in there, Jenkins," Sam told the guy.

"What?" he asked.

"This isn't right."

Jenkins looked around. "Don't you wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah, but that was too easy."

"Look, I'm gonna get outta here. I'm gonna send help, okay? Don't worry," he assured them.

"No, I'm serious," Sam tried to warn him. "This might be a trap."

"Bye, Sammy." With that, he was gone.

Sarah shook her head, staring at the door Jenkins left through. "He won't send help." She looked at her uncle, "I've seen the movies. We're basically screwed."

Sam stared back at her. "Do you even know what that word means?" he asked her.

"No, I heard it on TV once, but we are screwed."

"Okay. Enough, Sarah." Sam rolled his eyes. It was like having two Deans to him.

Soon, they both heard screams and knew it had belonged to Jenkins. Sarah immediately jumped on her uncle and this time she did not want to let go. Sam wasn't expecting it either so he fell back, managing to catch himself on his hands. He felt Sarah starting to shake from fright and could also feel something wet soaking the front of his shirt.

Sam sat up and wrapped both arms around her. "Shh, shh," he said, gently. "It's gonna be fine, Sarah. I promise we will get out of here." Sam rubbed her back up and down, trying to comfort her. Where ever Dean was, Sam hoped he was closing in on finding them.

In fact, Dean was closing in. The next day, after they got some coffee, he and the policewoman drove down the road again, still looking for a turnoff. Dean spotted one and told her to pull over. He tried to go with her, stating she wasn't going alone, but the policewoman wouldn't have any of it and handcuffed him to her police car.

Before Sam and Sarah knew it, they already had another cell mate.

"You think she's alive, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked, trying to get a good look at her when the hooded figures were gone again.

"I don't think they would bring her in here if she wasn't," he told her, sitting with his back to the cage.

Sarah crawled over and sat beside him, laying her head against him. "Maybe they don't know she's dead. I think if you whack someone hard enough you can kill them," she looked up at Sam.

"Yeah, but they probably also checked to make sure."

"Oh," was her only response before Sarah left it at that. Sam wrapped his right arm around her and rubbed her upper, right arm. His other arm was hung over his left, up-turned knee.

When some time had passed, the policewoman stirred.

Sarah looked over at her, then at her uncle. "I think she's waking up," she said.

Sam looked over at the other cage, too. "You all right?" he asked the policewoman.

There was a moment of silence as she leaned forward. "Are you Sam Winchester?" the policewoman asked him. "Aren't you?"

"Yeah," he replied.

She then happened to notice Sarah, who was crawling back over to the side of the cage. "So you must be Sarah Winchester."

Sarah nodded at her, holding onto the bars, "Uh huh."

"Your, uh…Your cousin's looking for you."

Sarah looked back at Sam, who was smiling, shaking his head at the ground. She looked back at the policewoman. "My cousin, Mark?" she asked her, confused.

Sam leaned over on his right hand to whisper, "She means your dad. Remember St. Louis? The shapeshifter turning into him?"

She nodded at him, still holding onto the bars.

"Your dad is supposed to be dead," he explained. "So, he pretended to be our cousin."

"Oh, okay," Sarah understood. She looked back at the policewoman. "Where he now?"

"I, uh," she replied, holding her head. "I cuffed him to my car.

Sam let out a sigh as Sarah asked, "Why?"

The policewoman was about to answer when the door opened. Sarah, thinking it was them again, crawled back over to Sam.

"Do you think they're coming to kill us now, Uncle Sam?" she asked, huddled up against him.

Sam watched the door. He put his finger to his mouth and got on his guard. He heard heavy footsteps coming towards the cages. Sarah covered her mouth, trying to stifle her breathing as her heart beat fast as she held a handful of her uncle's shirt. When the footsteps got closer, she hid her face in Sam's side.

"Sam?" She heard her father's voice ask. Sarah looked up to see her father standing there, looking inside the cage. "Sarah?"

Sarah literally leaped to her feet and ran over to the side of the cage. "Daddy!" she blurted out. Sarah reached her right hand through the bars and Dean took ahold of it.

"Hey there, baby girl," he replied before he let go. "Are any of you hurt?"

She shook her head. "No, we're both fine."

He hit the top of the cage with his other hand. "Damn it's good to see you two."

"Same here," Sarah smiled at him.

"How did you get out of the cuffs?" the policewoman asked, making Dean jump back.

"Oh, I know a trick or two," he told her before he swung around, looking at the lockbox. "All right. Ohh…" he said when he noticed it was locked. "These locks look like they're gonna be a bitch."

Sam was sitting next to where Sarah was standing. "Well, there's some kind of automatic control right there," he told his brother, pointing out of the cage.

"Have you seen'em?"

"Yeah," he replied as Sarah nodded. "Dude, they're just people."

"And they jumped you?" Dean questioned him. "Must be getting a little rusty there, kiddo." He walked away. "What do they want?"

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. They let Jenkins go, but that was some sort of trap. It doesn't make any sense to me."

Dean was repeatedly pushing a button. "Yeah, well, that's the point. You know, with our…" he looked over at the policewoman then back at Sam and Sarah. "Our usual playmates, there's…There's rules, there's patterns. But with people…They're just crazy."

"See anything else out there?" he asked.

"Uh, there's about a dozen junked cars hidden out back, plates from all over. So I'm thinking when they take someone, they take their car, too."

"Did you see a black Mustang out there?" the policewoman asked him. "About ten years old?"

Dean looked down at her. "Yeah, actually I did…Your brother's."

She looked away, sadly.

"I'm sorry."

Sarah looked at her uncle, who shrugged.

"Let's get you guys out of here and then we'll take care of those bastards. You said this thing takes a key? Key?"

"I-I don't know," Sam told him.

"All right, I better go find it." Dean headed for the door when Sarah called out to him. "I'll be right back. I will get you out of there, I promise." He then left as she and Sam told him to be careful.

"I thought he was your cousin," the policewoman said when Dean was gone.

Sam looked at her, confused. "He is. Why?"

"Your niece called him, Daddy when she saw him."

"Well, Sarah hardly knew her real father and my cousin's pretty much has been around and took care of her like a dad so Sarah just considers him, her dad. Right, Sarah?" Sam explained, coming up with the lie on the spot.

"Huh? Oh yeah, right," she agreed.

Dean went in search for the key to the cages, finding some very disturbing stuff. When he found a key, he ended up getting caught by a thirteen-year old girl who stabbed him with a pocket knife and called for her father. Dean was then surrounded by two other guys. After putting up a fight, Dean was whacked on the back of the head with a frying pan.

When he came to, Dean was tied to a chair, the sick, human family surrounding him.

"This one's a fighter," one of the two younger guys said. "Sure would be fun to hunt."

Dean looked up at them. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me. That's what this is about. You…you yahoos hunt people?"

"You ever killed before?" the oldest man asked him.

"W…" He chuckled to himself. "Well, depends on what you mean."

"I've hunted all my life," the old man said. "Just like my father, his before him. I've hunted deer and bear. I even got a cougar, once. Oh, boy. But the best hunt…is human." He nodded. "Oh, there's nothing like it. Holding their life in your hands, seeing the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel powerful alive."

Dean just stared at him. "You're a sick puppy."

At that, the old man stood up. "You give'em a weapon. Give'em a fighting chance. It's kind of like…our tradition, passed down father to son. Course, only one or two a year. Never enough to bring the law down. We never been that sloppy."

"Oh," Dean moaned. "Yeah, well, don't sell yourself short. You're plenty sloppy."

He squatted down to Dean's level. "So, what, you with that pretty cop?"

Dean did not respond.

"You a cop?"

Dean chuckled this time, "If I tell you, you promise not to make me into an ashtray?"

One of the younger guys hurried over and slapped him in the face.

"Only reason I don't let my boys take you right here and now is that there's something I need to know."

"Yeah, how 'bout it's not nice to marry your sister?" Dean asked, sarcastically as the old guy was behind him, picking up a hot, metal stick.

"Tell me," he said, examining the stick, "any other cops gonna come looking for you?"

"Ah, eat me," Dean told him off then realized what he had said. "No, no, no, wait. You actually might."

The old man then brought the stick to him and told Dean to choose an "animal" to hunt. After burning him, and almost his eye, Dean picked Sam and Sarah. He knew they would have more of a chance for survival. Unfortunately, the man told his son to shoot them in the cage.

Dean was outraged when he heard that. "I thought you said you were gonna hunt them. You were gonna give them a chance."

"Lee, when you're done with the kids," he told his son. "Shoot the bitch, too."

The guy, Lee nodded grabbing his gun and headed down to where the policewoman, Sam, and Sarah were. He walked over to the lockbox and unlocked Sam and Sarah's cage.

"What are you doing?" Sam demanded of him as his niece clung to him.

Lee went over to their cage and raised his shotgun at them as Sam now stood in a squatting position. Sarah moved behind him to hide as Sam tossed the bracket at him as he fired.

Dean tensed up when he heard it. "If you hurt my family, I'll kill you, I swear," he told them. "I'll kill you all. I will kill you all!"

The old man stood up and wandered over to call out to Lee but there was no answer. Lee was a little preoccupied at the moment struggling with Sam. Sam grabbed his gun and knocked him out with it. He tried to cock it but it jammed so he dropped it and walked away.

Sam let the policewoman out and cut the power as well. Sarah quickly pinned to his side. "What do we do, Uncle Sam?" she asked him.

He hushed her and led her over to hide until the old guy and the other young guy came in, also with shotguns.

"Damn it. Jared, get the lights," the old guy ordered.

Jared tried to turn them on but the lights wouldn't come on. Sam and Sarah hid back, up in the loft, behind some hay. Soon, they heard footsteps coming up the ladder, followed by gunshots.

Sam poked his head up to see the policewoman fighting with Jared. The old guy shot at him. He ducked down and ran, dodging each bullet. Sarah went the other way and rammed into him, grabbing the gun when the old man lowered it.

Sarah yanked it out of his hands and kicked him in the back of the knee, bringing him down. She cocked the shotgun and pointed it at him.

He grinned, toying with her, "You gonna shoot me, kid?"

"You tried to shoot my uncle Sammy," she told him, angrily.

Suddenly, Sam came up behind the old man and knocked him in the head, knocking him over the edge, right on top of Jared, who was standing over the policewoman. Sam took the shotgun from his niece before heading back down. The policewoman offered to stay with the men while they went and helped Dean.

Sarah ran ahead, up to the house as Sam followed close behind. She bolted into the room where her father was and tackled the other girl to the floor while Sam hurried over to Dean. Sarah managed to get the girl's knife from her, with difficulty and tossed it to Sam, where he used it to cut Dean free. The three of them then managed to lock the girl in a closet.

The Winchesters met the policewoman outside.

"Where's the girl?" she asked them.

"Locked in the closet," Dean answered. "What about the dad?"

She looked between them. "Shot. Trying to escape."

Dean looked over at his brother. He knew the real reason she shot him. If anything had happened to Sam or Sarah, he would have done the same thing. Sam looked back at him, too, also knowing the real reason. Of course, the old man was bound to die, anyway, considering he fell from a high place.

They went in search of their stuff. Sarah was relieved to find her sweatshirt, hugging it to her. Dean realized his car was still at the police station.

"So…" the policewoman told them. "State police and the FBI are gonna be here within the hour. They're gonna want to talk to you. I suggest that you're all long gone by then."

Dean thanked her as Sam nodded. "Hey, I don't mean to press our luck, but we're kind of in the middle of nowhere. Think we could catch a ride?" Dean asked of her.

"Start walking," she told him. "Duck if you see a squad car."

"Sounds great to me," said Sam as Sarah moaned at the thought of walking. "Thanks." He then started walking.

"Listen, uh," said Dean. "I'm sorry about your brother."

She smiled, nodding at him. "Thank you." The policewoman looked at the house then back at him. "It was really hard not knowing what happened to him. I thought it would be easier once I knew the truth. But…" She shook her head. "It isn't, really."

Dean looked at Sam, then back at her.

"Anyway, you should go."

The Winchesters started walking towards the main road.

"Don't ever do that again," Dean told Sam and Sarah. "Both of you."

Sarah looked up at her father. "Do what, Dad?" she asked him.

"Go missing like that."

Sam chuckled, "You were worried about us."

"All I'm saying is, you vanish like that again, I'm not looking for you."

Sarah smiled at her father, "Yes, you would."

"Nope," he shook his head. "Next time, you're on your own."

"So, you got sidelined by a thirteen-year-old girl, huh?" Sam teased his brother.

"Oh, shut up," Dean told him.

"Just saying, you're getting rusty there, kiddo."

He laughed, "Shut up."

All three of them laughed together as they walked down the road.


	27. Chapter 27: Sarah's 8th Birthday

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 27

Dean stood there, staring at the large Wal-Mart logo above the main doors. He couldn't believe he was going to step foot inside one but he didn't know where else to go in this city. People were coming and going. Mostly families heading through the entrance and exit automatic doors. Dean took a deep breath. This was the kind of place soccer moms went to and he was no soccer mom. This was for his daughter, though so he sucked it up and stepped up to the entrance door. It opened as he walked through.

A teenaged boy, with some acne on his face offered him a cart as he greeted him. Dean accepted it as he thanked the boy. He pushed the cart, trying not to look anyone in the face as he walked through the aisles. Soon, he found the party aisle and turned down it, looking at different party themes. There was _Superman_ , _Spiderman_ , _Spongebob Squarepants_ , _Dora the Explorer_ , and _Disney's Cars_ to name a few.

"Sarah does like that yellow sponge dude," he shrugged. Dean was about to start loading the _Spongebob Squarepants_ party set inside the cart when something else caught his eye at the end of the aisle. He walked over to the end with his hands in his pockets and removed a pack of paper plates off the rack to look at it closer. Dean recognized Pikachu from Sarah's T-shirts and the sticker on the back of her PSP. Every now and then, Sarah would catch it on the TV in a motel they were staying in and try and talk Dean into watching it with her. Dean hated to admit it, but the cartoon wasn't that bad to him. He wouldn't watch it on his own, though.

Dean pulled the cart over and loaded it up of the _Pokémon_ party stuff and headed for the toy section and looked around for a gift, staying away from the dolls and princess section. He knew Sarah wouldn't want a doll. It took some time finding the perfect gift since Dean didn't want to get his daughter just anything. He wanted to put a lot of thought into it.

After searching for forty-five minutes, trying to decide, Dean found a remote-controlled helicopter. It looked cool to him and he thought Sarah might like it so he decided to get it for her. Next, he headed over to the bakery and ordered a cake that said, _Happy 8_ _th_ _Birthday, Sarah_ on it in red frosting.

Finally, Dean headed up to the cashiers and got in line behind a young mother that looked like she was at her wit's end, with three kids, all inside the cart, surrounded by food. He offered to help her unload it onto the conveyor belt, as well as placing them back in the cart once the cashier scanned and bagged them. When she thanked him and left, Dean walked over to the cashier as she started scanning his items.

"Kid's birthday party, I see?" she smiled at him as Dean got his wallet out and continued scanning.

"Uh, yeah," he replied, opening his wallet up. "My little girl's turning eight today."

"Oh, congratulations. Your daughter is lucky to have a dad like you."

Dean started loading the bags inside the carts as he thanked her. He paid for everything with money he saved up from hustling pool and left the store, crossing the parking lot to where he parked the Impala and began loading everything into the trunk.

Back at the motel, he closed the curtains and locked the door and began decorating the room. Dean hung the streamers and blew up all thirty balloons by himself, trying not to get lightheaded in the process, taking several breaths. Once the room was finished, he wrapped the remote-controlled helicopter before ordering pizza and calling Sam to tell him they could come back.

Sam and Sarah walked along the sidewalk. "So, what would you like to do, peanut?" Sam asked his niece. "We have at least two hours to kill."

Sarah looked around as she walked. When they turned the corner, she noticed there was a petting zoo with about a dozen farm animals inside a fence with people petting and feeding them. "Can we go pet the animals, Uncle Sam?" she asked.

Sam looked over at the petting zoo. "Ah, don't you want to do something…I don't know, maybe cleaner?"

She pointed out at several hand sanitizer dispensers. So, Sam agreed to take her over there. He stood at the fence, leaning on the top railing as he watched Sarah pet and feed goats, donkeys, sheep, pigs, and lambs.

"Come on, Uncle Sam," she called over to him as she was petting a tiny lamb.

Sam smiled, "I'm having too much fun watching you, peanut."

Sarah stood up, crossing her arms and gave her uncle a look that said, "Are you kidding me?" She walked over to the fence where he was standing. "Uncle Sam, I'm not trying to sound like a spoiled brat, here but I want you to have fun, too. Now get in here or I'll tell Dad you were the one who ate the last slice of pie we had that one time."

Sam squinted at her. "You wouldn't," he told her.

She grinned her crooked smile. "Try me, Sammy boy."

Sam climbed through the fence into the arena. Sarah handed him some food as the same tiny lamb wandered over to them. Sam kneeled in the dirt and held his hand out to the lamb and petted it as it started to eat out of his other hand.

"Hi there," he told the lamb, gently. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all.

"Uncle Sam."

"Hm?" he acknowledged her as he watched the lamb.

"You're kneeling in poop."

"What?" Sam leaped to his feet, scaring the little lamb as it scurried away. He looked down at his pant leg, disgusted and moaned. "This is why I didn't want to come in here."

Sarah just snickered. "You know you're having fun."

Sam looked at his niece and couldn't help laugh, too. For the next forty-five minutes, the two of them interacted with the animals before leaving. Once they disinfected their hands, Sam suggested they get ice cream next. Crossing the street, they headed over the ice cream place.

Sarah stared through the glass trying to decide which ice cream flavor she wanted. She ended up choosing chocolate fudge with rainbow sprinkles in a waffle bowl while Sam got strawberry with M&Ms in a one-sized smaller waffle bowl. They sat at a table and enjoyed their ice cream.

It was quiet for a few minutes as Sarah started breaking off the waffle cone and dipped it in the ice cream. "Uncle Sam," she broke the silence.

"Yeah, peanut?" he replied, scraping what was left in his.

"I'm glad I have you and Dad."

Sam smiled at his niece. He took the last bite and dropped the spoon inside the waffle bowl before pushing it away and leaned on his arms. "Sarah, I want to let you know how much I really appreciate having you as my niece. When I see you and my brother together, it brightens my day to see him happy. In all the years, I never have seen him as happy as he is with you, that I can remember."

"Dad wasn't happy before he met me?" she asked, confused.

"No, no, he was. It's just…you have changed him in ways I never would have imagined. The way I see you guys wrestle. The way you guys laugh and mess around. I mean, sure we had those moments but it was different. Now, I feel your dad finally cares about life other than hunting, drinking, and girls."

"But I am a girl," Sarah pointed out.

"I mean grown up girls and how he interacts…with them." Sam tried to explain how Dean hooked up with girls without having to mention sex.

"So, Dad's different because of me?"

Sam nodded, "Kind of, yeah. The way he plays with you, and cuddles with you, and all of that, I never would have expected it from him. And because of that, I have never been more proud of my brother."

Sarah smiled at that. "My dad's the best."

He smiled, too. "Yes he is, peanut."

After the ice cream, Sam took his niece to the nearby park where he actually saw her interact with other kids. Sam wasn't too sure of the game considering they were calling it war but at least he heard her laugh and be a regular kid.

After an hour, Dean finally called and said they could return to the motel. Sam called out to his niece, telling her it was time to leave. She moaned at that which hurt him to have to pull her away. In fact, Sam gave her ten more minutes before they really did have to leave.

They walked back to the motel where Sam opened the door, letting Sarah in first. The minute she stepped in the door both brothers shouted surprise to her. Sarah's eyes widen as she looked around at the _Pokémon_ decorations and the different colored balloons scattered everywhere. She ran over to her father who scooped her up in his arms and kissed her cheek.

"Happy birthday, baby girl," he told her.

Sarah looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, Dad."

"Are you hungry? I got pizza for us."

"Oh yeah!" she replied, excited.

Dean set her down as Sam removed the plastic from the _Pokémon_ plates. Dean opened the box of a half pepperoni and jalapeno pizza, his and Sarah's favorite, and Sam handed him and Sarah each a plate before taking one for himself. Each of them took a slice. The other half was a supreme pizza for Sam.

They sat at the small table and ate.

"Did you have fun with Sam?" Dean asked his daughter as they ate.

"Yeah, we went to the petting zoo first where Uncle Sam kneeled in poop," she told him.

Dean laughed when he heard that.

Sam glared at his brother. "Ha ha, glad you find it hilarious, Dean."

Dean went for a second slice. "So what else?"

"We got ice cream and I played at the park," Sarah said.

"Awesome, kiddo. Sounds like you had a fun birthday, huh," he smiled at her.

She nodded. "You surprised me, too, Dad."

"I did, huh. You weren't expecting it at all?"

Sarah shook her head. "Uncle Sam said we couldn't have my birthday, remember? That's why I stopped counting down."

"Well yeah, but then I said we would try to have something for your birthday," he shrugged.

"Can I call Grandpa to tell him it's my birthday? Maybe he'll answer then."

"I doubt it, Sarah," Sam burst her bubble. "If he didn't call back when your dad was dying, then he won't call for your birthday."

At that moment, Dean's cellphone rang from the nightstand. Dean wiped his hands on a _Pokémon_ napkin and went over to answer it. He was surprised when he saw the screen and quickly flipped it open and a text message opened up.

"It's a text from Dad," he told his brother and daughter.

Sam stood up, fast. "What does it say?" he asked, hopeful.

"It says, tell Sarah happy birthday for me," he read.

Sam stared at him, surprised. "Seriously?"

Dean walked over and showed him the text message. Sure enough, it was a message from John for Sarah. Both brothers were in complete shock. John had not tried to contact them since Sarah had talked to him and Sam took off to find him. Now, out of the blue he texts Dean.

"But how does Dad even know its Sarah's birthday, anyway?" asked Sam.

Dean shrugged, sitting down. "Beats me," he shrugged. "Well, he was the one Sarah's other grandfather got ahold of in the first place. Maybe they chatted a bit about her and her birthday came up somehow."

Sarah was sitting on the edge of her chair, leaning back against the back of it. "I can't wait 'til I meet Grandpa so I can thank him," she said.

Dean looked over at her. "I can't wait until you meet him, too," he told her. "You done eating?"

She shook her head, "I want another slice." Sarah reached over and grabbed another slice of pepperoni and jalapeno pizza.

After most of the pizza was gone, Dean got out the cake and removed the lid. Sam opened the box of birthday candles and placed eight of them on top of the cake as Dean checked his pockets for his lighter.

"Come on, where is it?" he asked himself out loud. Finally, he went over to where he had left his jacket on the bed and checked in the pockets, finding it. Then Dean went back over and started lighting the candles with Sam's help. Sam used a lit candle to light the others.

Once they had all the candles lit, the brothers started to sing. "Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Sarah. Happy birthday to youuu." Sarah then quickly thought of a wish and blew out the candles as Sam and Dean cheered, clapping. After the candles were removed, Sam cut the cake, giving Sarah the first piece, followed by Dean, then himself. The rest of the cake ended up being thrown in a cake fight Dean had started.

Cake was thrown everywhere. On themselves, the walls, the floor including the beds. After they cleaned themselves up, the Winchesters tried as best as they could to get up most of it so the cleaning crew didn't have to. Well, the cake anyway. They'll worry about the rest in the morning. When the three of them were ready for bed, Dean pulled out the gift he had bought.

Sarah took it from him, sitting cross-legged on their bed. She ripped off the paper and was excited when she saw it was a remote-controlled helicopter. "Thanks, Dad," she thanked him and hugged his neck.

"You're welcome, baby girl," he told her, hugging her back.

While Dean opened the helicopter for her, Sam went out to Impala for a few moments. When Dean got it out of the box, he turned it on and tried it out first. The two of them watched as it hovered above them.

"Can I have a turn, Dad?" asked Sarah.

"No way," he teased her as he controlled the helicopter.

"It's my toy," she pointed out.

"So? I bought it."

Sarah jumped on her father and started trying to wrestle him for it. She tried to grab the remote out of his hands but Dean had a firm grip on it. "Dad," she whined, starting to get frustrated, sitting back on her legs.

Dean sat up, handing the remote to her after he landed the helicopter safely. "Okay, fine," he smirked.

She took the remote and tried it, herself. Sarah flew it all over the motel room, trying to keep it from crashing. Eventually, Sam came back in with a newspaper wrapped gift and handed it out to his niece. Sarah landed the helicopter and placed the remote beside her on the bed, taking her uncle's gift from him.

Dean switched off the power to the remote so it wouldn't waste the battery as Sarah ripped off the newspaper.

Sam sat down on his own bed. "Sorry it's not as cool as a remote-controlled helicopter," he said.

Sarah tossed the newspaper aside and looked at a package of green army men from the dollar store, bringing a smile upon her face. "I love these," she told her uncle and climbed off the bed to give her uncle a hug, and gave her father another one, too. "Thanks, Uncle Sam. Thanks, Dad." She told them.

"You're welcome, peanut," Sam replied as he hugged her back.

"You're welcome, baby girl," Dean replied, too when he also hugged her back.

For the rest of the evening, the Winchesters watched some TV until they each fell asleep. Sarah had had some pretty amazing birthdays, like the year her grandfather rented out a laser tag arena but so far, this birthday had been her favorite one of all because even though the brothers weren't rich and didn't have everything they ever wanted, the brothers, especially Dean found time and a way to make her day special and that's all that mattered to Sarah.


	28. Chapter 28: Shadow (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 28

Dean pulled up and parked by the curb before immediately getting out and went back to the trunk to get a small, red toolbox. Sarah got out on the opposite side, as well while Sam waited a minute before he got out of the car. All three were dressed in one piece jumpsuits like repairmen.

"All right, Dean," said Sam when Dean closed the trunk and stepped up onto the sidewalk. "This is the place."

"You know, I gotta say, Dad and me did just fine without these stupid costumes," Dean complained as they started walking towards the apartment building. It had seemed a young woman was murdered and the police had no leads on what could have done it since there were no sign of a break in. So, the Winchesters had decided to check it out since it sounded like their thing. "I feel like a high school drama dork."

Both brothers chuckled to themselves.

"What was that play you did?" Dean asked Sam. "That…What was it? _Our Town_. Yeah. You were good. It was cute."

"I did a play, once," Sarah spoke up. "I was the angel in our church's Christmas play."

"How'd it go?" asked Sam.

"Everyone said I was good," she replied. "Gram even says I'm her little angel."

Her uncle smiled, "Well, you're beautiful like one."

The Winchesters headed inside to talk to the landlord first who unlocked the door to the murdered woman's apartment. Dried blood was splattered all over the floor and no windows seemed to be broken. Sam asked the landlord some questions about what happened. She was the one who found Meredith, the young woman who was murdered. In pieces, too like a wild animal did it or something.

Eventually, the landlord left so the Winchesters could do some investigating of their own. Dean opened the toolbox and took out two EMF readers, handing one to Sarah while Sam got out the infrared thermal scanner.

"So, the killer walks in and out of the apartment," Dean thought through everything, out loud. "No weapon, no prints. Nothing."

"I'm telling you," said Sam, "the minute I found that article, I knew this was our kind of gig."

The EMF readers were going off, pointing in the red. "I think so, too," Sarah agreed, looking at hers.

"You say you talked to the cops, Dean?" he asked his brother as they all stood up and started walking around the apartment.

"Uh…yeah," replied Dean. "Spoke to Amy, a, uh…charming, perky officer of the law."

Sam was holding the infrared thermal scanner up towards the ceiling. "Yeah, what did you find out?"

"Well, she's a Sagittarius. She loves tequila, I mean…" Dean exhaled. "Oh, and she's got this little tattoo, right…"

"Dean!" Sam cut his brother off.

Dean quickly looked back at him. "What?" He suddenly remembered, A) they were on an important job and B) his daughter was standing in earshot of him. "Yeah. Uh, nothing we don't already know. Except for one thing they're keeping out of the papers."

"What's that?" asked Sarah, wandering around the room, looking for any clues. The EMF reader was clutched in her left hand.

"Meredith's heart was missing."

Sarah stopped and looked at her father. "So, do you think it's a werewolf?"

"No, not a werewolf," said Sam. "The lunar cycle's not right."

"I don't think a skinwalker could get in with everything locked," she shrugged.

"Even if it was some sort of creature, it would have left some kind of trace. It's probably a spirit."

Dean was looking at the blood splatter, his head tilted sideways. "See if you can find any masking tape around."

While he connected each splatter with black tape, Sarah watched. "What is playing connecting the dots gonna do, Dad?" she asked but didn't get an answer.

Once Dean finished, he stood up as they now stared at a big, black Z with a circle in the center of it.

"Ever see that symbol before?" Sam asked him.

"Never," he replied.

"Me neither."

Sarah tilted her head, looking at the Z. "It kind of looks like the Z in _Dragonball Z_ ," she said.

Dean rolled his eyes. "You would say something like that, wouldn't you?"

While Sam and Sarah did some research at the library, Dean headed for her workplace, a bar. Dean was asking the bartender about Meredith. Or rather, he was supposed to be. All he came out with was a phone number on a paper napkin.

Sam wandered into the bar, holding the door for his niece. He looked around and led Sarah over to a high table, lifting her up onto a chair before sitting in another.

When Dean noticed they were there, he wandered over to his family. "Talked to the bartender," he stated as he took a seat across from Sam.

"You get anything?" he asked, looking over a newspaper clipping of Meredith's murder. "Beside her number."

"Dude, I'm a professional. I'm offended that you would think that," Dean tried to explain but was failing miserably as Sam was nodding at him, knowing him well. So, he held up the napkin with the phone number on it, "All right. Heh heh."

"You mind doing a little bit of thinking with your upstairs brain, Dean?"

Sarah stared at her uncle. "We only have one brain, Uncle Sam," she told him.

Sam just sighed.

"There's nothing to find out, Sam," Dean told him. "Meredith worked here, she waited tables. Everyone here's her friends. Everyone says she was normal. She didn't do or say anything weird before she died. So… What about that symbol? Anything, besides the fact that it looks like a cartoon logo, according to cartoon queen here?" He shook his head towards Sarah.

"Nothing," Sarah replied. "I even looked in my books, too."

"There wasn't anything in Dad's journal, either," Sam added. "So we just have to dig a little deeper, I guess."

Sarah shrugged, "Where else should we look?"

"Well, there was a first victim, right, before Meredith," said Dean.

Sam went through the other news clippings and pulled out one of a man who was murdered inside his home, same as Meredith. "Right, yeah. His name was, uh… His name was Ben Swartz. Last month he was found mutilated in his townhouse. Same deal. The door was locked. The alarm was on."

"Any connection between the two of them?"

"Nothing I can tell," he shrugged. "I mean, not yet at least. Ben was a banker. Meredith was a waitress. They never met, never knew anyone in common. They were practically from two different worlds."

"So, to recap, the only successful intel we've scored so far is the bartender's phone number." Dean smiled at that.

Sam happened to look over at that point and noticed someone sitting on the other side of the bar, with their back to him.

"What?" Dean asked him.

Sam stood up and wandered over to the person as Dean called out to him. Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other. "Is Uncle Sam thinking with his…downstairs brain now?" she asked, confused.

He looked at his daughter. Finally, he said, "Next chance we get we're having the talk."

"What talk?"

" _Thee talk_ , before I lose my mind with your questions." Dean stood up and lifted Sarah down from the chair before they wandered over to where Sam was talking to a young girl his age with short, blond hair and very pretty features. He didn't like being left out so Dean cleared his throat a couple times before the girl told him to cover his mouth, rudely.

Sam looked back at his brother and niece. "Yeah, I'm sorry, Meg. This is, um…heh. My brother, Dean, and my niece, Sarah," he introduced to the girl, Meg.

"Hello," Sarah waved, politely.

Meg seemed surprised. "This is Dean," she said.

He nodded, "Yeah," quietly.

Dean smiled, "So you heard of me."

"Oh yeah. I've heard of you," she told him, matter-of-factly. "Nice. The way you treat your brother like luggage."

Sarah scrunched her eyebrows together as Dean asked, "I'm sorry?"

"Why don't you let him do what he wants to do," she told Dean off. "Stop dragging him over God's green earth."

"Hey, watch it, sister," Sarah warned, angrily. "You don't know my dad, at all."

"Sarah, calm down," Sam scolded his niece. To Meg, "Meg, it's all right."

Meg stayed quiet, staring over at Dean while Sarah stared up at her, with her arms tightly folded across her chest.

Dean whistled, "Okay. Awkward. I'm gonna take Sarah over there, maybe get a drink now." He turned to walk away. "Come on, Sarah, before you set off a bar fight."

Sarah reluctantly followed her father away from her uncle and his friend. They walked over to the bar where Dean ordered a beer for him and an ice water for Sarah. After Sam finished talking with his friend, the three of them headed outside.

"Who the hell is she?" asked Dean.

"I don't really know," Sam replied. "I only met her once."

"So you talk crap to strangers about Dad?" Sarah asked, in a nasty tone.

"Yeah, what was she sayin'? Huh?" Dean agreed. "I treat you like luggage?"

"Look, I'm sorry, all right. It was when we had that huge fight when I was in that bus stop in Indiana."

"So?" Sarah told her uncle. "That doesn't mean you go and complain to someone you don't even know about your own family, especially when that person doesn't even know him."

Sam let out an annoyed sigh. _Sometimes I wish you were an eight-year-old with an average eight-year-old's brain, Sarah_ , he thought to himself. "That's not important."

Sarah mumbled, "Sounds important to me," to herself.

"Just listen," Sam told them.

Dean cut his brother off. "Is there any truth to what she's saying? Am I keeping you against your will, Sam?"

"No, of course not. Would you listen?"

Turning around to face Sam, he asked, "What?"

"I think there's something strange going on here, Dean," said Sam.

"Yeah, tell me about it. She wasn't that into me."

Sam rolled his eyes. "No man. I mean, like, our kind of strange. Like, maybe even a lead."

"What makes you say that?" asked Sarah.

"I met Meg weeks ago," he explained. "Literally, on the side of the road, and now I run into her in some random Chicago bar? The same bar where a waitress was slaughtered by something supernatural. You don't think that's weird?"

"We ran into my cousin, a few weeks ago, randomly on a hunt," she pointed out.

"Kid's got a point there," said Dean. "Maybe it's just a random coincidence. It happens."

"Well, yeah, it happens but not to us," Sam argued. "Look, I could be wrong. I'm just saying that's there's something about this girl that I can't quite put my finger on."

"But I bet you like to," he smirked, his mind in the gutter again. "Maybe she's not a suspect. May-maybe you got a thing for her, huh?"

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother.

Dean pointed at his head, "Maybe you're thinking a little too much with your upstairs brain. Huh?"

Sarah was even more confused by the men's conversation. "What is with this upstairs/downstairs brain thing? Is it about sex or what?"

"Never mind, Sarah," Sam told her. "Just do me a favor, you two. Check and see if there's really is a Meg Masters from Andover, Massachusetts and see if you can dig anything up on the symbol on Meredith's floor."

"What are you going to do?" asked Dean.

Sam hesitated a bit. "I'm gonna watch Meg."

Dean chuckled out loud, "Yeah you are."

"I just want to see what's what," he assured him. "Better safe than sorry."

"All right, you little pervert."

"Dude."

"I'm going, I'm going," Dean finally said, walking away.

Sarah followed after him. "What's a pervert?" she asked.

Dean let out an annoyed sigh. "Okay. Talk starts now." They stepped up onto the sidewalk across the street from the bar. Dean was walking with his hands in his pockets of his jacket. "I know you know the difference between a guy and a girl."

"Uh huh," she nodded up at him.

"Well, when Sam and I were talking about our upstairs brain, we meant our brains in our head. But to a guy, we sometimes think with another part of the body, usually involving what's called sex. With me, so far?"

Sarah nodded, again. "So, what's sex?"

Dean looked elsewhere than his daughter. He could not believe he was having this conversation already with his eight-year-old daughter. But he could not go another hour, much less a day with another question about what he and Sam says now and again. "When a man and a woman like each other they like to express it in a natural, compassionate way," he explained and finally looked down at her. "It's actually how you were made."

"But Gram said God made me."

"No, your mom and I made you," he told her.

"So, you and Mom did like each other once?"

Dean stared down at the ground as he walked. "Well, yes and no."

"Huh?"

"Remember, I was still considered a kid, myself when your mother and I met. All my mind was on was hunting, partying, and sex. Still am, I guess you can say," he shrugged. "Your mom and I didn't want a relationship but then, after we saw each other she started falling for me more and I didn't want that. So, I left."

Sarah was watching her feet as she walked beside her father. "Mom said you didn't say good-bye to her."

He shrugged again. "I figured it would be more painful to say good-bye than to just leave."

"Yeah, well, Mom hated you for it. I'd catch her and Mark talking about you and how you and I ruined her life."

Dean continued to stare at the ground. He did feel awful about sleeping with Emily and then leaving her. That wasn't him, though. Back then, Dean Winchester did not do relationships. He did not do families, except for his own father and brother. He did not do any of that stuff. Now, that he was older though, and how becoming a father made him grow up some, he realized his childish mistakes had really done a number on more than one person's life.

He stopped to look at his daughter. "Sarah, I regret every day about what I did to your mom," he admitted.

Sarah's eyes widen as she looked back up at him. ""So, her and Mark were telling the truth?"

Dean looked up at the cloudy, night sky and let out a breath of air, closing his eyes. Finally, he returned to Sarah. "Yeah, baby girl. Yeah, they were right. What I did was stupid and asinine, and I wish I could take it back but I can't." Dean shrugged. "I mean, hell, I'm probably the main cause of her brain tumor."

Sarah looked away, sadly. "I didn't want them to be right."

"At least I can admit it, Sarah. Most guys wouldn't. Hell, most guys wouldn't have stepped up and fill their fatherly duties. I figured it was the least I could do though. The other option was putting you up for adoption and with your age, you could have been bounced around foster homes for several years since, for some reason, everyone wants babies and younger children. At least with your uncle and me, you have a family that loves you. Shoot, I stepped foot in Wal-Mart for ya. I don't just do that for anyone especially since I hate Wal-Mart." Dean couldn't help but laugh when he said that last part. "But seriously, Sarah, what already happened, I can't change, I know that now. But what I can do is fix what I can change and that's right here, right now." He took his right hand from his pocket and ran it through his daughter's brown hair. "You dig?"

Sarah looked up at her father and nodded. "Sometimes I did want to meet you."

Dean smiled, "You did, huh?" walking again as he kept his hand on the back of her head.

"Yeah. I wondered if you would have liked me or if you hated me, because you weren't around."

He took his hand back, sliding it back into his pocket as he stared ahead. "I think every kid that doesn't have a mom or dad in their life thinks that, baby girl," he told her as they walked to the motel they were staying in.


	29. Chapter 29: Shadow (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 29

Sarah leaned against her left hand as she stared at her uncle's laptop screen while her father talked to her grandfather's friend, Caleb on the phone about the symbol on Meredith's floor. Dean had Sarah look up Sam's friend, Meg while he took care of the symbol research.

"Thanks, Caleb," she heard him say before he closed his phone and walked over to lean over her on the table.

"Find anything?" he asked.

"Yeah, found her in the phone book. I even found her MySpace page," Sarah told him. "She hasn't been on for quite a few months though."

"MySpace? What the hell is that?"

"Some web site everyone's on," she shrugged. "Mom had one, too. Anyway, Meg seems normal. She even went to college."

"Thanks, baby girl." Dean opened his cell phone again and dialed Sam's number. "Let me guess," he told Sam. "You're lurking outside that poor girl's apartment, aren't you?"

"No," Sam replied, lying. There was an awkward pause before he changed his answer.

"You got a funny way of showing your affection."

"You find anything on her or what?" Sam asked, annoyed.

"Sorry man, she checks out," he told him. "Sarah found a Meg Masters in the Andover phonebook and on some web site. Now, look, why don't you go knock on her door and, uh, invite her to a poetry reading or whatever it is you do. Huh?"

Sam just shook his head. At least Dean cared enough to try. Sam just wasn't ready to move on yet on the whole dating thing. He could never find someone who could take Jessica's place and it felt Meg wasn't the right girl to fill that hole. "What about the symbol? Any luck?"

"Yeah, that I did have some luck with," Dean said. "It's, uh…" he looked through his notes he took when he was talking with Caleb. "Turns out its Zoroastrian. Very, very old school, like two thousand years before Christ. It's a sigil for a Daeva."

"What's a Daeva?" Sam asked.

"Translate to demon of darkness. Zoroastrian demons and they're savage, animalistic. You know, nasty attitudes. Kind of like, uh, demonic pit bulls."

"So, Sarah figured that out, too?"

"No, I did. Come on, give me some credit, man," Dean told him. "I can chase paper, too."

"Oh yeah," Sam asked. "Name the last book you read."

Dean tried to think up an answer but came up blank. "Uh, I called Dad's friend, Caleb. He told me, all right?"

Sam scoffed, "Yeah."

"Anyway, here's the thing. These Daevas have to be summoned, conjured," Dean continued to explain.

"So, someone's controlling it," Sam guessed.

"Yeah, it's what I'm saying," he told him. "And from what I gather, it's pretty risky business too. These suckers tend to bite the hand that feeds them. And the, uh, arms and the torsos."

"So what do they look like?"

"No one knows," Dean shrugged. "Nobody's seen them for a couple of millennia. I mean, summoning a demon that ancient, someone really knows their stuff. I think we got a major player in town. Now, why don't you go give that girl a private strip-o-gram."

"Bite me," Sam told him.

"No, bite her," he replied. "Don't leave teeth marks though. Just enough to…" The line went dead. "Sam? You…" Dean looked at his cellphone and saw his brother had hung up. So, he closed it and set his phone on the table.

"It's not nice to bite people, you know, Dad," Sarah looked up from some paperwork Dean's friend, Amy had dropped off a moment ago.

"Not this kind," he assured her. "That reminds me. Did you have any more questions about our talk we had about sex? Don't be afraid to ask me, if something doesn't make sense. We got some time before Sam gets here."

"Actually I do, but not about sex. You and Uncle Sam are from Lawrence, Kansas, right?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, why?"

Sarah pushed the paperwork towards him and pointed at the victims' date of births, and listed underneath as their birthplace was Lawrence, Kansas. Dean stared in shock at it. How did they miss this before?

"Is that another random co-win-si-dense?" she asked, trying to repeat what her father said earlier.

Dean picked up the death certificates and got a closer look. He shook his head and said, "No, this is something else entirely."

Several minutes later, Sam came bounding through the door towards Dean as Dean went up to him as they both said, "Dude, I gotta talk to you."

"That was weird," Sarah said the exact same thing the brothers were thinking.

Sam went first, explaining about what he had just witnessed with Meg.

"So, hot little Meg is summoning the Daeva," Dean said, afterwards.

"Looks like she was using that black alter thing," Sam continued to explain as Dean walked over and sat back at the table.

"So Sammy's got a thing for the bad girl?" he chuckled to himself. "And what's the deal with that bowl again?"

"She was talking into it, the way witches used to scry into crystal balls or animal entrails. She was communicating with it."

"So, Meg's a witch?" Sarah asked, looking up from an online, Cartoon Network game she was playing on her uncle's laptop.

Sam shrugged, "Could be. I don't know."

"Was she talking to the Daeva?"

"No, your dad said those things were savages. This is someone different. Like someone who's coming to that warehouse."

"Like that demon Grandpa's after?"

Sam looked her. "What makes you say that, peanut?"

Sarah looked over at her father, then back at her uncle. She was about to speak when Dean beat her to it, "Holy crap" in realization.

"What?" he asked.

"What I was gonna tell you earlier," said Dean. "I, uh, pulled a favor with my, ahem, friend Amy with the police department. The complete records of the two victims. We missed something the first time and Sarah caught it."

Sam moved closer to his brother, "What?"

"The, uh, first victim, the old man? Spent his whole life in Chicago but he wasn't born here. Look." He showed Sam the death certificates of both victims.

Sam sat down in utter disbelief and sighed. "Holy crap. I mean, it is where the demon killed Mom. It's where everything started. So you think Meg could be tied up with it, somehow?" he shrugged.

"It's a definite possibility," said Dean.

Sarah closed the laptop. "I haven't heard from the demon for a while. So far, it hasn't popped into my dreams."

"I don't understand, then," said Sam. "What's the significance of Lawrence? And how does these Daeva things fit in?"

Dean shook his head, leaning on his folded arms, "Beats me. But I say we trash that black alter, grab Meg and have ourselves an interrogation."

Sam shook his head, too. "No, we can't. We shouldn't tip her off. We gotta stake out that warehouse. We gotta see who…or what…is showing up to meet her."

"I'll tell you one thing," said Dean. "I don't think we should do this alone."

Sam understood who his brother meant but Sarah did not. She looked between the brothers, back and forth until she asked, "Who's gonna help us?"

"Dad," Sam said, quietly.

"You think he'll come this time?"

Dean looked over at his daughter. "Hopefully," he said.

Sarah went out to Impala with Sam to load up on every weapon Sam could think to grab, including a few books of exorcism rituals. He had Sarah carry the smaller, lighter bag as he took the heavier one up to their motel room. When they returned, Dean was leaving John a voicemail before they got the weapons prepared.

"Big night," Dean stated, loading a shotgun.

Sam agreed, "Yeah. Nervous?"

"No. No. Are you?" he asked in return.

"No. No way."

Dean nodded before returning to the gun in his hand.

"Is it okay to be nervous?" Sarah asked next, loading her own shotgun.

Her father looked at her and reached over to touch her left shoulder. "Yeah, but it'll be okay. The three of us are in this together. Okay?"

She nodded at him.

After a moment where no one said anything and all was heard was the sounds of guns being loaded, Sam spoke, smiling as he shook his head, "Could you imagine if we actually found that damn thing? That demon?"

Dean chuckled at him, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves, all right?"

"I know. I'm just saying…what if we did? What if this whole thing was over tonight? Man, I'd sleep for a month." Sam started packing everything back inside the duffel bags. "Go back to school. Just…be a person again."

Dean looked up when Sam mentioned going back to school. "You want to go back to school?"

"Yeah, once we're done hunting the thing," Sam told him.

"Huh."

"Why? Is there something wrong with that?" he asked his brother.

Dean shook his head, fixing his wrist strap. "No. No. It's great. Good for you," he said, sadly.

Sarah watched her father and knew already, he was a little bit disappointed. Sarah watched how her father handled things since she met him and started basically idolizing him.

Her uncle asked him what Dean was going to do when it was over and Dean stated that it was never going to be over. That there would always be something to hunt.

"But there's gotta be something you want for yourself. I mean…don't you want a better life for your…"

Dean cut his brother off in mid-sentence. "Yeah, I don't want you to leave the second this thing's over, Sam" He stormed away from the bed and leaned on the dresser. Sarah went over and reached up to place her hand on his lower back, the highest she could reach just standing.

"It's okay, Dad. Uncle Sam's not leaving yet," she assured him.

Dean looked down at his daughter under his left arm. He placed his hand on top of her head and looked back at Sam. "Why do you think I drag you everywhere, Sam? Huh? I mean, why do you think I came and got you at Stanford in the first place?"

"'Cause Dad was in trouble," said Sam, "'Cause you wanted to find the thing that killed Mom."

"Yes, that," he said, pushing Sarah, gently towards his leg to hug her against it. She hugged his leg to her. Dean threw his head away from his brother, "But it's more than that, man."

"It's okay, Dad," Sarah kept telling her father when Dean didn't say anything else. "Even if Uncle Sam decides to leave, you will always have me. I won't ever leave you." She looked up at him, sincerely.

He looked down and forced a smile for her. "I know, baby girl but it's not just that." Dean closed his eyes.

"What is it then?" she asked him.

"You Sarah, and Sam, and your grandfather. I want us to be a family, together. The four of us."

Sam watched his brother. He loved him and knew that they would always be a family but families don't always stick around together, forever. Sometimes, they have to stray apart so they could do other things. It didn't mean they did not care about their family. It was a part of life and Sarah needed to learn stuff like that. "Dean, we will always be a family," he told him and Sarah even though he addressed Dean. "I'll do anything for you, and Sarah, too. But things will never be the way they were before."

Dean continued to stare at his little girl, sadly. He tried to say something but all he could muster was, "Could be."

Sam nodded, slightly. "I don't want them to be."

Sarah quickly looked over at her uncle, surprised to hear him say something like that. "Why not?"

He turned to look at his niece. "Because I'm not gonna live this life forever." Sam looked back at his brother. "Dean, when this is all over…you're gonna have to let me go my own way."

Dean finally snuck a look at him again. Now that Sam said he was going to leave after the demon was killed, he hoped now the demon would never be found. He didn't want his family torn apart again. Now that he had Sarah, Dean wanted both his father and brother with him. He wanted them to stay together as a family.

As the Winchesters got ready to leave, Sam picked up a duffel bag and headed out to the Impala again. Sarah followed when she noticed Dean was still standing at the bed, his right hand clamped around the other duffel bag's handles as it still lied on the bed.

She stepped towards him. "Dad? You doing okay?" Sarah asked.

Dean broke from his thoughts and looked over at her. He slung the duffel bag on his shoulder but did not move yet.

Sarah continued to watch him. "I meant it, Dad. Even if Uncle Sam goes away, I will still be here." She paused for a few seconds before continuing. "I don't want him to leave either, though."

Dean finally turned and walked over to stand beside her. Father and daughter exchanged looks between them before Sarah turned and the two of them followed after Sam.


	30. Chapter 30: Shadow (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 30

As Dean drove to the warehouse, Sarah silently prayed in the backseat. He glanced up at the rear-view mirror and rolled his eyes, not understanding how after all she's seen so far, how much faith Sarah could have.

Sarah sat with her head bowed and her eyes closed. She prayed for protection for her family and that they made it through tonight safely. Sarah also prayed that by a miracle, maybe her grandfather would come and help them.

When she finished, Dean was the first to speak. "I hate to be the pin to your balloon, Sarah but you are wasting your time. You are praying to nothing."

She looked at her father. "Dad, you said to keep it to myself and that's what I'm doing."

"Just saying, Sarah, you can't ask for something from someone who's not gonna answer."

"Just because you don't get an answer, doesn't mean He's not listening."

Dean and Sarah didn't know it but Sam was actually smiling about his niece, hiding it. No one knew it but he actually prayed, too and believed it. Sam wasn't a church-goer or a bible reader but every night, he said a small prayer.

Finally, they came up to the warehouse and went in from an elevator. Sarah held onto her father's neck as he and Sam climbed up the shaft. After a long climb, they made it to a large room where Meg had her alter. Sam climbed out first, quietly, and set the duffel bag he was carrying down before grabbing his niece from his brother and set her on her feet in front of him.

Sarah, per her uncle's orders, quietly hurried behind some boxes and crates. When Dean was up, on solid ground, he and Sam quickly followed, too. They kneeled behind the crates and boxes. Dean carefully opened the duffel bag he was carrying and handed Sarah her shotgun then traded Sam's pistol for another shotgun, placing the pistol in the bag. Finally, he pulled out a shotgun for himself as they watched Meg, who had been chanting in Latin.

"Guys," Meg said out of nowhere. "Hiding's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

The Winchesters exchanged looks between them before turning back to Meg. They stood up and slowly walked forward, their shotguns pointing towards her while Meg stepped towards them.

"Sam," Meg smiled at him. "I have to say, this puts a real crimp in our relationship."

Sam raised his eyebrows at her, "Yeah, tell me about it."

Sarah stood in between her father and uncle with her shotgun raised, pointing it at Meg.

"So," Dean spoke up, "where's your little Daeva friend?"

"Around," Meg replied. "And that shotgun's not gonna do much good."

"Oh, don't worry, sweetheart. Shotgun's not for the demon."

"So who is it, Meg?" asked Sam. "Who's coming? Who are you waiting for?"

She stared at him, casually, "You."

Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a dark shadow appeared on the wall and the Winchesters went flying back, slashing at them. Sarah cried out for Dean as it cut into her flesh. Then, everything went black. When the three of them came to, they were tied up to a few pillars.

Sarah lifted her head, weakly as she felt blood leaking down from her right cheek and left temple. She tried to move her hands but that's when she found out she was tied up.

"You okay, baby girl?" Dean asked from her left.

"Yeah," she replied, quietly.

Dean looked over at his brother on his other side. "Hey, Sam?" he told him. "Don't take this the wrong way, but your girlfriend…is a bitch."

"This…" Sam turned to Meg. "The whole thing was a trap." He shook his head. "Running into you at the bar. Following you here, hearing what you had to say. It was all a setup, wasn't it?"

Meg just laughed.

"And that the victims were from Lawrence?"

She smiled, "Doesn't mean anything. It was just to draw you in, that's all."

"Wait, you killed those people just to lure us here?" Sarah demanded of her. "Even though they had nothing to do with this?"

"Sweetheart, I killed a lot more for a lot less," Meg told her, coldly.

Sarah glared at her, "You're dog shit, you know that, lady? In fact, you're the kind when it turns white."

"Ouch, do you kiss your mommy with that mouth?" she smirked at her, unfelt by the little girl's insult.

"So, you trapped us," Dean said, changing the subject for his daughter. He knew how touchy she was still, with her mother. "Good for you. It's Miller time. Why don't you just kill us."

"Not very quick on the uptake, are we?" she asked him, smirking, still. Meg leaned forward, "This trap isn't for you."

Dean was surprised to hear that. He stared at her, not saying a word.

Sam realized who the trap was for, though. "Dad," he said in a low voice, getting Dean and Sarah's attention. "It's a trap for Dad."

Dean looked back at Meg and smirked, shaking his head. "Well sweetheart, you're dumber than you look. 'Cause even if Dad was in town, which he is not, he wouldn't walk into something like this. He's too good."

"He is pretty good," Meg agreed. "I'll give you that." She then stood up and walked over to where Dean was sitting on the floor and kicked his leg away from where he had it crossed over the other before she kneeled down to his level.

Sarah got on her guard, not liking Meg that close and personal to her father when he was tied up. She started trying to pull free from her binds.

Meg messed with Dean's jacket, also raising Sarah's guard more. "…He has one weakness."

Dean smirked again, "What's that?"

She looked at him, "You. He lets his guard down around his boys. Let's his emotions cloud his judgments. I happen to know he _is_ in town. And he'll come and he'll try and save you. And then the Daevas will kill everybody, nice and slow." Meg looked over at Sam, "And messy."

"Well, I got news for you. It's gonna take a lot more than some shadow to kill him."

"Oh, the Daevas are in the room here," she said, looking back at Dean. "They're invisible. Their shadows are just the only part you can see."

"Why are you doing this, Meg?" asked Sam. "What kind of deal you got worked out here, huh? And with whom?"

She looked over at him, angrily. "I'm doing this for the same reasons you do what you do. Loyalty. Love."

Sam just rolled his eyes as he shook his head up at the ceiling.

"Like the love you have for mommy. And Jess."

"Go to hell," he told her in a whisper.

Meg smirked at him, "Baby, I'm already there." Meg moved over to hover over Sam. "Oh, come on, Sam. There's no need to be nasty." She pressed against him and said in his ear, "I think we both know…how you really feel about me." Sam tried to shift away from Meg but she moved with him.

"Dad," Sarah whispered to her father.

"What, Sarah?" he responded to her, quietly.

"Is that what sex is?" she asked, innocently.

Dean let out an annoyed breath of air. "Not a good time, kid."

"I was just wondering, because it's really creepy to watch, to me."

He rolled his eyes as he finally told Meg and Sam to get a room, that there was a kid there as Meg continued. Sarah decided to turn her head, starting to get grossed out. Instead, Sarah focused on getting loose. She tried to slip her wrists from the binds when she caught sight of her father trying to cut loose with a knife.

Soon though, Meg caught wind of it and went over to take the knife away, tossing it to the side before going back over to Sam. Sarah looked back and saw it had landed a few feet from her. Stealing a glance over at Meg, she twisted her body where she reached her right foot out, towards the knife. The position was twisting her arms in a painful way but Sarah tried to ignore the pain as she reached for the knife.

However, her uncle got her attention when he headbutted Meg.

"Sam," Dean exclaimed, "get the alter."

Once Sam was stable from the pain in his now throbbing head, he got to his feet and hurried over to the alter, flipping it over. Everything that was laid out on the table crashed on the floor. Once the alter was destroyed, the Daeva appeared again and went after Meg, pulling her in and tossed her through a window. She fell to the ground to her death.

Sam hurried over to grab his knife and cut both his brother and niece loose before they hurried over to the broken window, looking down at Meg's now mangled body. "So I guess the Daevas didn't like being bossed around," he inquired.

Dean agreed, "Guess not." Sarah tried to pull herself up to see, too but Dean stopped her. "Easy there, baby girl. There's broken glass and you're bleeding enough as it is. You'll see it when we get out there, anyway." Dean then turned to his brother, "Hey, Sam?"

"Hm?" he acknowledged him.

"Next time you wanna get laid, find a girl that's not so buckets of crazy, huh?" Dean smiled and walked away. Sarah followed after him.

Sam stayed, staring down at Meg before following, too. They collected their duffel bags and headed downstairs, using the stairs this time and got into the Impala. Sarah stole a glance over at Meg's lifeless body. It looked kind of sad to her, but knew Meg had it coming to her. She was an evil person who killed for the hell of it. That was a monster in Sarah's book.

On the car ride back to the motel room, Sarah sat in the backseat, cross-legged. She touched at the now, dried blood on her face, thinking. She stared at the floor in front of her. John didn't come. They needed his help again, and he still wasn't there. Maybe Meg was lying about him being in town. Sarah could tell how loyal her father was to him just as she was loyal to her father. But John didn't seem to care as much as Dean cared for her so why? Well, maybe if Sarah was in Dean's shoes and he was missing like John was, maybe she would be the same way.

Before she knew it, Dean had pulled up to the motel and parked. They all got out and Sam carried one of the duffel bags in with them. Sarah lagged behind a bit, not really listening to what her father and uncle were saying. When Dean unlocked the door and turned on the light, she looked up when he yelled, "Hey."

Sarah looked around her father to see a shadow over by the window. Sam was already opening the duffel bag. Sarah turned quickly, ready to grab a weapon. Sam stopped when the shadow turned around, and he and Dean saw who it really was. Sarah recognized him from pictures and her dream, only older and had more facial hair.

"Dad?" she heard her father say.

"Hey, boys," John replied, smiling.

Dean looked back at Sam before he walked towards his father, who met him halfway and shared a hug. Sarah gripped the wall as she watched. So, her grandfather did come? Then why didn't he come to the warehouse and help them? How did he even get into their room? Oh, wait, right. John probably taught her father how to pick a lock.

Sarah looked up to see Sam walking over to them and set the duffel bag down.

John looked over at him. Sam was giving him a serious look. "Hi, Sam," Sarah heard John say.

Sarah could barely make out a "hey, Dad" from her uncle.

"Dad, it was a trap," said Dean. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

"It's all right," John assured his oldest son. "I thought it might have been."

"Were you there?" he asked.

John was looking down, nodding, "Yeah. Just in time," he raised his head, "to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy, right?"

"Yes sir," the boys said in union.

So, John was there. He just headed to the motel room to meet them. Sarah continued to stand back, holding onto the wall. She didn't know why she felt afraid when she had already talked to her grandfather. She saw him turn his head over to Sam.

"Well, it doesn't surprise me," he said. "It's tried to stop me before."

"The demon has?" asked Sam.

"It knows I'm close. It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it or send it back to hell. Actually kill it."

Dean shook his head, "How?"

John smiled at him, "I'm working on that."

Dean smiled, too when Sam said, "Well, let us come with you. We'll help you." Dean looked at his brother as if to say, "Come on, dude. Don't do this."

John shook his head, looking down. "No, Sam. Not yet." He looked up again. "Listen, try to understand. This demon is one scary son of a bitch."

Sarah had to agree with her grandfather there, especially those yellow eyes of its. It made chills go down her spine just thinking about them. She could see them piercing through her mind. Sarah had been in thought for so long that by the time she looked back at her family, John and Sam were hugging each other.

That was also when Dean noticed Sarah was still standing back there, out of the corner of his eye as he was smiling at seeing his father and brother hugging it out instead of at each other's throats. "Come here, baby girl," he told her. "It's okay."

Sarah started to walk towards her father as John turned around to get a look at his first and only grandchild. Sarah never made it, though. Out of nowhere, John was thrown back against the small kitchen's cabinets, and the boys and Sarah were knocked in different directions.

Sarah cried out as one of the Daevas scratched her right eye.

"Sarah!" she heard her father yell for her before he cried out in pain, himself.

"Daddy!" she yelled back. Sarah tried to get up but the Daeva that was after her took another swing at her. Soon, she heard her uncle yell for them to shut their eyes before the room was lit up in blinding light. Sarah covered her eyes with her left arm. Then, a few moments later, she felt someone pick her up and heard her uncle yell to her father that he had her. Sarah held onto Sam as he carried her out in one arm as he carried the duffel bag on his opposite shoulder.

They hurried as fast as they could, out to where the Impala was parked. Sam set his niece down before tossing the duffel bag into the backseat. Dean was holding his father up. "All right, come on. We don't have much time," Sam was saying. "Soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."

"No, wait. Wait," Dean told him. "Sam, wait." He looked over at his father, panting heavily. "Dad, you can't come with us."

"What?" Sam asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You boys, you're beat to hell," said John and nodded down at Sarah. "Look at your kid, Dean. She looks just as bad."

"We'll be all right," Dean assured his father.

"Dean, we should stick together," Sam told him. "We'll go after this demon thing, together."

"Sam, listen to me. We almost got Dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They'll use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right." Dean paused for a moment before he finished, "Dad's vulnerable when he's with us."

Sam looked at him, panting heavily, as well. Sarah was hugging onto her father's left leg now.

"He's stronger without us around."

When Sam turned to try and talk John out of leaving, Dean looked away and suddenly remembered his daughter. He painfully kneeled down to her level to give her an once-over and saw that her right eye was shut and blood was dripping down like tears. He touched his right thumb above it and tried to open it, gently. "Does that hurt, baby girl?"

She nodded. "My tears make it hurt more, Daddy."

Dean's eyes widened when he realized that Sarah needed medical attention as soon as possible that her eye maybe damaged. "Sam, we have to go," he said, interrupting their conversation.

"Dean," he tried to argue.

Dean looked up at his brother. "Sarah needs to see a doctor, Sam."

John and Sam looked alarmed. "What's wrong with her?" asked Sam.

Dean looked back at his daughter and tried to pry her eye open again. It opened a little bit, but all he saw was more blood. "It's her eye. One of the demons must have scratched it."

John went over and kneeled down, too, also in pain and got a look for himself. "Yes, get her to a hospital as soon as possible."

Sarah looked back at her grandfather. "I don't want you to go, Grandpa," she told him.

"I have to, sweetheart," he replied. "Your father's right. I have to get away, at least for a while."

"We'll see you again…right?"

"I promise, sweetheart," he said.

Sarah then threw herself at her grandfather and hugged him around the neck. "Thanks for the birthday text message, by the way," she whispered into his right ear.

John smiled, "You're welcome but you all really need to get going." He let her go and stood up before walking over to where he had parked his big, old two-door pick-up truck. Stealing one last look at his boys and granddaughter, he said, "Be careful." John then opened his door and got in, driving away.

With a small push from Dean, Sam went around the Impala to his side and got in as Dean and Sarah got in, too. Once John was gone, Dean started the engine and pulled out of the spot before turning the steering wheel to drive away to start the search for a hospital.


	31. Chapter 31: Temporary Goodbyes

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 31

"Here's your card, sir," a kind woman in her early thirties, wearing blue scrubs told Sam as she handed him back their insurance card.

Sam thanked her and turned around to walk over to where Dean was pacing back and forth, a nervous wreck. Both of them were bandaged up since they had arrived at the hospital about a little over an hour ago, after Sarah was taken into care and ever since then, Dean had been trying, very patiently to wait for the doctor to return and tell him his little girl was going to be all right.

Dean couldn't believe this had ever happened. Sure, Sarah had some injuries over the past year from hunts but Dean had always been able to treat them, himself. Even when the motel they were staying in, didn't have a first-aid kit, he always made due with rags and beer. Now, as he paced the floor of the waiting room, he couldn't help but think the worse possible outcome of this. Most importantly was if this was grounds to bring in Child Services. He wasn't sure and hoped it wasn't.

Sam sat down in one of the chairs and leaned his forearms on his knees. After a few minutes, he looked up at his brother. "Dude, you're not helping my nerves any. Will you sit down before you dig a hole to China?"

Dean stopped pacing, his back to his brother. He then turned around, "I can't help it, Sam. I won't be able to calm down until I know my little girl's okay."

"Dean, I told you in the beginning you shouldn't have brought her into all this. Sarah's a kid. I mean, Dad didn't let us hunt until we were, like, at least fourteen," said Sam.

Dean ran his hand along his hair. "I…I just didn't want Sarah out of my sight. If I leave her in a motel room something could find its way in. She doesn't have an older brother to protect her, Sam."

"I don't ever recall anything coming in and getting us, growing up," he shrugged.

Dean looked away before walking from his brother, not saying a word. Flashes of a particular night zoomed in through his mind. He couldn't tell his brother that he almost got Sam killed once because he was bored and wanted to get out of the motel room.

"Dean, what's going on?" asked Sam. When Dean did not respond, he dropped his head before picking it back up. "Dean, if you're that worried about Sarah being alone why don't we drop her off at Bobby's? Bobby liked having us there when Dad dropped us off. Maybe he won't mind taking care of Sarah when we're on hunts. It'll be a lot safer for her in the long run, anyway."

"He's not her father, Sam," he shot back around to his brother. Sam was taken by surprise. "I am. I'm the one who should be taking care of her. Not you. Not Bobby. Me."

Sam looked around, thankful the waiting room they were in was deserted. He stopped and looked at his brother. "I know you're her father, Dean. I'm just saying that it would be better if Sarah didn't hunt. At least until she's older."

Dean was staring at the floor. "I just figured since she knew about this stuff already…"

"I learned when I was nine, you learned at an even earlier age but Dad didn't drag us out on a hunt until a decent age. Sarah's eight, and she may seem older, she's not." He stopped, letting it sink in for a few moments. "If you want, I can make the call to Bobby."

Dean did not respond. At that point, he just wanted to be by his daughter's side, holding her in his arms. He didn't like having Sarah out of his sight no more than five seconds. He was ecstatic when the doctor finally came out and walked over to the brothers. Sam stood up when she stopped beside Dean.

"Are you here for Sarah Winchester?" she asked them, holding a thick, grey metal clipboard.

"Yes, I'm her…"

Sam nudged Dean in the arm before he told the doctor that he was her uncle. Technically, since Dean was confirmed dead, Sam was Sarah's guardian which actually got under Dean's skin.

"Well, your niece has what we call a corneal abrasion on her right eye. It's usually from when you scratch your eye," the doctor explained. "We managed to stop the bleeding for the most part and applied drops to it."

"But she's okay, right?" Dean asked of her.

"Yes. She'll need to keep it covered for about at least a week and I will prescribe a bottle of eye drops that will need to be given once, every six hours." The doctor looked between the brothers. "You were lucky you got her in when you did. By the look of the seriousness, it's a miracle Sarah still has both her eye and vision."

Dean blew a sigh of relief. "Can we see her now?"

"Yes. She's resting right now and after I get the paperwork finished and fill out that prescription, you can take her home." The doctor turned and led the brothers down a hall to a room surrounded by a long curtain. She pushed it back a little and let them go in.

Dean hurried over to where Sarah was sitting on the edge of a hospital bed. She was wearing a piece of gauze taped over her right eye, along with several bandages like her father and uncle. Dean wrapped her in a tight hug, glad she was all right.

The doctor left the family alone.

"How ya feelin', kiddo?" Dean asked his daughter.

"My eye doesn't hurt as much," she replied.

"That's good," Sam smiled from the other side of the bed. The smile vanished. "Sarah, your dad and I were talking and we think it's best if you went to stay with Bobby…"

Dean quickly finished, "Just until your eye gets better." He forced a smile for her. "I mean, you're no good on a hunt with only one good eye."

"But what if you find the demon while I'm gone?" she asked. "I want a part of it, too. I want it dead as much you do."

"It's just for a week, I promise," he assured her. "We will come back for you."

Sam looked over at Dean. "Dean," he said.

Dean ignored him.

Once everything was sorted, Sarah was able to be checked out and they met up with Bobby, who happened to have just finished a hunt of his own, not far from where the Winchesters were. Bobby pulled up in his old, two-door car where they were leaning against the Impala underneath a highway.

Bobby turned off the engine and stepped out, shutting his door before walking over to Sam and Dean. "Hey, boys," he told them. Bobby turned to Sam. "It's good to see ya, Sam. It's been a long time."

Sam nodded agreeing then shared a hug with the old hunter before Dean had one, too.

"I somehow knew I'd be getting a call from you, Dean."

Dean had his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground. He looked up when Bobby told him that. "It's just for a week, just until her eye is better. This won't be an on-going thing." Sam and Bobby shared a look as Dean kneeled down to his daughter's level. "You be good for Bobby, you hear me?"

Sarah nodded at him, "Yes, sir." She had heard her father and uncle address John that way so since then Sarah had been addressing Dean in the same manner. Dean flinched at first, being called sir but did not fight it.

"If I hear you acted like a brat to him, you know what's gonna happen when I come to get you. Got it?" he told her.

Again, she nodded, "Yes, sir."

Dean then pulled his daughter into a tight embrace. The following week will be the hardest week Dean has had the past year, of fatherhood. He did not want to be states away from his little girl, knowing that he would not be there to protect her. Dean did trust Bobby, though. It was just the fatherly instinct he had inside his ears, mind, and heart.

When Dean finally let go, Sarah went over to hug Sam next before she got her duffel bag from the trunk of the Impala and placed it in Bobby's, who opened it for her.

"Ready to go, youngin'?" Bobby called as he walked over to the driver's side of his car.

Sarah walked around to the passenger side and opened the car door. Dean walked over beside his car door and stood there, watching his little girl. His hands were dug into his jacket pockets. A tear was starting to fall from his right eye. Sarah stole one last look at her father and hurried over to give one last hug to him. Dean lifted her up and held her, tightly in his arms.

"It'll be okay, Daddy," she assured him from his left shoulder. "It's just a week."

Dean sniffed back more tears. "I know, baby girl. I know." After a few minutes, he put her down on her feet and ruffled her hair, forcing a grin. "Try to be a normal kid, this week. Okay? No research. No thinking about hunting. Just…be a kid. Show Bobby what I taught ya under a hood."

Sarah wiped her left eye, dry. "I will, Daddy." She then walked back over and got inside the car where Bobby was already inside, with the motor running. Sarah shut the door and waved at her father and uncle. "I love you, Daddy. Love you, Uncle Sam."

Sam was leaning on his side of the Impala, on his forearms. "I love you, too, peanut," he smiled. Sam knew he was going to miss his niece just as much as his brother was but with only one good eye in function, time away would do them some good and maybe, hopefully make Dean see that this would be the best thing for Sarah, permanently.

"I love you, too, baby girl," Dean told Sarah as well. "Help Bobby out around the place, too."

"I will," she replied. With that, Bobby put the gear in drive and drove away. Sarah looked back as her father and uncle got smaller and farther away before Bobby turned a corner, then she sat back into the seat and looked over at the old hunter. "If you don't mind, I'm gonna take a nap. It's been a long night and I'm pretty tired."

Bobby was surprised to hear something like at from a kid so young but nodded. "I'll wake ya up when we get home."

Sarah turned her head back towards the window. As she watched the stars zip pass, her eye started to feel heavy until finally Sarah drifted off to sleep.

When Bobby had turned the corner, Dean turned and looked down for a moment before getting inside the Impala. He looked up at the rear-view mirror to see nothing.

"Dean…" Sam tried to speak beside him.

"Don't start, Sam." he told his brother. "'Cause I'm really not in the mood." Without another word, Dean started the engine and drove off in the same direction, only instead of turning left at the corner he went right as he fought the urge to go left. After seeing his father again, and then having to separate from not only John but his daughter as well, none of it sat too well for him.

When Sarah woke up, she was lying in a bed under the covers. She lifted her head and peered around the room. Her shoes were off beside the bed. Sarah pushed the comforter and blanket back and got out of bed, wandering out into the hall. After checking all the rooms before she found the bathroom, she headed down the stairs to find Bobby in the kitchen, warming up some chili on the stove.

He looked up when the little girl stepped on a creaky floorboard. "Afternoon, little one," he greeted her. "I thought you were gonna sleep all week."

Sarah looked around the kitchen. "What time is it?" she asked.

"About two. You're over due on your eye drops, too, by the way," he said.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," Sarah remembered.

"Why don't ya go run a bath first," Bobby suggested. "No offense but I can smell ya from here and it ain't a bed of roses either."

Sarah folded her arms and glared at the old hunter. "You go hunt a bunch of Daevas then come talk to me."

Bobby laughed. "I'm just teasing ya. I know how dirty a hunter can get. Now run along so we can get these eye drops in yer eye."

She unfolded her arms, "Okay," and hurried back up the stairs to grab her stuff. A bath probably was better than a shower since she had to keep a bandage on her eye at all times. After the bath, Bobby helped with the drops and tore-bandage it.

"I'm starving," she announced afterwards. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Nope, I was just warming up some leftover chili if you want some," Bobby replied.

"Sure." It wasn't long before Bobby discovered Sarah had her father's appetite. She ended up having two helpings of chili.

After lunch, Bobby had to go out and work on a car. Sarah tagged along and watched at first before she caught something that he missed and pointed it out to him, impressing him some more. For the rest of the afternoon, Sarah stood on an up-turned milk crate while they worked on the car together. To Bobby, it felt like he had a young Dean with him again.

Once the car was finished, they headed back inside the house, after Bobby fed Rumsfeld his dinner. It turns out that the dog didnot mind kids or at least Sarah anyway since he didn't snarl or snap when she tried to pet him on the head.

Bobby warmed up the chili again and the two of them finished it off before washing the dishes. While Bobby washed and rinsed, Sarah dried.

"So, how's the hunting life treating ya?" Bobby tried making small talk. All afternoon, all they talked about before was cars.

"I like it," Sarah replied. "It feels more rewarding than what I did before when I lived with my mom."

"What about school though?" Bobby was washing out one of the bowls.

She shrugged, "Uncle Sam homeschools me in between hunts."

"Don't you miss your friends?" he asked, handing her the bowl.

Sarah took it and dried it with the towel she was using. "I never really had friends," she admitted. "Except maybe my cousin, but since we met up with him back in Nebraska he's not the same person."

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious.

"Before he went away to Iraq, Mark always told me, it's what's on the inside that counted. That it didn't matter how you were on the outside but now that he's back and hating himself for being alive and stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life, I don't know anymore. And he really hates Dad, and anyone who hates my dad is not on my list of friends."

Bobby chuckled at. "You love your daddy, don't cha?" He washed the last bowl and handed it to the little girl, reminding him of Dean.

She smiled, nodding, "More than anything in the world. Well, except God."

"Well, I don't know anything about that," he admitted, scrubbing the big, old pot now. "My wife believed in all that religious stuff for the both of us."

Sarah looked up at him, curious. "You're married?"

Bobby stared at the pot as he scrubbed the inside first, silent for a moment. "Was. She died a long time ago."

"I'm sorry, Mister Bobby," she told him, sadly.

He looked over at Sarahand then returned to washing. "Thanks, kid. You don't have to do the whole formal thing with my name, though. Just Bobby is fine. In fact, you can call me what your daddy and uncle used to call me when they were your age."

"What was that?" asked Sarah, patiently waiting to dry the pot.

"Uncle Bobby."

Sarah watched the old hunter. "Are you Grandpa's brother?"

"Nope but your grandfather used to drop your daddy and uncle offwith me when he knew a hunt would take more than a week. That is, until I threatened to shoot him with a shotgun then I didn't see them until they were grown."

An eye brow was raised. "Why did you threaten to shoot Grandpa? Did he make you mad? Or did you think he was possessed?" she continued to ask.

Bobby did not answer at first. "Your…" He shook his head. "Yer a little young to understand."

"How come everyone says that when they meet me? I'm very smart. In fact, I was bumped up a grade when I was in school and Uncle Sam is even teaching me third grade stuff. He's even gonna start on fourth grade in August with me."

Bobby had finished washing the pot and was just staring at the little girl. "I swear, it like having Sam and Dean in one body," he told himself, out loud.

Sarah smirked and Bobby recognized it, too. It was going to be a long week for the old hunter.


	32. Chapter 32: A Week at Bobby's

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 32

Dean drove down Interstate 35 as Sam slept beside him, snoring softly. It was quiet except for the Impala's radio and engine. Dean leaned his elbow on the door, thinking about how Sarah was doing. He had called the night before and found out she was having a great time. Don't get him wrong, he was glad his little girl was happy. It just still did not feel right having her miles away from him. When Dean slept he would feel around beside him and wake up in a state of fear, searching around the room for Sarah before he remembered that she wasn't there.

Dean looked over at his brother who was sleeping with his mouth open a bit. Since he could use a bit of cheering up, and Sam was the perfect target to do just that, Dean reached down and picked up a plastic spoon and slowly and very carefully slid it into Sam's mouth before taking a picture, sending it to Bobby to show to Sarah. Both he and Sarah loved picking on Sam, and Dean knew Sarah would get a kick out of the picture.

Once he put his phone away, he turned up the volume of the radio and started singing along, banging on the steering wheel like it was a set of drums. Sam woke with a start, spitting out the spoon before he turned the volume back down.

"Ha ha," Sam told his brother, annoyed. "Very funny."

"Sorry. Not a lot of scenery here in east Texas. Kind of gotta make your own," he lied, snickering.

"Man, we're not kids anymore, Dean. We're not gonna start that crap up again."

"Start what up?" Dean asked.

"That prank stuff," Sam looked over at him. "It's stupid, and it always escalates."

"Aww, what's the matter, Sammy? You afraid you're gonna get a little Nair in your shampoo again, huh?"

"All right," he gave in. "Just remember you started it."

Dean laughed, "Ho-ho, bring it on, baldy."

Sam looked out his window. "Where are we, anyway?"

"Few hours outside of Richardson," he replied. "Gimme the low down again."

Sam ripped a piece of paper off the dashboard and read over it. A misogynistic ghost was haunting a house, seen by a group of kids. The conversation was then shifted over to Sam telling Dean about a web site that anyone could read about a supposed ghost haunting.

Dean scoffed at it.

"Look, we let Dad take off," Sam reminded him. "Which was a mistake, by the way."

"Yeah, so was leaving behind your niece," Dean mumbled under his breath.

"Huh?" Sam asked.

"Nothing," he told Sam, calmly.

"Anyway, we have no idea where he is, so in the meantime, we gotta find something to hunt. There's no harm in checking this thing out," Sam shrugged.

"Well, all I'm saying is, it better not take more than a week. We have to be in Sioux Falls."

Sam threw his head back, letting out a breath of air in frustration. "When are we gonna finish discussing this, Dean?" he asked, picking his head back up.

"There's no discussion, Sam," Dean said. "As soon as Sarah's eye is better, she's coming back. I promised her she could have a part in all this."

"Which is crap, by the way."

Dean glanced over at Sam while still keeping an eye on the road. "This demon affects her, too. I don't know if you remember or not but her aunt was killed by this thing, the same way Mom was. She's also psychic like you. You saw what Meg could do, Sam. I'm pretty sure the demon probably has other followers, as well. Sarah needs to be with us. Okay. End of discussion."

"Dean, don't you remember what Dad said? Shoot, it was you who reminded _me_ in the first place. If it's too dangerous for us, then it's definitely too dangerous for Sarah. You have to let her sit this one out."

"She's a great hunter, Sam. She learns quick and she can fight, and last I checked, we could use all the help we can get."

Sam shook his head. This wasn't about Sarah being a great hunter. It was about Dean wanting to protect his daughter himself without any help from no one. It was about having his family with him at all times because he was afraid of losing them if they weren't there. "You know what, Dean."

"Yeah, what's that?" he asked, staring ahead as he gripped the steering wheel in one hand.

"You want to call me a selfish bastard when you're probably the most selfish than I am."

Dean smirked forward. "Yeah, I'm selfish. Selfish for wanting what's best for my kid," he told himself, out loud, sarcastically.

"The safest place would be away from all this and just going to school, being a kid. You heard the doctor, Dean. Sarah was lucky to still have use of her eye."

Dean ignored him.

"So, that's it. Sarah's gonna continue hunting?"

Dean banged his thumb on the steering wheel to the beat of the music, "Yup."

Sam leaned his arm on his door as he mumbled, "Why don't you just kill her and save her the pain?"

Dean still heard his brother, though. He slammed on the brake and pulled off to the side, getting out and slammed the car door shut. Dean walked away as Sam stepped out of the car next.

"Dude, what the hell is your problem?" Sam demanded, following after his brother.

Dean stopped and just stood there. He wiped his hand along his face and through his hair. Dean turned his head towards Sam. "Do you think I want this life for my daughter? I mean, do you think I enjoy watching her clean guns and research local legends and news articles instead of playing her video game and playing catch with me?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, Dean," he told him, quietly. "I do see you two having fun, but I also see you training her the way Dad trained us. I don't know what to believe."

"I hate it, okay. I just plain hate it. I hate the fact I put Sarah through all this. I hate the fact that she got seriously hurt the other night. But this is our life and if Sarah wants to walk away from it when she turns eighteen, she can."

Sam shifted on his feet, his hands in his jacket pockets. "That's the thing, Dean. She never wants to walk away from it. Sarah told me she wants to continue with the family business when she grows up. She even said she thinks it'll be cool to be a hunter on the back of a motorcycle."

Dean looked straight ahead. A smirk flashed across his face when he heard what his little girl wanted. But the smirk quickly faded when he realized Sarah was now a brainwashed soldier. This wasn't a life he would wish on anyone let alone his own kid.

"It's not too late to change her mind, Dean," Sam broke into his brother's thoughts. "You want to be a good dad then do the right thing and pull Sarah out of this. At least for a few years, if not any."

Dean looked at his brother one last time and responded, "No. If Sarah wants in on this, then I say we let her. At least she's not fighting on what's important unlike you did." With that said, Dean went back to the Impala and got back inside.

Sam let out another deep breath, looking around before he followed.

Sarah came down the stairs in a blue, _Pokémon_ T-shirt and black shorts, jumping from the third to last step. She landed in a crouching position, catching herself with her hands before standing up and hurrying into Bobby's study.

"Good morning, Uncle Bobby," she greeted as she walked up to where he was sitting at his desk, researching a creature for another hunter.

He looked up at the little girl. "Morning, Sarah," he replied. "Hungry?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, I can get it. You look busy."

Bobby chuckled to himself as he watched Sarah head into the kitchen and climb onto the counter to open the cabinet where her favorite cereal, "Trix" was. She also reached into the one next to the cabinet to grab a bowl.

"After you eat, come here and I'll give ya yer drops," Bobby called over to her.

"Okay," she replied, jumping down. Sarah then took the cereal and bowl over to the kitchen table and poured the cereal inside the bowl before fetching the milk from the fridge. Once her breakfast was made and everything was put away, Sarah started eating.

After a few minutes, Bobby's cell phone rang from his desk. Picking it up, he opened it and saw it was a text from Dean. _When is that boy gonna learn I don't use instant text messaging?_ Bobby thought to himself. He opened the text and saw a picture of Sam sleeping with a spoon in his mouth. Underneath, it said, _This is for Sarah. She'll get it._

"Sarah, you have a text message from your dad," he told Sarah.

Sarah leaned back on her left hand, holding her spoon in her other hand on the table. "What's it say?"

"He sent ya a picture of your Uncle Sam, and that you would understand. Care to come explain it?"

Sarah stood up from the chair and walked over to him where he showed her the picture. Sarah burst out laughing when she saw it. "That is awesome," she laughed.

"Let me guess, your daddy and uncle still pranks each other, don't they?" Bobby took a wild guess.

She shook her head, "No, Dad and I just like picking on Uncle Sammy. It's so easy and funny."

"You two are awful, you know that?" Bobby smirked, shaking his head as he looked at the picture again.

Sarah laughed some more until Bobby told her to go finish her breakfast or he'd gave her something to laugh about.

After Sarah finished eating and received her treatment, she lied on the couch, up-side down, playing her PSP. When Bobby finished his work, he stood up from his desk and headed upstairs. He returned and tossed a baseball glove at Sarah. It landed in front of her view of her video game, surprising Sarah who sat up, immediately.

"You're not sitting around the house all week," he told her. "Your dad says you like to play catch so the two of us are gonna go toss the ball around."

Sarah agreed and hurried upstairs for her shoes before following Bobby outside to an open area, facing each other with a few feet between them. Bobby tossed the baseball overhand at her. Sarah caught it and tossed it back.

"Make sure you keep that elbow in," Bobby told her when he caught it and then tossed it back.

Sarah caught the ball in her glove and held the ball up, positioning her elbow how Bobby told her to.

Bobby nodded, "Just like that, kid."

Sarah then tossed it at him who barely caught it.

"Nice throw there."

She smirked. "I made my dad have to go fetch it once because I threw it so far."

"So, you're a tomboy, huh?" he asked, tossing it back to her.

Sarah had to move to the right to catch it that time. "Yeah, ever since I can remember. Mom hated it, but Dad says I can be anything I want to be," she told him, proudly and tossed the ball back.

Back and forth, they tossed the ball while they talked. Bobby asked about growing up with her mother, but mostly about Sarah in general. Sarah openly told him everything, including her mother's death. It was sad, but slowly Sarah was losing feeling towards her mother. As she talked about her, Bobby could sense that the little girl just did not care anymore. Sarah told him she only loved her mother to a certain point, by now.

The next day, Bobby offered to take her by her grandparents' house since it was a two-hour drive from his house and Sarah still remembered their address. The whole way there Sarah could hardly sit still in anticipation of seeing her grandparents again.

When Bobby pulled up to the gate, Sarah told him the code and he punched it in before driving right through. She then directed him to the right house. When Bobby pulled up to the house he stared in shock at the huge two-story house.

"I thought you said your mom worked two jobs," he said.

"Yeah, but Gram and Papa are retired," she told him before opening her door. "Come on, Uncle Bobby." They both got out of the car and walked up to the front, double doors. Just like Dean, Bobby also tried to ignore the many eyes staring back at him.

Sarah rang the doorbell and a few moments later, Greg Holden answered the door, surprised to see his granddaughter there. "Hi, Papa," she greeted him, happily.

"Sarah? Is that you?" he replied.

She nodded up at her grandfather and went over to hug him. Greg kneeled on one knee to hug his granddaughter in return, lifting her up into his arms as he stood up to let Bobby in.

He held out his hand to Bobby after shutting the door. "I'm Greg Holden, Sarah's grandfather."

Bobby returned the handshake. "Bobby Singer, pleased to meet you," he nodded at the man.

"Um, where's her father?" he asked.

"Uh, he and his brother are on an errand for the whole week. I'm taking care of Sarah until he gets back," Bobby explained.

When Greg got a good look at his granddaughter he noticed the bandage on her eye. "Sarah, what happened to your eye?" he asked of her.

Sarah hesitated at first, trying to think of a good lie. "Uh…um… Dog," she blurted out. "Really big dog. Scratched me right across the eye."

Greg knew his granddaughter though and could tell when she was lying. He carried her inside the living room where a woman his age was folding laundry while she watched a daytime soap opera. Greg sat her in an arm chair and peeled away part of the bandage. Her eye was partly closed now but there was no blood whatsoever.

He replaced the bandage and asked her for the truth but Sarah continued to say that a dog did it. Bobby had not thought about whether they would question about her eye and was now regretting it. He was glad when Greg just decided to drop it, remembering how stubborn his granddaughter could be.

Sarah then hurried over to give the woman a hug. "I missed you, Gram," she told her.

Her grandmother hugged her back, "I missed you, too, my little angel. What have you been up to? Staying out of trouble, I hope." She winked at the little girl.

Sarah smirked, "Of course, Gram."

Greg was sitting on the arm of the chair Sarah had been sitting on. "Bobby, this is my wife, Beth," he introduced which Bobby and Beth shook hands.

"So, what brings you here?" Beth asked her granddaughter and Bobby.

"I live two hours away in Sioux Falls and thought after all this time, Sarah would like to see her grandparents again," Bobby explained, sitting beside her on the couch.

Beth smiled at Sarah who was sitting in between them. "Well, we have sure missed you, angel."

"Are you out of school for the summer yet, Sarah?" asked Greg.

Sarah looked over at her grandfather. "I don't go to school, anymore. My uncle, Sam homeschools me now."

"Your uncle? I thought your father said he was in college."

"He was but he left when his girlfriend died. It hurt him that much." Sarah tried very hard to not mention the family business but still kept some truth in it.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Greg told her. "Let him know he is in our prayers."

Sarah smiled at her grandfather, "Thanks, Papa. I will."

They visited for most of the day. Sarah had a lot of fun visiting her grandparents, telling them about how great Dean was and how much fun they had picking on Sam. Greg asked why she had turned down Mark's offer but by hearing how much she and Dean had bonded he understood why. Both Greg and Beth had always known Sarah to be mature but she seemed different than they remembered. She was happier and cheerful. They could also see something different in her eye, something that definitely wasn't there before. Whatever Dean did, Greg and Beth couldn't be more proud. Of course, if they knew the truth they probably wouldn't be.

Over the next few days, Sarah helped Bobby out around the house like her father told her to do, mostly with the cars and in the kitchen. There was a few times when she helped him with some research for a hunter, now and then but that would be kept between Bobby and Sarah.

One evening, Dean called to check in like he had done every evening. "Hey, baby girl," he told her. "Did you have another fun day?"

Sarah sat on the couch in Bobby's study. "Sure did. Uncle Bobby and I fixed an old Mustang today. Washed it, too. Guess what?"

Dean smiled, "What?"

"I got him with the hose but then he got me back," she told him.

"You did, huh?"

Sarah nodded, "Uh huh." She was talking on Bobby's cell phone. "How's the hunt? Did you figure out what it is you're hunting?"

"Yeah, it's a Tulpa. It's a Tibetan thought form," Dean explained to her. "A bunch of people believe in this Mordechai spirit and he changes shape. So, we made up a story ourselves to kill it. We're actually heading out to the house right now."

"Wait, Dad," Sarah said. "I've been thinking about this. You said Mordechai could leave the house, right?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"What if you just burn the house? He can't haunt a house if there's no house to haunt."

There was silence as Dean thought on what his daughter said. "Good point, Sarah. That will be Plan B if our plan backfires." It then dawned on him. "Hey, didn't I say, no thinking of hunting, this week?"

"Uh…" Sarah hesitated, trying to think up an excuse. When she couldn't she told him, "I couldn't help it, Daddy. It's stuck in my brain now. I want to hunt again."

"I know you do, baby girl. Once we're done with Mordechai, we'll come get ya," he assured her. "How's your eye?"

"It's feeling a lot better now," she said. "It barely hurts anymore and I can open it again."

"That's great," Dean praised, happily.

Sam called from the background, "Dean, come on. We have to go!"

"I have to go, baby girl," he told her.

"Okay, call me afterwards. I want to hear all about it."

Dean smiled, "I will. I love you."

"I love you, too, Dad."

They both hung up. Sarah sat there, staring at the phone. She wished she was there with them, taking down Mordechai. It wasn't fair. Why did she have to get hurt and have to sit out from a hunt? Sarah was itching to get back out there. She lied down on her side and continued staring at the phone, waiting until her father would call back.

Dean sat on the bed in the motel room, staring at his phone, too. It just wasn't a hunt without his little girl right there, beside him, making smartass remarks or laughing at his humor, or just having his back like Sam. It was still torturing him not having her there.

Finally, after another call from Sam, they headed out to Mordechai's house.

Sarah had fallen asleep, clutching Bobby's phone in her hand. Bobby tried to wake her to eat but she continued sleeping. He also tried to pry the phone from her hand but soon found out how much of a grip the kid had.

When Bobby turned to head back into the kitchen, he heard her softly talking in her sleep and realized she must have been dreaming about her father.

A few hours later, Sarah was awakened by the cell phone ringing. She sat up as the blanket Bobby had covered her with fell around her waist and looked at the screen. It said Dean on it. Opening the phone up, Sarah put it to her ear, "Daddy?"

"Hey, baby girl," he replied. "Your idea worked. Mordechai is gone and we're on our way to pick you up. Should be at Bobby's place by tomorrow morning."

A big smile appeared on her face. When they hung up, Sarah ran up to Bobby's bedroom and jumped on the old hunter, scaring the heck out of him. "Daddy's coming in the morning, Uncle Bobby," she told him, excitedly.

"That's great, now go back to bed," he told her, sternly, tiredly.

"I'm hungry, though," she admitted, sitting back on her legs.

"Should have woken up when I tried to wake you earlier."

"That's not fair, Uncle Bobby," Sarah told him.

"Dinnertime is at dinnertime, not at midnight."

Sarah folded her arms. "I'll call my dad then and he'll agree it's unfair, too."

Bobby sat up from his pillow. "Sarah, I tried waking you up for dinner, for ten minutes and you still were sleeping. Your dad may feed ya whenever you're hungry but here, when you sleep right through dinner, that's it. You can wait 'til breakfast."

"But I'm hungry," she tried to plead with him.

He only just shrugged, "And I'm sorry but that's my rule."

Sarah looked down at the bed. "It's a stupid rule," she pouted.

Bobby reached out and pulled the little girl into his arms. "After that big lunch we had today I think you'll survive," he smiled down at her.

Sarah couldn't help but giggle at that and snuggled into his chest. When she fell back to sleep, Bobby carried her into the bedroom she had been staying in and laid her down on the bed, covering her up.

The next morning, Sarah woke bright and early on her own, which was a first for her, by the way. She quickly got dressed and went downstairs to make herself a bowl of cereal. As she drank down the leftover milk, she could hear the familiar engine of the Impala pull up towards the house and ran outside just as Dean was getting out of the car.

Sarah leaped off the porch and ran over to her father who scooped her up into his arms. She then squeezed his neck as he squeezed her right back. "I missed you so much, Dad."

"I missed you, too, baby girl," Dean replied. After what seemed like a never-ending hug, Dean looked at her. "What do ya say we get in some more practice while we're here?"

Sarah shrugged, "Sure."

Sam went inside the house after sharing a hug with his niece. Dean kneeled in the dirt and put his fists up.

"Okay," he said. "I want you to put your fists up like we're gonna fight."

Sarah raised her fists like her father.

"Now, I want you to punch me as hard as you can."

"But I don't want to hurt you, Dad," she told him.

"Trust me, you won't, baby girl. Now let's see you punch."

Sarah got into her fight pose and pulled back her fist before letting go. Dean blocked it with the back of his left arm. He shook his head and told her what she was doing wrong in her punches, and showed his daughter how it should look, off to the side. When Sarah had it, he stood up and had a fake sparring match, also showing how Sarah could use her small size to her advantage.

The two of them went at it all morning, with Bobby and Sam watching from the sidelines, each having a beer. They couldn't believe Dean was so stubborn about his daughter hunting but overall, he was Sarah's father and had the final say in making decisions about her.


	33. Chapter 33: Something Wicked (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 33

Sam leaned against the hood of the Impala as he watched his niece climb up the jungle gym over on the playground with another little girl. John had sent them coordinates to Fitchburg, Wisconsin on another hunt but did not tell them what they would be hunting and Sam did not find anything suspicious when he researched the area.

Dean walked up with two cups of coffee and handed one to his brother. Well," he said, "Waitress thinks that the local Freemans are up to something sneaky, but, uh, other than that, nobody's heard of anything weird going on."

Sam was listening but wouldn't take his eyes from the deserted playground. There were maybe couple kids, not counting Sarah, playing right now, considering this was the time of day when kids are usually playing. "Dean, you got the time?"

Dean pulled back his jacket sleeve and looked at his watch. "Ten after four." He looked up at Sam. "Why?"

Sam nodded over at the playground, "What's wrong with this picture?"

Dean looked over there to see for himself. Now, just Sarah and the other girl was there. "School's out isn't it?"

"Yeah," he replied. "So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now."

Dean agreed. He noticed a woman sitting over on a bench, guessing it was the girl's mother and walked over to her, holding his coffee. When he walked up to the edge of the playground, Sarah was hanging upside down from the top of the jungle gym.

She waved to her father, "Hi, Dad."

He waved back with the fingers that was around his cup while the other hand was dug into his pocket. "Hey, Sar. Be careful, would ya?"

Sarah lifted herself up to grab onto the top bar and held on while she pulled her legs out, continuing a conversation she was having with the girl. "So your friend's sick in the hospital?" she asked her.

The little girl nodded. "She was okay one day but wasn't the next."

Sarah was sitting crouched on a bar, holding on to the top one. "Was she coughing or sneezing?"

She shook her head.

"Amazing kid, you have there," the woman on the bench was telling Dean. "She's very curious for someone her age."

Dean smirked over at his daughter. "Yeah. Thanks," he replied and took a look around. "Sure is quiet out here."

The woman looked up from her reading again. "Yeah, it's a shame."

"Why's that?" he asked.

"You know, kids getting sick," she said. "It's a terrible thing."

"How many?"

"Just five or six, but serious. Hospital serious." She returned to her reading. "A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching."

"Should I be worried then?" he asked, glancing over at Sarah before returning to the woman.

She shrugged back, "Just watch out for her. Make sure the window's shut and latched."

Dean returned to watching the kids, "Hm."

The Winchesters decided to head over to the hospital next to see if they could get more information on the children getting sick.

"Dude," Sam told Dean, holding a fake ID in his hand. "Dude, I am not using this ID."

Dean asked, "Why not?"

"Because it says, 'Bikini Inspector' on it," he said.

Sarah looked up at her uncle, strangely. "Why do you have that?" she asked him.

"Your dad gave it to me, peanut," he told her. They were all talking in a low voice so no one would hear them.

Dean was grinning about the ID. "Don't worry, she won't look that close, all right?" He assured his brother. "Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence, Sammy." With that, Dean gave a push Sam around to face the nurse behind the front desk.

Sam stared at the nurse for a moment before he introduced himself, "Hi. I'm, uh, Dr. Jerry Kaplan. Center for Disease Control."

The nurse folded her hands together on the desk, "Can I see some ID?"

Dean snickered, looking away as Sam looked over at him. Sam returned to the nurse and showed her the ID. Well, the back of it, anyway. He then asked for directions to the Pediatrics ward and turned away, thankful it was over.

On the way, Dean caught sight of an old woman sitting with her back turned, in a wheelchair. Over on the wall was an upside down cross. It made him suspicious about her.

Sarah stopped and walked back to her father, looking around the wall at what he was looking at. "What's wrong, Dad?" she asked him.

"Nothing, right now. I'll tell you later," he told her before walking again.

In the Pediatrics ward, they spoke to a doctor by the name of Dr. Heidecker. He explained how their first thought was pneumonia until the usual antibiotics weren't working in their systems and learned that the children's white blood cells were lowering. No one knew what it was and no child was conscious either. And it was spreading through siblings, as well.

They spoke to one of the parents and learned that it had started with the oldest child the first night, then the youngest, the next. Sam was figuring it was just a normal case of pneumonia while Dean had a doubt that it wasn't. So, since the father they talked to wasn't going to be home for a while the Winchesters decided to search the house.

Dean and Sarah each ran the EMF readers around the children's bedroom while Sam used a blue light. They weren't coming up with anything.

"Kid has a lot of teddy bears," Sarah noted, holding hers up to the window on one side of the bed.

"Yeah, usually what a little girl has," Dean teased her. "Not a monkey whose ass looks like it's on fire." Since Sarah got some of her toys back from her grandparents, Dean loved teasing her about some of them. He wasn't serious and Sarah knew it.

Sarah gave her father a fake glare as Sam was opening another window. "Dean, you were right," he told his brother. "It's not pneumonia."

Dean and Sarah walked over to the window. Dean looked down at the windowsill to a black, rotted-in handprint of what looked like a skeleton's hand. The fingers were long and thin, including the thumb. Sarah got a look at it, too.

"It's rotted," Sam observed as Dean leaned on his hands. "What the hell leaves a handprint like that?"

Dean recognized it, immediately and knew what they were dealing with. He did not answer though. He was recalling a time when John was leaving for a hunting trip as a young Dean was staring at a picture of the same kind of handprint. Dean snapped out of it when he realized Sarah was shaking his right arm, trying to get his attention.

"You okay, Dad?" she asked when he was back to the present.

"Yeah," he told her. To Sam, "I know why Dad sent us here." Dean stood up straight, still staring at the handprint. "He faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job."

"Wait, the same exact creature?" asked Sarah. "Grandpa didn't kill it?"

He shook his head. "No, it, uh, got away."

The Winchesters left the house and went in search of a motel, parking in front of the main office.

"So, what the hell is a shtriga?" Sam asked, stepping out of the Impala and shutting his door.

Dean and Sarah got out on the other side, heading back towards the trunk. "It's a kind of witch, I think. I don't know much about'em."

"Well, I never heard of it and it's not in Dad's journal," he said.

"I think I might have something about them in one of my books." The name "shtriga" was sounding familiar to her. She grabbed her stuffed monkey Pokémon when her father had the trunk open, clutching it to her.

Dean smiled at the sight. He loved when his daughter had a normal, kid reaction once in a while and though he would never admit it, out loud, thought it was cute. He shook his thoughts away to answer Sam. "Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin about sixteen, seventeen years ago. You were there. You don't remember?"

"No," Sam replied.

"And I guess he caught wind of the thing in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates," he continued.

Sam shifted his weight, "So wait, this…"

"Shtriga."

"Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?" asked Sam.

Dean shut the trunk. "Yeah, maybe."

Sam followed after him as Dean headed for the motel's office. "But if Dad went after it, why is it still breathing air?"

"'Cause it got away," he answered.

"Got away?"

Dean stopped and looked back, "Yeah, Sammy. It happens."

Sarah was standing between her father and the Impala, listening to the brothers.

"Not very often," Sam pointed out.

"I don't know what to tell you," Dean shrugged. "Maybe Dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning"

"Ew, Grandpa eats that cereal?" asked Sarah. "Papa eats it, too. It doesn't taste good," she shook her head.

"Figure of speech, Sarah," Dean told her before he walked away. Why his daughter couldn't figure out figures of speech like everything else, he'll never understand.

Sarah followed after him.

Sam asked, "What else do you remember?"

Dean looked back over his right shoulder, "Nothing. I was a kid, all right?" and went inside. Sam stayed outside while Dean rented a room, ringing a bell and bringing a kid a lot older than Sarah out from the backroom.

"King or two queens?" the kid asked.

Dean glanced back at Sam, "Two queens."

The kid looked over at Sam, too and snickered, "Yeah, I bet."

"What'd you say?" he asked, sternly.

"Nice car," the kid smiled before a young woman came in the door Dean and Sarah had also come through.

"Hi," she said. "Checking in?"

"Yeah," Dean replied.

The woman looked at the kid. "Uh, do me a favor, go get your brother some dinner."

"I'm helping a guest," the kid tried to argue with her.

She gave him a look that told him to listen before walking around the long desk.

The kid nodded at Dean, "Two queens," he told her and went to feed his younger brother.

Dean chuckled, "Funny kid. Reminds me of my daughter here." He smiled down at Sarah who playfully punched his leg.

The woman was looking down, filling out a rental form. "Yeah, he thinks so. Will that be cash or credit?" She looked up.

"Do you take MasterCard?" he asked.

"Mm-hm," she replied.

"Perfect." Dean reached back into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, taking his credit card out and placed it on the desk. The woman took it and slid the rental form to him. Dean picked up the pen to start writing when he happened to glance up as the kid was pouring his younger brother a glass of milk. He thought about when he and Sam were kids, doing the same thing.

Sarah was starting to get worried about her father especially when she couldn't see over the desk. "Dad, what's wrong? Dad." She tried to get his attention by pushing on his leg. "Dad." Sarah started getting frustrated until Dean finally snapped out of it. "Dad, what's going on? You've been spacey all day."

"I'm fine, baby girl," he assured her, again. "Just a little tired, that's all."

Sarah folded her arms around her stuffed Pokémon's neck, staring up at her father. "You're lying, Dad."

Dean was filling out the rental form again. "Dude, I'm not sharing my personal stuff with a kid," he told her.

The woman was smiling at the pair. "Funny kid," she repeated what Dean had said to her.

Dean shook his head at the paper, smirking, "She thinks so."

Once Dean had the room key, the two of them headed back outside and drove over to their room, starting on their research. Sarah placed her duffel bag on one of the beds and crawled to the middle of it, sitting crossed-legged before opening the bag up. She removed her sweatshirt, tossing it beside her. It flew too far and ended up on the floor.

Sam was turning on his laptop, over on the other bed when he saw it happen. "Sarah, is that where your sweatshirt belongs?" he asked of his niece when she didn't move to retrieve it.

Sarah looked over where she had tried to aim and saw her sweatshirt wasn't there. She got up onto her hands and knees to look over the edge, dropping onto her stomach to reach down and pick it up, putting it on the bed.

"Thank you, peanut," he told her, relieved there was no argument involved that time. Sometimes, Sarah preferred to give her uncle a hard time when he asked her to do something she did not care about.

"Mm-hm," she nodded, digging out her books on monster lore and started skimming through one of them.

Sam watched her as his laptop booted up. It pained his heart to see his niece so involved in hunting and research. It didn't seem natural to him. When Sarah finished one book, she grabbed another and skimmed through it.

After half an hour, Sarah found what she was looking for. She knew the word, "shtriga" sounded familiar to her. She found it when Sam had come across a web site, explaining the same thing.

"I want to tell it, Uncle Sam," she interrupted her uncle. "You always get to do it."

Sam looked over at her. "No I don't," he smiled at his niece.

"Uh huh," she argued.

"Nuh huh," he teased her.

"Uh huh."

Back and forth, they went. Sarah did not know that her uncle was only playing with her, and was starting to get upset. Finally, Dean just couldn't take it, anymore.

"Would someone start talking already? I don't care who, just do it."

Sam laughed, softly. "Go ahead, peanut."

Sarah looked down at her book that lay open in her lap and read what a shtriga was, out loud, messing up on the Latin terms. Sam was still working with her on that. Sarah had the words down for the most part. There was just a word now and then that messed her up. Still, it was impressive by how much she did know of the language.

"Spiritus vitae," Sam helped her out.

Sarah repeated it to him.

"Right," he nodded at her.

"Spirit what?" Dean questioned, leaning on the counter, surrounded by books, as well.

"Spiritus vitae," Sam repeated, "It translates to 'breath of life.' Kind of like your life force or essence."

Dean was writing something down. "Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" he asked.

Sam nodded, "It's a thought. You know, she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell. Pneumonia takes hold."

"Do you think it'll come after me?" Sarah asked Sam.

Sam was about to answer when Dean beat him to it. "Don't worry, baby girl. I am not gonna let that happen to you. The shtriga isn't coming within ten feet of you. Now, come on. Continue reading or let Sam take over."

Sarah looked over at her uncle before she finished reading. When she read the part where shtrigas couldn't be killed, Dean intervened.

"No, that's not right," he said, walking towards them. "She's vulnerable when she feeds."

Sarah looked between her father and the book. "But it doesn't say that in here."

Dean was going through his bag that was on the foot of the bed Sarah was sitting on. "Because no one knows about it, but if you catch her while she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron. Uh, buckshots or rounds, I think."

"Is that what Grandpa used?" she asked.

"Yup, that's what I remember he told me, anyway."

Sam huffed, "Oh. So, uh, anything else Dad mighta mentioned?"

Dean glanced up from the book he was looking through, back at the counter now. "No, that's it." Sam continued to stare at his brother. "What?"

Sam finally looked away, "Nothing."

Sarah was watching both brothers. "There's not gonna be another fight, is there?" she asked of them.

"What makes you say that, peanut?"

"Because Dad's not talking and I heard you do your deep breathing thing you sometimes do."

Sam repeated, "My 'deep breathing thing?'"

"You know that thing you do when you're annoyed with Dad."

He turned off his laptop. "No, peanut, we're not gonna fight." He stood up and walked over towards Dean, "Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take a human disguise when they're not hunting."

"What kind of human disguise?" Dean asked.

"The book says, a feeble old woman," Sarah answered her father.

It made sense to Dean as he turned around and picked up a map of the neighborhood. "Check this out."

Sarah got up from the bed to head over to where the men were. Dean lifted her up with his left arm and sat her on the counter so he could show her and Sam.

"I marked down the addresses of the victims," he explained, pointing at each house he had circled. "Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far and dead center…"

"The hospital," finished Sam.

"The hospital," Dean repeated. "When we were there, I saw a patient, an old woman."

Sam looked between the map and Dean. "An old person, huh?"

"Yeah."

"In the hospital?" he asked. "Whoo. Better call the coast guard." Sam turned away, snickering to himself.

"Quit being a smartass, Uncle Sam," Sarah scolded her uncle. "Dad knows what he's talking about."

"Yeah, smartass," Dean agreed. "Now listen. The woman had an inverted cross hanging on her wall."

Sam looked back at him, at that as Dean raised his eyebrows. So, they decided to head back to the hospital.


	34. Chapter 34: Something Wicked (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 34

To say the second visit to the hospital was a success would be a lie. The Winchesters headed straight for the old woman's room. Dean pulled his gun from behind him while Sarah pulled hers from her sweatshirt pocket. Yes, Dean had finally graduated his little girl from the easy-to-use shotgun to her own pistol. He felt she was ready for it.

Sam opened the door, carefully, letting the other two go in first before he followed inside, closing it behind him. He then took his own gun out from behind him and the three of them surrounded the old woman. Long story, short: The shtriga wasn't her.

When they returned to the motel after grabbing breakfast, with Sam and Sarah teasing Dean, they noticed the kid from the night before sitting outside. Sarah was instantly drawn to him and hurried over to the kid.

"What's wrong?" she asked him as her father and uncle walked up behind her.

The kid looked up at her, "My brother's sick."

Dean kneeled down to their levels. "The little guy?" he asked the kid.

He nodded, "Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault."

Sarah shook her head. "Trust me, it isn't your fault."

"No, I should have made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched."

"Listen to me," Dean told him. "Sarah, here, is right. I can promise you that it's not your fault. Okay?"

The kid looked at him, "It's my job to look after him."

The kid's mom came out from the office, carrying a teddy bear, pillow, blanket, and her purse. "Michael," she told the kid who stood up, following her to a dark blue SUV. "I want you to turn on the _No Vacancy_ sign while I'm gone. I got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms."

"I'm going with you," he tried to protest.

"Not now, Michael," she said.

"But I gotta see Asher."

Dean walked over to the mother and son, followed by Sam and Sarah. "Hey, Michael. Hey, I know how you feel. I'm a big brother, too. But you gotta go easy on your mom, right now, okay?"

"Damn it," Michael's mother said when she dropped her purse as she shut the car door. Sam quickly went over and picked it up for her, handing it to the woman who thanked him.

Dean offered to drive her to the hospital and told Sam and Sarah that he wanted the shtriga dead for sure. After they left, Sam and Sarah headed to the library to find out what they could. Sam checked old newspapers as Sarah looked beside him.

After a while, Sam called Dean. "Hey. How's the kid?" he asked.

"He's not good," Dean replied. "Where you at?"

"At the library, trying to find out as much as we can about this shtriga."

"Yeah? What do you got?" he asked.

"Well, bad news," Sam began. "We, uh, started with, uh, with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there."

"And?"

"Same deal. Before that, there was, uh, there was Ogdenville. Before that, North Haverbrook and Brockway. Every fifteen to twenty years it hits a new town." Sam shook his head. "Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg. And all these other places, it goes on for months, dozens of kids, before the shtriga finally moves on. Kids just languish in comas, and then they die."

"How far back this thing go?" asked Dean.

"Uh, I don't know," he admitted. "Earliest mention we could find is this place called Black River Falls, back in the 1890's. Huh. Talk about a horror show." Sam flipped through each article until he came to one with a picture of a bunch of doctors standing around a child's bed. Sarah who had been scanning each one, the whole time picked up someone familiar in the background.

"Uncle Sam," she pointed to the screen, "Doesn't that look like Dr. Heidecker?"

Sam got a look for himself. "Whoa, you're right, peanut."

"Sam?" Dean asked.

"We're looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Heidecker."

"And?"

"And this picture was taken in 1893," he told him.

Sarah whistled like she heard her father do, or tempted to, at least. "The guy's really old," she said as Sam wiped his left arm on his shirt.

"That's gross, Sarah," he told her.

"What?" Dean asked again.

"Your kid just spit all over my arm, trying to whistle."

Dean cleared his throat, "So, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure, Dean. I could feel it all over."

"No, man. I mean about Heidecker."

"Oh, yeah. Absolutely."

With that, Dean hung up and looked back at Dr. Heidecker, who was tending to Michael's brother.

The Winchesters met back up at their motel room. "Should have thought about this before," Sam was saying as he paced around the room. "Doctor's perfect disguise. You're trusted. You can control the whole thing."

"Actually, I never found any doctor trusting," Sarah pointed out from the bed where she was lying on her stomach. Her green army men were lined up in front of her. "They may act all nice at first but then suddenly they pull out this needle and poke you with it."

Dean stood up and threw off his jacket. "That son of a bitch."

"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him, right there," Sam told his brother.

"Yes, because that would have been a great idea, shooting a gun off in a pediatric ward where there's mostly kids," Sarah replied, sarcastically.

"Now who's being the smartass?" he asked her.

Sarah did not respond to that.

Dean came from the bathroom, dabbing his neck with a towel and tossed it away. "Besides, it wouldn't have done any good because the bastard's bulletproof unless it's chowin' down on something. And I wasn't packing either, which is probably a good thing because I probably would have burned a clip in him."

"You're getting wise in your old age, Dean," said Sam.

"You're damn right 'cause now I know how we're gonna get it."

Sam looked over at him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"The shtriga works through siblings," Dean pointed out. "Right?"

"Right."

Sarah sat up onto her legs. "Dad, where are you going with this?" she asked, not liking where she thought this was headed.

Dean looked between them, "Well, last night…"

"It went after Asher," Sam finished.

"So I'm thinking, tonight, it's coming after Michael."

"Then we gotta get him outta here," he said.

"No, no. That'd blow the whole deal," Dean told him.

"What are ya, nuts?" Sarah couldn't believe what her father just said.

"You mean you want to use the kid as bait?" asked Sam.

Dean nodded.

"No, forget it, that's out of the question, Dean," he said.

"It's not out of the question. If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance."

"What's with you, Dean?" Sam asked of his brother. "Michael's a kid just like Sarah is. I may have shut my mouth about Sarah hunting but I will not let you dangle Michael in front of that thing like a worm on a hook."

"Dad did not send me here to walk away," Dean shot back.

"Send _you_ here? He didn't send you here. He sent _us_ here."

Dean turned away, walking from him. "This isn't about you, Sam. All right? I'm the one who screwed up. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me."

Sarah quickly got up from the bed as Sam asked, "What are you saying, Dean? How is it your fault?"

Dean stayed silent. Sarah hurried over to his side and looked up at him, taking his left hand in both of hers. "Dad, what's going on? You've been hiding something since we found that handprint. And don't say there's nothing wrong, 'cause I can see right through you."

"Dean, talk to us, man," Sam sighed from behind him. "Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away?"

"Uh, what about the woman in white?" Sarah pointed out as Dean walked over to sit down on one of the beds.

Sam ignored his niece, more concerned about his older brother at that moment. "Tell us what's going on."

Dean didn't answer right away. "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin," he began. "It was, uh, the third night in this crap room, and I was climbin' the walls, man. I needed to get some air." Dean told them the night when John hunted the shtriga first and how it got away. As he told it, Sam had gone over to sit on the other bed. Sarah went over to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck to comfort him. "Dad just grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away. By the time he got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It was…It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Heh," he forced a small laugh. "You know, Dad never spoke about it again. I didn't ask. But he, uh…" Dean paused. "He looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen. I almost got you killed, Sam." He looked at Sarah, who was standing in front of him, listening. "That's why I'm so hard on you, baby girl. Why I tell you not to leave the motel without one of us. Why I want you with me."

"You were just a kid," Sam told him.

Dean continued to look at his daughter. "Don't, Sam," he shook his head. "Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it."

Sam looked at the floor then back at his brother. "But usin' Michael…"

"I'll do it!" Sarah blurted from nowhere.

Sam and Dean looked at her.

"We'll send Michael somewhere else and I'll hide in his bed."

Dean shook his head. "No, Sarah. I won't have any of that."

"No, Dad. It's bad enough I know what's out there but at least with me taking his place, he won't have to. I'm a kid, too. It will gladly feed on me as it would him."

"Once you pull a gun out, it will run, Sarah," he told her.

"Then you and Uncle Sam come running in and shoot at it. I trust you can do that, Dad. Just don't let Michael do it."

"It's too risky, peanut," said Sam. "Maybe one of us can hide under the covers."

"No, it has to be close enough to feed," said Dean. Even though it pained him to say it, he agreed to let Sarah take Michael's place.

Sarah hurried over to the motel office to talk to Michael. "Michael, my family and I know of a way to save Asher," she told him.

"How?" he asked, coming around the front desk towards her.

"I can't tell you that but we need to use your room. Do you have anywhere you can go for the night?"

"My friend, Josh lives just down the street," he shrugged.

"Perfect. So, can we use your room? I promise we won't take or touch nothing…besides your bed."

"Um, sure if it'll help my little brother."

So, Michael packed an overnight bag and got on his bike, headed to his friend's house, letting Denise know. Sam hooked up a surveillance camera from his laptop as Dean sat up the actual camera in the boys' room.

"You sure you want to do this, Sarah?" he asked, adjusting the camera angle.

Sarah pushed back the comforter on Michael's bed and sat down on the edge. She let out a deep breath. "I'm sure, Dad. Anything to keep Michael safe and end this thing once and for all."

Dean walked over and sat next to his daughter. "I just want to tell you how proud I am of you for doing this especially when every ounce of my body is telling me not to let you."

Sarah looked up at her father from her lap. "Can I just ask one thing before we start this?" she asked.

"Yeah, anything," he said.

"Does this mean Grandpa hates you?"

Dean glanced up at the camera, knowing Sam was probably listening. He looked back at Sarah and shook his head. "No, your grandfather still loves me. He was just very disappointed. Like I was, when you didn't follow an order once or twice. But that doesn't mean I would love you any less and the same goes for your grandfather. I know he still cares."

"So, this isn't to redeem yourself with him?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, just to finish what was started."

Sarah stood up onto her knees and hugged his neck again and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Dean returned them both before she got underneath the comforter, lying down.

"Now, when we come bursting through the door, you drop under the bed and do not come out until one of us says so. Understand?"

She nodded at him.

Dean gave her one more kiss before he made his way next door to sit with his brother, his eyes glued to the screen. His mind kept screaming out not to let this happen. He wanted to run back in there and grab Sarah out of there. What if he couldn't get there in time? What if the shtriga got Sarah before he could shoot it? Why he agreed to this, he wasn't sure. Dean just wanted to hurry up and get it over with.

Sarah hid under the covers, waiting in the dark room. She looked around the room at the boys' many toys. There was a monster truck above her on the headboard that looked really cool to her. Occasionally, she had to take deep breaths as her heart thumped in anticipation. She wanted it to come already and get it over with.

"What time is it?" Dean asked Sam, his eyes still glued to the computer screen.

Sam checked his watch, "Three. You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?"

"Consecrated iron rounds," he corrected him. "And yeah, it's what Dad used last time."

"Hey, Dean," said Sam. "I'm sorry."

Dean looked back and forth between the screen and Sam. "For what?" he asked, confused.

He sighed, "You know. I've really given you a lot of crap for always following Dad's orders. And about Sarah, too. But I know why you do it."

Dean moaned, "Oh God. Kill me now."

Sam smiled at his brother.

Suddenly, a shadow appeared at the window. The window then opened slowly as the brothers got their guns out and cocked.

Sarah sunk deeper into the bed as a robed figure floated inside the room and over to the bed she was lying on. She gripped the comforter in her hands as she held her breath. It moved closer and closer until it hovered above her. The shtriga didn't even flinch when it realized it wasn't Michael. It just continued on with its goal as it opened its mouth.

The whole time, Dean had to hold back until the right moment to go running in there. If they didn't wait long enough, the shtriga would flee and he would mess it up once again. No, he had to wait just a bit longer. His heart felt like it would leap out of his chest as it beat in anxiety and fear.

Sam wasn't doing so well, either. Every ounce of him wanted to run in and stop it, too. He bit his lower lip as the shtriga moved closer and closer to his niece. His only niece. His little peanut. Sam felt just as much responsible for Sarah as Dean was.

"Now?" Sam asked Dean.

Dean wanted to say yes but instead said no. Both brothers fought the hardest battle they ever fought of jumping up and running in there. They were literally on the edge of their seats as the anticipation grew stronger.

Once Sarah saw a bright light emit from the shtriga's mouth and start to feed, she heard the door burst open and her father telling her to get down. She obeyed, quickly rolling off the bed and underneath as Sam and Dean started shooting. Sarah looked back to see the shtriga lying on the floor on the other side.

"You okay, baby girl?" Dean asked, his gun still raised.

"Yeah, Dad," she replied.

"Just sit tight," he told her and walked around the bed to get a look for himself. The shtriga was just lying there on its back. Dean exchanged looks with Sam and was about to lower his gun when it suddenly shot towards him and knocked Dean back.

Sarah fought the urge to run over to her father when she saw him get thrown into the wall. She had to stay put and follow orders though.

Next, the shtriga went after Sam, knocking his gun out of his hands and thrown him into the opposite wall, landing on the other bed. The shtriga then held Sam down by his neck as Sam tried to reach for his gun. Sarah watched as her uncle struggled to reach it. When she saw it open its mouth, Sarah instantly reacted and quickly moved towards Sam's gun, picking it up and aimed at the shtriga. Both her and Dean had shot at once, both killing it in the head.

"You okay, little brother?" Dean asked Sam.

Sam gave him two thumbs up as he tried to catch his breath. He rolled off the bed, onto the floor, in front of where his niece was still sitting, on her legs. She put the gun down and moved a little closer to hug him before they stood up and joined Dean over by where the shtriga's now dead body was. Its mouth was wide open as children's essences were releasing from it.

Dean shot it a few more times as they continued to stare at it.

"Sorry I disobeyed another order, Dad," Sarah looked up at her father.

Dean was still catching his breath. "I'll let it slide…this one time…since you did it for Sam…but don't make it a habit."

Sarah nodded and then looked back at the monster, glad it was over.

As they packed up the Impala the next morning, Michael's mother walked up to them from her car.

"Hey, Joanna," Dean hurried over, meeting her halfway. "How's Asher doing?"

"Have you seen Michael?" she asked.

At that moment, Michael and Sarah came out of the office. Michael ran over, excited to see his mother.

"Hey," his mother hugged him.

"How's Ash?" he asked her.

"I got some good news. Your brother's gonna be just fine."

Really?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Really. No one can explain it. It's a… It's a miracle." His mother looked over at Dean and Sam. "They're gonna keep him overnight, for observation, but after that, he's coming home."

Michael smiled over at Sarah, who was standing behind him with her hands in her sweatshirt pockets.

She smiled in return.

Dean smiled, too. "That's great."

"How are all the other kids doing?" asked Sam.

"Good," said Joanna. "Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's gonna be like a ghost town."

"Dr. Travis?" Sam questioned. "What about Dr. Heidecker?"

"Oh, he wasn't in today. Musta been sick or something."

"Yeah," said Dean. "Yeah, must have."

"So, did anything happen when I was gone?" Joanna asked her son.

"No, everything was calm enough so I went over to Josh's house to spend the night. I didn't like being alone," he lied to her.

"Really, because it looks like you made friends here." She smiled over at Sarah.

"I had stuff to do, last night," Sarah shrugged.

"Okay." Joanna turned back to Michael and said they were going to head back to the hospital to see Asher. Excited, he turned around, waving to Sarah as he ran over to his mother's car. His mother followed after him.

Dean started walking back to the Impala. He smiled down at his daughter. "Did you get his number? Are you two dating now?"

Sarah quickly looked up at her father. "Ew, no! We're just friends, Dad."

He shrugged, "Could have fooled me with all that cheesy smiling you were doing."

She punched her father, playfully in the leg for that as he laughed.

"You know, Sarah," Sam spoke up.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Because of you, that kid still has some innocence in him."

"Yeah, I know. Michael actually saw it but he believed he was dreaming so I told him he was," Sarah explained.

Dean bent over to hug her head to him, kissing the top of it. "That's my girl," he told her and both he and Sam got into the front seat of the Impala.

Sarah stole one last look as the SUV turned out of the parking lot before she got into the backseat and fell asleep on the spot even before Dean was out of it himself.


	35. Chapter 35: Dead Man's Blood (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 35

The Winchesters were sitting in a diner, researching anything that might be a hunt. Dean skimmed through the newspaper while Sam checked on his laptop. Sarah was busy chowing down on some French fries, soaked in ketchup.

Dean looked over at his daughter out of the corner of his eye. "Want some French fries with that ketchup?" he asked her before stealing one that was somehow not coated completely.

"Nah, I have enough," she smiled and reached for her drink to take a swig.

Dean tossed his newspaper down and announced he couldn't find anything.

"Well, I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota… Here. A woman in Iowa fell ten thousand feet from an airplane and survived."

Dean shrugged, "That sounds more _That's Incredible_ than, uh, _Twilight Zone_."

Sam agreed and continued typing.

"Hey," Dean suddenly said, "we could just keep headin' east. New York. Upstate. You could stop by and see Sarah again. Eh?" he nodded, smirking. "She's a cool chick, man. Smokin'." Dean whistled. "You two seem pretty friendly. What do you say?"

Sam looked up from his laptop. "For the last time, Dean. I'm not dating someone with the same name as my niece." Ever since their last hunt and meeting a young woman also by the name of Sarah, Dean had been trying to hook his brother up, trying to get him out on a date. Or at least laid. Sam thought she was pretty and all, and a nice girl but was mostly afraid of someone getting close and getting hurt in the process. He did not want what happened to Jessica, to happen all over again. Sam didn't want to experience that pain again. Plus, it felt awkward dating someone with the same name as his niece.

Dean looked over at his daughter. "Why must you have the name Sarah?" he asked her.

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know. That's what Mom named me."

"Just teasin' ya, kiddo," he said and turned back to Sam. "What else you got?"

"Ah, Manning, Colorado," said Sam, looking at the screen. "Local man by the name of Daniel Elkins was found mauled in his home."

Dean was thinking about the name and how it sounded familiar to him. "Elkins? I know that name."

"Doesn't ring a bell. Sounds like the police don't know what to think. At first, they said it was a bear attack."

"How does a bear get inside a house?" asked Sarah.

"I don't know, peanut," Sam said. "Now they say they found signs of robbery."

Dean was now flipping through John's journal, "Mm-hm." He said not looking up.

"Dad, are you even listening to Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked of her father.

"Yes, Sarah," he told her in an annoyed tone. Dean then stopped on a contacts page and showed it to Sam. "There. Check that out."

Sam took the journal from him and looked at it. "You think it's the same Elkins?"

"It's a Colorado area code," he shrugged.

"So something killed Grandpa's friend?" asked Sarah.

"May as well check it out," Sam suggested and started packing up.

"Finished eating, baby girl?" Dean asked his daughter as he grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair.

Sarah grabbed one more helping of French fries and placed them in her mouth. "Yeah, I'm done," she replied with ketchup on the corner of her mouth. Dean told her to go wash her hands and mouth in the restroom and to use the bathroom, too before they hit the road.

Once in Colorado, they headed for Daniel Elkins' house. Sam picked the lock this time and opened the door as Dean and Sarah shined their flashlights inside. He quickly put his lockpick away and took out his own flashlight, shining it inside, too.

While Sam found salt on the floor, Dean found a journal that looked similar to his own father's as he looked through it. Venturing more into the house, the house seemed like there was one heck of a fight and there were more than one that had attacked Elkins.

Sarah crouched to the floor. She looked through the pile of stuff on the floor, finding an empty gun case. "Dad, what's this?" she stood up and held the box out to her father, who shined his flashlight on it.

"Looks like an old gun case," he said.

Sarah looked at it. "Doesn't look like it would hold a gun."

"It's probably one you can take apart in pieces," he explained.

"Oh yeah," she said, dropping it on the floor. "I didn't think of that."

Dean took a few steps forward and kneeled down to get a look at something on the floor.

"Got something?" asked Sam.

"I don't know," he said, staring at it, "Some scratches on the floor."

"Death throes, maybe?"

Dean looked around the room, "Yeah, maybe. Sarah, hand me one of those pencils, would ya?"

Sarah looked behind her at a container of pencils that were sitting on the desk. She reached up and grabbed one, turning around to pass it to her father. "Here you go, Dad."

Dean took it and asked for a piece of paper, too. Sarah tore one from a stack of papers and passed it to him, as well. He then laid it over the scratches, pounding it down before scribbling on it with the pencil. Dean picked the paper up when he was done and looked at it. "It may be a message," he said and handed it up to Sam. "Look familiar?"

Sam took it and looked at it. "Three letters, six digits. The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop."

"It's just the way Dad does it."

After scourging some more and not finding anything, the Winchesters headed outside to the Impala. Just as Sarah was about to open her door she thought she saw shadowy movement off in the distance. She thought about telling her father but saw that it was gone. They could always come back anyway. So, Sarah climbed into the backseat and shut her door, moving over to sit in the middle to finish her war game with her green army men against several Pokémon figurines.

At the post office, Dean opened up the post box while Sam and Sarah stood on either side. When he got it open, Dean pulled out an envelope that said J.W. and an address on the front.

Dean stared at it as they sat in the Impala.

"J.W." Sam read off. "You think? John Winchester?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Should we open it?"

Sarah was leaning over the back of the front seat. "Opening someone else's mail without permission is a Federal offense, Dad."

"And how do you know something like that?"

"Heard it on TV somewhere," she shrugged before there was a knock on Dean's window. All three jumped when they heard it, looking in that direction.

Looking in the window, smiling was John looking a lot better than when they last parted ways.

Dean asked, "Dad?" as John opened the car door to the backseat, getting in.

Right when John sat down he got an unpleasant surprise. He had sat right on Sarah's toys. "What the hell?" John asked, quickly moving to the edge of the seat to look back at what was there.

Sarah moved back to the seat and pushed all her toys over so her grandfather could sit, comfortably. "Sorry, Grandpa. No one usually sits back here with me."

"It's okay, sweetheart," he assured her before getting pounced on in a hug.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" Sam asked. "Are you all right?"

John kissed his granddaughter's head. "Yeah, I'm okay," he replied. "I read the news about Daniel. I got here as soon as I could."

Sarah sat back on her left leg.

He looked between the three of them, "I saw you three up at his place."

Sarah remembered when she thought she saw someone as they were leaving. "That was you I saw," she told John. "I thought it was maybe what killed Mister Elkins, but it was you, wasn't it?"

John looked over at her. "Yeah, Sarah. It was me."

Dean wasn't pleased though. "Why didn't you say anything? What if it had been what killed him?"

"I wasn't sure if I really saw something," she shrugged.

"It doesn't matter, Sarah. Even if it's just a hunch, you let us know. Do you understand?" he told her, sternly.

Sarah nodded, "Yes, sir." And sat back in the backseat, sad that she had disappointed her father.

"So, why didn't you come in, Dad?" Sam asked his father as Sarah picked up two of her toys and started fighting them.

"You know why," John replied. "Because I had to make sure you weren't followed. By anyone…or anything. Nice job covering your tracks, by the way."

"Yeah, well, we learned from the best," Dean told him.

"Wait, so you came all the way out here for this Elkins guy?" Sam continued to interrogate his father.

John nodded, "Yeah. He was… He was a good man. He taught me a hell of a lot about hunting."

"You never mentioned him to us."

"We had a… We had kind of a falling out," he explained. "I hadn't seen him in years."

Sarah looked up from her toys. "Sorry about your friend, Grandpa," she told him, sincerely.

"Thanks, sweetheart," he smiled back at his granddaughter. She looked so much like Dean did as a kid, to him. He turned back to Dean to ask for the letter. Dean passed it back to his father who opened it and read it in his head.

"What does it say?" Sarah asked, curious.

"That son of a bitch," he said at the letter.

Dean asked, "What is it?"

"He had it the whole time."

"Had what the whole time?" asked Sarah.

"When you searched the place, did you…? Did you see a gun?" John asked all three of them. "An antique. A colt revolver."

"I found an old box. Dad said it was a gun case, but it was empty."

"They have it," he realized.

"Whatever killed Elkins?" asked Dean.

John started to get out of the car. "We've got to pick up the trail." He then slammed the door shut behind him.

"Wait," Sam stopped him. John looked inside Dean's now open window. "You want us to come with you?"

"If Elkins is telling the truth, we've gotta find this gun," he explained.

"What's so special about a gun?" Sarah asked, curious again.

"It's important," he told her.

"Dad, we don't even know what these things are," said Sam.

"They were what Daniel Elkins killed best. Vampires."

Dean was surprised to hear that. "Vampires? I thought there was no such thing?"

"One of my books says vampires were extinct," Sarah added.

"I thought they were, too," John replied. "I thought Elkins and… And others had wiped'em out. I was wrong." Sam, Dean, and Sarah, who was leaning over the front seat again, exchanged looks between them as he continued. "Besides, Sarah, most vampire lore is crap. A cross won't repel them."

"And sunlight won't kill them," she finished.

John was impressed. "Right. And neither would a stake to the heart."

"Vampires liking blood is true, though. They need fresh human blood to survive," Sarah added, impressing her grandfather even more.

"Right again, Sarah," he nodded. "They were once…"

"People, so you won't know unless you see their teeth, which aren't just four fangs like in the movies. Vampires have another set of teeth that they can retract when they're not needed."

Sam was also impressed by the information his niece knew. "How do you know all this stuff, peanut?" he asked of her.

"It's all in one of my books, _The Monster Guide_ ," she told her uncle.

"I told you Sarah already knew about what we hunt when I picked her up from her grandparents," Dean reminded his brother.

"Let's find somewhere for the night and Sarah," John looked over at her again.

"Yeah, Grandpa?"

"I want to take a look at this book of yours," he told her.

They went in search for somewhere to crash, finding a cabin they rented. Inside, Sarah showed her grandfather her book.

John skimmed through it, amazed. "Where did you find this, Sarah?" he asked of her.

"Gram likes searching for yard sales every Saturday, and sometimes I go with her. An old woman was selling it."

"Why?" asked Dean from one of the beds. "What's wrong?"

"This is an underground book written by a hunter, Maureen Seinfeld. You can't just buy this anywhere," John told his oldest son, looking up from the book. "Most hunters dream about finding this book. In fact, the gun I'm after is mentioned in here as well."

"You're not gonna take it, are you, Grandpa?" Sarah asked him.

John closed the book and passed it back to her. "No, I wouldn't do that. You hold onto it, tight."

Sarah took the book, whose spine was falling apart and covered in scratches all over. "I didn't know it was special," she said as she looked it over.

"You should see the other books she has," Sam pointed out to John. "Nothing you would expect a kid to have in their collection."

John shook his head upon hearing at how much deeply involved his granddaughter was in hunting already.

"Come on, Sarah," Dean said. "You need at least a little sleep before we start this next hunt."

Sarah set her book down on the table John was sitting beside and went over to climb into bed with her father. John watched as she got underneath the covers and snuggled up against her father's chest and fell right to sleep. Dean wrapped his right arm around her, protectively and drifted off to sleep, as well.


	36. Chapter 36: Dead Man's Blood (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 36

Sarah was still trying to wake up as she, Dean, and Sam waited by the Impala as John talked to the police about a body found in a street along with an abandoned car. John knew it was the vampires and dragged the rest of them out, early in the morning. Sarah rubbed at her eye, "Why couldn't we all go over there?"

Sam scoffed, "I'm with you, peanut."

Dean looked over from the cops and his father, over at his brother. "Oh, don't tell me it's already starting," he asked Sam.

"What?" Sarah asked. "I was just asking. The three of us does this together."

Dean rubbed his hand along the top of her head. "Not you, Sarah. I mean Sam," he assured her as John was walking towards them. He turned around to face his father. "What do you got?"

"It was them all right. Looks like they're heading west," John explained his hands in his jacket pockets. "We'll double back to get around that detour."

"How can you be so sure?" Sam questioned him.

"Sam," Dean told his brother in an annoyed tone.

"I just wanna know we're going in the right direction," Sam explained.

"We are," said John.

"Are you sure?" Sarah asked.

"Sarah, not you, too," Dean said, with the same annoyed tone.

She shrugged, "I'm just asking, Dad." She looked back at her grandfather. "I mean, I don't know what you talked about over there, Grandpa, but usually we do a lot more research before we even get close to a lead. What are you going off of?"

John couldn't help but think that they may have two Sams now. He removed his right hand from his pocket and showed the three of them a vampire tooth. "I found this."

Dean was the one to take it from him and examine it. "So, this is one of them vampire teeth?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Looks more like a fang."

John looked between his youngest son and granddaughter, "Anymore questions?"

Sarah was about to open her mouth to continue when Dean gently kicked her in the leg, cautioning her not to answer. Instead, she replied, "No, sir."

Sam did not respond at all, he just stared at the tooth.

John started walking towards his truck. "All right. Let's get out of here, we're losing daylight."

"Daylight?" Sarah questioned. "The sun is barely even up yet."

John ignored it. "Hey Dean, why don't you touch up your car before you get rust? I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you would ruin it."

Dean kept quiet, not responding as he walked over to the passenger side of the Impala. Sam looked at him as if to ask, "Are you gonna say anything?" and Dean just shrugged.

Sarah didn't like how her father was talked to, of course, even by his own father, and quickly shot, "My dad takes good care of his car, you jerk!"

John turned around, his hands still in his jacket pockets. He looked over at his granddaughter, "excuse me, young lady?"

"You heard me," she glared at him.

Embarrassed, Dean pulled Sarah back, against him, covering her mouth. "Sorry 'bout that, Dad," he apologized.

John looked at his first-born, "Why don't you control your kid, Dean?" and walked away.

Sarah was struggling against her father's strong grip. Dean removed his hand from her mouth when John was inside his truck, and turned her around to face him. "Sarah, you have got to stop this. I mean it, it's okay," he told her for the umpteenth time.

"I'm sorry, Dad but it's not true. You do take very good care of your car," Sarah said.

Dean sighed. John honked his horn in impatience so Dean stood up and told Sarah to get in the car as he opened his door. He swore it was like taking chocolate away from a fat kid in trying to convince his daughter in not lashing out at whoever was talking to him the wrong way. And now even worse, he looked like a bad parent in front of his own father.

As Sam followed John, Dean read up on vampires from Sarah's book. "Well, I wonder if that's what happened to that 911 couple," he said, afterwards.

Sam stared ahead as he drove with one hand on the steering wheel. "That's probably what Dad's thinking," he said. "Course it'd be nice if he just told us what he thinks."

Dean looked over at his brother, "So it is starting."

Sam looked back at him for a brief moment then returned his attention to the road, "What?"

"Sam, we've been looking for Dad all year," Dean told him. "Now we're with him a couple hours and there's static already?"

He scoffed, "No." Sam took a deep breath. "Look, I'm happy he's okay, all right? I'm happy we're all workin' together."

"Good," Dean mumbled returning to the book.

Sam looked at him and then looked away, shaking his head. "It's just the way he treats us like children."

Dean moaned, "Oh, God."

"He…He barks orders at us, Dean," he continued. "He expects us to follow'em without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal."

"He does what he does for a reason," said Dean.

Sarah jumped up onto the back of the front seat. "I've only known Grandpa for a few hours but I have to say, he isn't like you, Dad." She shrugged, "We always consider things before we jump into what we're dealing with. The only research we've done is Grandpa talking to the cops and he barely shared anything with us except a stupid tooth."

"That's enough, Sarah," he warned her, looking at the book still.

"We're a team, we should all be on the same level," she argued with him.

"Sarah's right, Dean," Sam agreed with his niece.

"That's just the way the old man runs things," Dean shrugged.

"Yeah, well, it's a pretty crappy way, if you ask me," Sarah mumbled to Sam.

Dean looked back at his daughter, "What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied, quickly.

"You're coming close to me having Sam pull over and taking you across my knee," he warned.

Sam jumped in to defend his niece. "She's just speaking her mind, Dean."

"Yeah, about her own grandfather when she speaks very highly of her other one," Dean pointed out. He turned in his seat to look at his daughter. "You tell me all year you can't wait to meet the man and just like your uncle, you're talking like this about him?"

"I didn't know he was like this and you didn't say nothing to me either. You made him out like he's this perfect somebody who you learned everything from." Sarah didn't normally talk back to her father like the way she was but something just happened. It was mostly disappointment from seeing how her grandfather really was. All this time, she just thought he was just like her father. "Guess I was wrong."

Dean turned in his seat the moment he heard his daughter say she was wrong on her opinion of her grandfather. It hurt to hear and Dean refused to continue with this discussion.

Sarah realized what she had done though, and settled down. "I'm sorry, Dad. I didn't mean…"

"Just drop it, Sarah. We're in the middle of a hunt and need to focus on that," he interrupted her.

For the whole day, they continued to follow John. The Impala was in complete silence except for the engine, and Sarah's PSP and for a brief moment, her making sounds as she battled her toys against each other. Even though she didn't show it, Sarah couldn't understand why they just kept on driving around when it clearly wasn't getting them anywhere. The only time she could express her thoughts was when they stopped for gas and she and Sam went inside to grab something to eat.

"Is Dad always like this when you're around Grandpa?" she asked, grabbing a bag of Cheetos from the rack.

"He's just like you, peanut," Sam shrugged. "You can't see it? Your dad's just trying to follow our dad's orders like we were taught to do."

"Yeah, but Grandpa won't tell us anything. We're jumping into the lion's den." Sarah was following her uncle down an aisle back to the cooler section. "I need to know stuff or it drives me crazy."

"And I feel ya, peanut," he told her. "I really do and trust me I will get it out of your grandfather. Okay?"

"Okay, Uncle Sam," she replied. "Just do me a favor and do it without a fight."

"That I can't promise."

Later, that evening, Dean was talking to John on his phone. When he finally hung up, he told Sam to pull off at the next exit. Sam had to ask, why. "'Cause Dad thinks we've got the vampires' trail," Dean told him.

Sarah looked up from her PSP. "From what lead? We've been driving around all day."

"I don't know, Sarah. He didn't say, so can you not start this up again?"

At that, Sam revved the engine and sped up, switching lanes and eventually passing his father's truck, skidding in the middle of the road to block him. He got out of the truck, slamming his door shut.

"Oh, crap," Dean moaned. "Here we go. Sam!"

John was walking towards him as Sam stepped towards his father. "What the hell was that?"

Dean tried to tell his daughter to stay in the car but she was already halfway out, tossing her PSP onto the seat. He hurried around to their side.

"We need to talk," Sam told his father off.

John demanded, "About what?"

"About everything."

"Easy, Uncle Sam," Sarah tried to calm her uncle down. To her grandfather in the calmest tone she could use, "For starters, where are you getting your leads when all we've done is drive around all day?"

"That's enough, Sarah Lynn," Dean warned her.

"And what's the big deal about this gun?" Sam added not even trying to mass his anger.

"Come on, you two," Dean told his brother as well. "We can Q and A after we kill all the vampires."

John was mostly staring at Sam since he was more his eye level. "He's right. We don't have time for this."

"Last time we saw you, you said it was too dangerous to be together," Sam pointed out. "Now, out of the blue, you need our help."

"Help? What help? 'Cause so far, all we've done is nothing!" Sarah shot out, losing control of her temper as more of her uncle was starting to come out of her.

Sam continued, "Obviously something big is going down, and we wanna know what."

John just stood there, not budging an inch. "Get back in the car," he told Sam.

"No," he replied, shaking his head.

He moved closer to his youngest son and nodded up at him. "I said get back in the damn car."

Sam did not flinch at all. He just simply said, "And I said, no."

"Okay," Dean stepped in, "You made your point, tough guy. Look, we're all tired. We can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it." He shoved both his brother and daughter back towards the Impala. "Come on, both of you."

"This is why I left in the first place," Sam muttered to them.

"What'd you say?" John asked, still standing in the same spot.

Sam spun back around, "You heard me."

"Yeah," he shot back. "You left. Your brother and me, we needed you. You walked away, Sam. You walked away!"

Dean was busy holding Sarah back as John got back up in her uncle's face. "Stop it, both of you," he told both his father and brother, struggling with his daughter.

"You're the one who said, 'don't come back,' Dad. You're the one who closed that door, not me." Sam started getting louder as he spat out, "You were just pissed off you couldn't control me anymore!"

While holding Sarah back in one arm, Dean got in between them, breaking up the argument. "I said, stop it!" he exclaimed. "Stop it, all of you. That's enough!"

Sam and John stepped back but they still continued to stare daggers at one another. Sarah stopped, struggling and just stared at her grandfather as if he was about to attack one of them.

Dean looked at his father, "That means, you too" before he realized Sarah was doing it, as well. Sam was already getting back into the Impala. "And you, too, Sarah Lynn. Get back in the car, now."

Sarah did not say a word as she thrust open her door and got into the backseat, slamming her door shut before returning to her game, which was a shooting game and gladly took all her anger out on the little, pixelated bad guys.

John walked back to his truck as Dean looked between all three of his family members, shrugging his arms up. "Terrific."


	37. Chapter 37: Dead Man's Blood (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 37

Later that night, Sarah woke up to use the bathroom. She very carefully slipped from her father's arm, being careful not to wake him. This was never an easy task for her either since Dean always kept a firm grip even in his sleep. Normally, Sarah goes before bed so she doesn't have to worry about getting up in the middle of the night, but now and then, it happens.

After peeling away his arm, Sarah got up from the bed and wandered over to the bathroom, careful not to wake anyone up. Unfortunately, out of all the floorboards she had to step on it had to be the loose ones that creaked.

John stirred, over on the couch and lifted his head to peer through the darkness. His hand went straight for underneath his pillow, tightening around his gun he had hidden. The moonlight shining through the window showed John it was only his granddaughter. "What are you doing out of bed for?" he asked of her.

"I have to use the bathroom. Do I need to ask for your permission to use it now?" Sarah asked, sarcastically.

"Don't be a smartass, young lady. I thought you went before you went to bed?"

"I'm a kid," she said. "We tend to have to go a lot. Now, can I go before I pee myself?"

"Hurry up and get back in bed. We have another early start tomorrow," he told her.

Sarah rolled her eyes as she hurried to the bathroom. Once she was done, Sarah came back out after washing her hands and headed back to the bed she was sharing with her father.

John watched from his pillow. When she was standing by the bed about to climb back into it, he sighed and called her over to him.

Sarah sat back onto her legs and looked over at her grandfather. "I thought you wanted me back in bed?" she told him, sarcastically.

"Seriously, kid," John told her, sternly as he kept his voice down as much as he could but she could still hear him. "Lose the attitude."

"I was just saying what you told me to do," she shrugged with her arms folded. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

John sighed, "Sarah, just come here, please. I want to talk to you."

Sarah stood up again and walked over to where her grandfather was sitting up, putting his feet on the floor. He leaned on his forearms towards her.

"Where is this bitterness and attitude towards me coming from, Sarah?" he asked, curiously. "On the phone and back in Chicago, you never came off like this. Why now?"

Sarah crossed her arms, tightly across her chest. "Because you came in here, expecting help and when we agreed, you don't tell us anything. I have to know what's going on. We all do," she explained to him.

John looked down at his lap. He picked his head back up to say, "So you got your uncle's stubbornness, huh? Why can't you and Sam just go along with this?"

"Because you can't weasel your way as leader and just expect everyone to follow you. We're a team. We need to know, Grandpa." Sarah stared at him, not backing down.

"Okay," he finally gave in. "Some time tomorrow, I will tell you three everything."

Sarah looked at her grandfather, sideways. "You promise?"

"I promise."

Sarah still did not believe her grandfather. "I will believe it when I see it, but here," she reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a folded picture. The same one she and Sam had found in the motel room, John had abandoned while in Jericho. Sarah held it out to him.

John looked at it. "What's this?" he asked before taking it from her.

"We found it back in Jericho and I figured you would probably be sad that you left it behind so I kept it safe until we found you," she explained.

John opened it up and saw it was the picture of him and his boys, together. "You saved this for me?" he asked, amazed at the fact his granddaughter kept it just for him.

Only, Sarah just shrugged, "I'd be pretty sad if I lost something like that." She looked back over her right shoulder when she heard movement. Dean was feeling around for her in his sleep. Sarah turned back around, "I should probably get back to bed before Dad wakes up and starts panicking." She then turned around and walked back over to the bed and climbed in, beside her father, guiding his arm. "It's okay, Dad," she assured him, quietly, "I'm right here. Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine, I promise." Sarah then moved in closer as Dean cuddled his daughter to him in his sleep.

John watched and listened the whole time. He switched back and forth between the picture, and Dean and Sarah, and remembered those late nights when he came home from a hunt, tired and beat-up, how Dean would come up to him and tell him the exact same thing. History seemed to be repeating itself and it hurt John to realize that for himself. This was never the life he intended for his boys and he definitely did not want it to carry over to the next generation.

Standing up, John grabbed his jacket and headed outside to get some fresh air.

"Son of a bitch," said Dean as they watched a vampire drive up to an old, abandoned barn and step out, going inside. He, Sam, John, and Sarah were hiding back in some bare thickets. "So, they're not really afraid of the sun?"

"Uh, direct sunlight hurts like a nasty sunburn," said John. "The only way to kill'em is by beheading."

Sarah perked up upon hearing that, "Yes, I finally get to chop a head off," she said, excited but stopped suddenly when all three were staring at her. Sarah cleared her throat, looking away. "I, um, have a video game where you fight monsters, and uh, you can do that."

"You scare me, sometimes, baby girl," Dean told her.

"Yeah, I'm starting to see I might be a little messed up in the head."

John looked over at his first-born. "What toys are you buying for your daughter, Dean?"

"I didn't buy it, her cousin bought it for her," he replied, defensively.

"I never said he bought it for me," Sarah pointed out. "I said he gave it to me. It was his PSP to begin with. He just put the music on there for me. Trust me. My Nintendo games are more innocent."

Sam spoke up, looking between his family. "Are we really having this discussion, right now? We're kind of in the middle of something important here."

"Sam's right," John agreed. "We need to work our way in there."

So, the Winchesters headed back to where they parked the Impala and John's truck. Dean opened the trunk while John opened the back of his truck.

"Sorry, Dad," Dean told his father, "With Sarah with us, we don't have an extra machete."

John pulled out a machete from his own arsenal. "I think I'm okay. Thanks."

Dean nodded and kneeled down to Sarah's level and lifted her sweatshirt up, a little, telling her to hold it before he wrapped the machete case around her waist and tied it for her. "Look at me, Sarah," he told her, afterwards and looked her square in the eye. "This is your first time using this weapon, and just like everything else, use it, wisely. Do not mess around with it, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah replied. She had heard this speech over and over and was quite frankly, sick of it but never complained about it. Not out loud anyway. She knew her father was just doing his job of being her father.

"Good girl," he told her before standing up and putting his on.

John finally looked over at Sarah and the boys. He knew it was time to shed some light, though was pretty sure Sarah might know it already, she just didn't realize it. "You really want to know about this Colt?" he asked them.

Sam looked over at his father, "Yes, sir," he said.

"It's just a story," he explained. "A legend, really. Well, I thought it was. I never would have believed it until I read Daniel's letter. Back in 1835, when Halley's Comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo…"

"What's the Alamo?" Sarah interrupted but her father and uncle both hushed her so John could continue. She was smart but Sarah couldn't just pull out random facts since she had never gotten that far in history class yet.

John continued, "They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter. A man like us, only on horseback. The story goes, he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half-dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him. Until somehow, Daniel got his hands on it. They say… They say this gun can kill anything."

"Kill anything, like supernatural anything?" asked Dean.

"Like the demon," said Sam.

"Yeah, the demon," said John.

Sarah was remembering when she had read the story, herself. It had been over a year and somehow it had got pushed back in her mind until now. "Yeah, I remember that story now. It's in my book."

"I was surprised," John told her, "By how smart you are, I figured you would have figured it out on your own."

She shrugged, "The past year has been really crazy."

John smiled at his granddaughter before looking back at his boys. "Ever since I picked up its trail, I've been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun," he nodded once. "We may have it."

Sarah felt her fists clench at her side and her adrenaline rise up inside of her. "Well then, why are we just standing around for? Let's get in there and kick some vampire ass!"

John stifled himself from breaking out into laughter. "That's what I like to hear, Sarah," he smiled at her.

The family crept over to the barn and looked for a way in. On one side was a tall stack of hay bales with a window at the top. The four of them climbed up, with John leading the way. When John reached the top, he pushed the wooden doors open and climbed in, not stopping to look back at the rest.

Sam climbed in next, looking around before spotting his niece who was climbing in next, followed by Dean. Dean closed the doors, darkening the barn. The three of them leaped from another set of hay bales. All of the vampires were sleeping in hammocks throughout the dark space as Sam, Dean, and Sarah quietly made their way around.

Sarah looked around as she walked behind her uncle and in front of her father, her hand clenched, tightly around the hilt of her machete in case one of the vampires suddenly attacked. Her heart was beating faster with each passing moment before she heard a noise and almost jumped out of her skin. Turns out, Dean had bumped into one of the hammocks, trying to go under it.

Sarah looked around, scanning the room again until Sam got hers and Dean's attention. The two of them hurried over to where Sam was squatting down next to a young woman tied to a beam, asleep.

Just as Sam was about to untie her, there was another noise this time and Dean noticed a cage with a bunch of people inside and went to investigate. Everyone was tied up and had tape over their mouths. While Dean tied to break the cage open and Sam cut the woman loose, Sarah kept watch, her eyes never leaving any of the vampires. She tightened her grip on the machete hilt when Dean made a louder noise than he had anticipated and all three stayed on high alert for a moment before Sam and Dean continued.

The woman Sam was cutting loose began to stir. Sam tried, very quietly to keep her quiet and assure her that they were there to rescue her and the others. However, it seems she had already been turned because she screamed out, alerting the vampires. Sam moved back in a standing position, drawing his machete.

Sarah had drawn hers the minute she heard the woman scream, ready to fight any vampires that came at them. She was disappointed when she heard her grandfather tell the three of them to run. Their cover was blown though and knew they had to come up with a new strategy. So Sarah hurried after her father and uncle, out of the barn. While running away from there and into the ticket, she tripped over a tree branch that was on the ground. Neither Dean or Sam noticed and kept on running. Just as she was about to pick herself up she felt two hands grab her and ran. Sarah looked up to see it was her grandfather.

Soon, they reached the vehicles where Sam and Dean were waiting, who was about to take off towards the Impala. John set Sarah down on her feet. "They won't follow," he told them. "They'll wait for tonight."

Sarah slid the machete back into the case. "They have our scent for good. So, there's no hiding from them now," she told the men.

"So, what do we do now?" Dean demanded.

"You gotta find the nearest funeral home, that's what," John told him.

Sarah looked up at her grandfather as Sam and Dean exchanged confused looks. "You mean to plan our funerals? Yeah, real comforting to hear, Grandpa," she said, sarcastic.

"No, we're gonna need Dead Man's blood if we want to get that Colt." John then laid out their next plan before Dean volunteered to get the blood. Sarah wanted to go with him but Dean told her to stay with her uncle and grandfather. The three of them rode back to the cabin, with Sam holding his niece on his lap.

Sam paced the floor of the cabin while Sarah lied on his bed, on her stomach as she played her PSP. "It shouldn't be taking this long," Sam complained. His hands were dug into his jeans pockets. "I should go help."

"Uncle Sam, this is Dad we're talking about. He knows what he's doing," Sarah reminded him like it was a well-known fact.

"Sarah's right, Dean's got it," John said, sitting at a desk.

Sam stopped in his tracks to look back at his father. He then looked every other direction besides John and started pacing again.

John tried to focus on his work but couldn't help watch his youngest son. "Sammy," he finally said, twirling his pen in his hands.

Sam stopped to look at him again. "Yeah?"

John sighed before looking downward, "I don't think I ever told you this, but…the day you were born, you know what I did?"

"Pass out cigars?" Sarah asked, still playing her game.

"Sarah," Sam scolded her, sternly.

Sarah shrugged up at her uncle, innocently, "What? I heard that's what they do when their kid is born."

Sam let out a breath of annoyed air as he ran his hand down his face and looked over at his father when he heard him snicker. "Glad you find this funny, Dad," he said, bitterly.

John smiled, "No, Sarah, that's what I did when your dad was born."

"Really?" asked Sarah, curious.

He snickered some more. John couldn't remember the last time he laughed this much. "No, not really," he said, truthfully. "Just trying to lighten the mood. Seriously though, the day you were born, Sam, I put a hundred bucks into a savings account for you. I did the same thing for your brother." He paused for a moment. "It was a college fund. And every month, I'd put in another hundred dollars, until…" John couldn't finish that sentence but Sam knew what he meant.

"Papa says parents shouldn't do that," Sarah spoke when her uncle didn't say a word.

"Why not, sweetheart?"

She shrugged, "Papa had to work his tail off to get into school, that it doesn't help the kid when everything is just handed to them. That's why he didn't help my mom when we were struggling. He struggled when he was young and now he's retired in a big house where only old people can live. All you can do, is pray for them, he says."

John was trying to wrap his head around who Sarah was referring to. Papa could be father or grandfather. He knew Dean wouldn't say something like that. Plus, he heard Sarah call him, Dad or Daddy. John finally understood that she probably meant her other grandfather and asked to make sure, getting a nod. "I never took him for that kind of person when I talked to him over the phone," he said.

"Papa can be a strict man, sometimes. I've been over his knee a lot."

"You hardly give us trouble, except being a smartass," Sam shrugged at his niece.

"Because I didn't have hunting to keep me out of trouble. I was always bored and with me, boredom usually leads to trouble. At Papa's house, I only got one hour a week on this thing." Sarah held her PSP up, closer to her uncle. "If he knew how, Papa would have deleted all my music off of here, too. They all hated classic rock."

"So," John got his granddaughter's attention, smirking now, too. "Am I your favorite grandpa then?"

"Well…" Sarah pretended to think on it. "Papa still was a very loving man and all but…" She smiled at him. "He wasn't as cool as you."

"I'm cool, huh?" he smiled. "Why? Last night, you looked like you were gonna tear me a new one."

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know," she answered, truthfully. "Yeah, I was mad but I still love you. I get mad at Dad and Uncle Sammy, too especially when they fight. Doesn't mean I don't love them any less."

Something happened and John's heart got all mushy. "Come here, kiddo," he told Sarah. Sarah put her PSP down and crawled off the bed, going over to her grandfather, who scooped her up in his arms and held her on his lap. John kissed her forehead. "I love you, too, Sarah. Don't ever forget that."

"Even when I tell you off?" she asked, hugging him with one arm.

John smiled at her, "Kid, I have been dealing with that longer than you were born. Remember, you're your uncle's niece."

Sarah giggled at that, making Sam snicker, too and walk over to sit on the other side of the desk.

John kissed her forehead one last time before returning back to his son. "Getting back on topic where we were interrupted," he smiled down at his granddaughter when he said the last part then returned to Sam, again. "This was never the life I wanted for you."

Sam got serious, too. "Then why did you get so mad when I left?"

"You got to understand something and I'm sure Dean has learned this with Sarah." John sighed as he rubbed Sarah's left shoulder, affectionately. "After your mother passed, all I saw was evil…Everywhere. And all I cared about was…Was keeping you boys alive."

Sarah looked up at her grandfather and noticed the sad look on his face, so she laid her head against his chest and told him that it was okay, comforting him.

John hugged her head to him before continuing, "I wanted you prepared. Ready. See, somewhere along the line, I, uh…I stopped being your father, and I…I became your…your drill sergeant. So when you said that you wanted to go away to school, all I could think about, my only thought was, that you were gonna be alone. Vulnerable. Sammy, it just…It never occurred to me what you wanted. I just couldn't accept the fact that you and me, we're just different."

Sam chuckled.

"What?" he asked, smiling as he continued to rub Sarah's shoulder.

Sam looked up again, shaking his head. "We're not different," he whispered. "Not anymore," just above a whisper. "With what happened to Mom and Jess…" Sam shook his head again and laughed. "Uh, we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone." Sam breathed in, heavily.

Sarah looked back and forth between her uncle and grandfather. "So, does that include me then since everyone says I'm just like you, Uncle Sam?"

The men let out a laugh at the same time, confusing the little girl.

"Yeah, peanut," Sam finally answered, "that includes you."

"Aw, great," she said.

John snickered and tickled Sarah in the stomach until Sam interrupted, curious.

Hey, Dad," he said. "Whatever happened to that college fund?"

"I spent it on ammo," he said and all three bust out into laughter as Dean came through the door. Everyone got silence.

Dean shook his head, "Whoo. Man, some heavy security to protect a bunch of dead guys" as he walked towards them.

Sarah turned around to face the desk but didn't get up. "You get it?" John asked his oldest as he leaned towards her, on the desk.

Dean took a paper bag from his pocket and removed a black jar with strings tied on it, and handed it to John.

John held the jar in his left hand and sighed, looking at it. "You know what to do," he told them and set it on the desk.


	38. Chapter 38: Dead Man's Blood (Part 4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 38

Dean parked on the side of the road and lifted the hood of his car, pretending to have car trouble while John, Sam, and Sarah stayed back, hidden behind some trees, waiting for the vampires.

One of the vampires, the leader's girlfriend walked up behind Dean, surprising him. "Car trouble?" she asked. Dean stood up and faced her. "Let me give you a lift. Take you back to my place."

Dean shrugged, "I'll pass. I usually draw the line at necrophilia."

"Ooh," the female vampire said and slapped Dean in the face. Sam had to quickly hold Sarah back when she saw her father get struck and raised onto his feet.

"Don't normally get this friendly till the second date, but…" Dean said as she held his jaw and chuckled.

"You know, we could have some fun," she told him, "I always like to make new friends," and kissed him, forcibly.

Dean chuckled afterwards, "Sorry. Don't really stay with a chick that long. Definitely not eternally." Suddenly, two arrows were shot into the two vampires, releasing Dean, and John hurried over, carrying a crossbow, followed by Sam and Sarah.

"Damn it," said the female vampire. "Barely even stings."

"Give it time, sweetheart," John told her. "Arrows soaked in dead man's blood. It's like poison to you, isn't it?" She just glared at him then passed out. Dean caught her. "Load her up. I'll take care of this one." John turned around to face the other vampire, nodding at Sam, who had his machete raised.

"Can I do it, Grandpa?" Sarah asked, holding hers, too.

John sighed, not really wanting his granddaughter to be seeing this, much less actually decapitating something. But he gave in anyway, remembering how excited she was earlier. Sarah raised her machete and sliced into the vampire's neck, blood splattering everywhere, including on her. It took her a few minutes to get the head off, completely since it wasn't easy for her but finally she stopped and wiped away what splattered on her face. John was expected a child's reaction from her but Sarah remained mature and calm about it, surprising him.

Standing at the back of his truck, John gave Dean a sack of some stuff to burn. "Toss this on the fire. Saffron, skunk's cabbage, and trillium." They walked over where Sam was building a fire. "It'll block our scent and hers, until we're ready."

Dean coughed, "This stuff stinks."

"Well, that's the idea," he told him. "Dust your clothes with the ashes and you stand a fighting chance of not being detected."

Dean tossed the stuff onto the fire.

"You sure they'll come after her?" asked Sam.

"Yeah. Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun," John explained as Sarah was standing guard, watching the vampire as she stirred. "But the blood-sickness is gonna wear off soon. So you don't have a lot of time."

Dean walked back over to them.

"Half hour atta do it," said Sam.

"And then, I want you out of the area as fast as you can," John finished.

Sarah perked up at her grandfather when she heard that.

"But…" Sam tried to argue.

"Whoa, Dad," said Dean. "You can't take care of 'em yourself."

"I'll have her," John assured them, "and the Colt."

"But after, we're gonna meet up, right?" Sam asked. "Use the gun together. Right?"

John looked away, not saying anything.

Sarah watched his movement, carefully. She widened her eyes when her uncle asked, "You're leaving again, aren't you?" Sam shook his head, "You still want to go after the demon alone? You know, I don't get you."

John looked at his youngest son.

"You can't treat us like this."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Like children," Sam told him.

"You are my children. I'm trying to keep you safe."

Dean spoke up, next. "Dad, all due respect, but, uh, that's a bunch of crap."

All three stared at Dean, surprised, including Sarah. She never expected her father to talk to his own father like that.

John asked of him, "Excuse me?"

"You know what the three of us have been huntin'," he replied. "Hell, you sent us on a few trips yourself. You can't be that worried about keeping us safe."

"It's not the same thing, Dean," John said.

"Then what is it? Why do you want us out of the big fight?"

"This demon, it's a bad son of a bitch. I can't make the same moves if I'm worried about keeping you alive."

"You mean, you can't be as reckless," said Dean.

John looked between his boys, "Look, I don't expect to make it out of this fight in one piece. Your mother's death, it almost killed me. I can't watch my children or my grandchild die, too. I won't."

"What about if you die?" Sarah asked.

Dean agreed, "What if you die and we've could've have done something about it?" John looked away. "You know, I've been thinking. I think Sammy's right about this one. I think we should do this together. We're stronger as a family, Dad. We just are. You know it."

Sarah stepped closer to the men. "I've seen the demon already. I've seen what he can do and we can use that to our advantage. I've known for three years now."

John ignored her. "We're running out time. You do your job and you get out of the area," he told Sam and Dean. "That's an order." John then walked away.

Sarah wasn't realizing it but she was squeezing the blade of her machete in her left hand. It dug into her skin as blood started leaking out. Hot tears were forming in her eyes. "You know what?!" she yelled after her grandfather. "You're just a huge, selfish jerk!"

John kept walking away but dropped his head. It hurt to hear that from his granddaughter but he did not want her or his boys mixed up in the fight when he knew there was a chance they could get hurt, or worse, killed. So, he hid the emotion.

Dean hurried after his father and grabbed his shoulder, making John face him. "Dad, do you want to know how many times I have almost lost my own kid, this past year?" he demanded of him. "Sarah has even been on the verge of death. But you know what, the kid always bounces back. You know why? Because she has her family there to protect her. You want to keep us out of a fight when there's a chance you could die and none of us would be there to back you up? I'm sorry but Sarah is right, you are a selfish jerk."

"We are wasting time with this, Dean. Do your job." With that, John continued walking away.

John thought about what both Dean and Sarah had said as he drove down the highway. Both their words rang in his head, over and over. Hearing that his granddaughter had been on the verge of death tore at him. John could not believe his son had brought her into this. Why didn't he put Sarah up for adoption like he had hinted Dean to do? He also thought back to Chicago and remembered seeing Sarah's eye and wondered what Dean did while it healed, hoping he didn't let her hunt with a bad eye. Keeping the three of them away from this demon was the best thing, though, especially Sam and Sarah. John already knew just how special they were and how much the demon wanted them. Of course, if the demon had already found Sarah, why hasn't it got her yet?

John's thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the vampires on his tail.

Meanwhile, Sam, Dean, and Sarah took care of the vampires that stayed behind at their nest and rescued the prisoners. Dean made sure Sarah stayed by his side the whole time for sure, considering her hand had an open wound now and once a vampire got a whiff of her blood, he did not even want to think about what could happen.

Sarah came close though. One of the vampires had her cornered while Dean had his own to deal with. The vampire sneered at her, "I like the smell of your blood, kid. It's different"

Not sure what he meant by that, Sarah gripped her machete in her hand as it lunged at her, pinning her to the wall. She could feel his breath on her neck as he inched closer. Sarah kicked up her legs, kicking the vampire in the jewels, making him let go. At that point, Dean came up from being and beheaded him while he was down.

"Did he get you, baby girl?" Dean asked of his daughter.

Sarah felt around on her neck, looking at her hand. "No," she shook her head.

Once the nest was cleared, Dean freed the prisoners, making sure they got out safely and met up with his brother and daughter outside.

"Dad, we're not really gonna leave Grandpa, are we?" Sarah asked her father.

He shook his head. "We never leave family behind."

"Even if it means breaking an order?"

"You bet, baby girl."

Sam, Dean, and Sarah hurried where John was dealing with the leader of the vampires and the rest. John was out cold when they got there. Dean shot at one of them with a crossbow as Sam and Sarah charged towards the rest.

Sam got knocked off his feet and the leader grabbed him up, around his neck. Sarah raised her machete, ready to attack.

"Don't," the leader threatened. "I'll break his neck."

Sam was grasping for air.

"Let him go," Sarah told the leader.

"Put the blade down," he told her as Dean ran up beside his daughter.

"Do want he says, Sarah," Dean told her.

"But…"

"Just do it," he said, sternly.

Sarah slowly lowered her machete on the ground while eyeing the leader who glared back, angrily. "You people," he told them, "Why can't you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do."

"I don't think so." The leader turned while still holding Sam to see John pointing the Colt at him. John immediately shot him in the forehead, killing him instantly. Sam got loose and stepped back towards Dean and Sarah as the leader slowly fell onto the ground, limp.

The leader's girlfriend screamed his name out. She tried to go after John but the woman from before held her back and the two of them fled.

"Wait, we're letting them get away?" Sarah asked, watching as the vampires got into a car and drove away. "What if they form another pack and come after us?"

Dean shrugged, "Then we'll fight'em all over again."

Sarah left it at that and put her machete away as Dean looked over at his father. "We'll just go, Dad," he said, backing away. Sam and Sarah reluctantly followed.

Back at the cabin, the three of them were packing up their duffel bags. Sarah sat on the bed, shoving her clothes inside.

Dean looked up at her. "I know you're mad, baby girl," he told her as he continued packing. "We all are."

"Mad doesn't begin it," she said, bitterly, not towards her father but at the fact that her grandfather was leaving them yet again.

At that moment, John walked in. "So, boys. Sarah," he began, standing by the door with his hands in his pockets. Sam and Dean turned around to fully face him. Sarah stood up and walked over to stand in between her father and uncle.

"Yes, sir," said Sam as they moved closer.

"You ignored a direct order back there," he said.

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah, but we saved your ass," said Dean.

Sam looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye, nervously, while still watching his father.

Sarah crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Family never gets left behind," she added.

John nodded, agreeing with both of them. "You're right."

Dean looked at him, taken aback. "Me or her?"

"Both," he replied. "Look, it scares the hell out of me. You two were all I had, and now I have Sarah to think about, but I guess we are stronger as a family. So…we go after this damn thing. Together," he nodded.

Sarah smiled, proudly. "Yes, sir," the three of them said in union.


	39. Chapter 39: Salvation (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 39

Sarah sat on a dock, overlooking the ocean as the sun set on the horizon. It was dead quiet as she sat with her feet dangling over the edge as she took a deep breath, enjoying the beautiful scenery.

Suddenly, a voice startled her from behind. "See you met Grandpappy."

Sarah turned around to see the demon sitting on one of the dock pillars, his arms crossed, grinning. She glared at him, "What do you want?"

He looked away. "Oh, nothing much. Just wanted to check to see how things are going." The demon looked at her again. "Heard you found the Colt. What a prize, huh?"

Sarah stood up, slowly as she watched the demon. "Yeah, and we're gonna find you and kill you for what you've done."

"Oh, that's a laugh," he scoffed. "Your little family think you can kill little ol'me?"

"My dad is the best on his own," she told him. "With Grandpa and Uncle Sam, he'll be even better."

The demon stood up and walked to the other side of the dock, looking up at the sky, "Oh, you hold your precious daddy on such a high pedestal." He stopped and grinned at the little girl. "But honesty, he's nothing."

Sarah clenched her fists at her sides. "That's not true!" she roared at him.

"He tries so hard to protect you and your uncle Sammy when really the two of you don't need him at all. Look at what you alone can do, Sarah."

She stared at the demon, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Not one of my psychic children's powers has ever come out when they're still a kid," he explained. "It's always after their twenty-second birthday. But you, Sarah, yours came out, right after your fifth birthday and when I caught wind of that, you became my favorite. The one I finally learned is the one."

"The one, what?" she asked.

The demon sneered at her, "The one I need." He continued walking around the dock as Sarah watched his every movement. "Of course, I had to get you away from that other family of yours if I wanted my plans to succeed."

"So you gave Papa, Grandpa's number," said Sarah.

"Not just that. If I needed to get you away I needed to make sure there was no reason for you to stay."

Now Sarah was confused even more. "What are you talking about?"

The demon walked towards her and stopped. "Want to know a secret?" he asked her.

Sarah looked up at him, a little intrigued but worried at the same time.

"You know that tumor of Mommy's? It was only a small one that would have gone away after a surgery or two. But I kind of helped it grow. Watered the seed if you know what I mean."

She stepped back in horror and surprise, her eyes widened. "You…you killed my mom?"

"Oh, come on," he shrugged. "I did you a favor. Dear ol' mommy was gonna send you to an institution for children anyway. At least now, you're free with Daddy and Uncle Sammy."

Sarah's anger rose inside of her as her fists clenched again. "It was you who introduced me to monsters in the first place! You pushed my mom farther than we already were in the first place. You made everything even worse!"

"Now, no need to point fingers, little Sarah," the demon said, shaking a finger. "It was already there. I just, ignited the fuse, you might say."

Sarah fumed as her chest rapidly moved. "You evil…sick…son of a… jet rocket engine!"

"Is name-calling really necessary?" he asked, smiling.

Sarah then charged after him but he disappeared. She almost lost her balance near the edge and quickly caught herself, turning around to see the demon standing where she was before.

"Remember, Sarah. I'm not really here. I just use your dreams to check up on you. You have yet to see me in action."

"Yeah?" she shot back. "When we really do find you I will find enjoyment in watching you squirm underneath my dad, uncle, and grandpa."

He smiled at her, "We'll see" and snapped his fingers.

Sarah sat up in bed, quickly, in a motel room. It was daylight and the men were busy discussing what John already knew about the demon when Dean looked back over his shoulder. He hurried over to his daughter and kneeled beside the bed.

"You all right, baby girl?" he asked, concerned.

Sarah looked at her father, uncle, and grandfather then back at her father. "I saw the demon again, Dad."

Sam, who was leaning against a dresser, stood up, stealing a glance at his father before returning to his niece.

"Mom wasn't supposed to die," she continued, close to tears.

Dean looked up at her, "What do you mean?"

"The demon said it was a small tumor that would have gone away after a couple surgeries but he made it worse so there would be a reason for Papa to find you." Sarah then went on to explain everything the demon had told her.

"But I thought you said he had plans for the both of us," Sam pointed out when Sarah was finished.

Sarah shrugged, "I'm just repeating what the demon told me."

"How can you be sure it wasn't just a dream, Sarah?" John asked, standing beside the bed. Dean had sat down on the bed during Sarah's story, beside her.

"The demon tells me things that I find out later are true. He told me about Uncle Sam right before I met Dad," she explained.

John looked down, thinking about all he just learned from his granddaughter.

Sarah looked up at her father. "Dad…" she started to say.

"What, baby girl?" he asked with his arm around her shoulders.

She wanted to tell him about how the demon had said that she didn't need him but also didn't want to tell him. It was just a demon, anyway. What did he know about little girls and their fathers? Sarah knew she needed him. She shook her head, "nothing," and hugged him. "I love you, Dad."

Dean hugged his daughter to him. "I love you, too, baby girl."

The Winchesters packed up and moved on.

Outside, once everything was in the trunks, Sarah asked John, "Hey Grandpa," standing in between the Impala and his truck. "Can I ride with you, this time?"

John was surprised to hear her ask that. In a good way, though. "If it's all right with your dad," he told her.

Sarah hurried over where Dean was walking back from the motel's main office. "Dad, can I ride with Grandpa? Please?" she begged, using her puppy-dog face.

"What, you're sick of riding with Sam and me?" he teased her.

"No, I just want to ride with Grandpa. Please, Dad?"

Dean shrugged, "It's all right with me."

Sarah cheered, happily and turned around to run back to the vehicles as she shouted, "Grandpa, Dad says yes!"

Come on then," John told her, ushering his granddaughter with his head. "You can get in on my side."

She jumped off the sidewalk and walked over to him, moving where he could open his door before letting her climb in. John tried to help her but Sarah informed him that she didn't need help. John gave her a playful swat before she sidestepped over to the other side of the truck bench and he climbed in, himself.

"That wasn't cool, Grandpa," she gave her grandfather a fake glare, pretending to be mad at him.

He grinned at her, "It wasn't, huh?" John took out his keys from his pocket and started the engine as Sam walked passed John's window. John rolled it down, manually. "Salvation's about a three hour drive from here. Need to stop for gas, Dean?"

Dean was standing on his side of the Impala. "Not really, but Sarah hasn't eaten yet," he replied. "Probably should stop somewhere or you're gonna be hearing complaining the whole way."

"Okay, that's fine. First place I see that serves or sells food, we'll stop," said John.

"Preferably somewhere with chocolate milk," Sarah added.

John looked over at her. "You will be grateful for whatever they have, even if there is none," he told her, sternly.

"Yes, sir," she replied. Sarah wanted to say something to what he had said but decided it was best not to.

Sam noticed Sarah was riding with John. "Sarah, I was gonna do some schooling with you on the way," he told her. "Can you ride with us for now?"

"Can't we do it some other time?" she asked her uncle. "I want to ride with Grandpa."

Sam was about to give in but decided to open his car door and grab the fourth grade work book off the seat. "I want you to do the page I have marked. Read the story and answer the questions that follow it." He held the book out to his father to pass to Sarah but John pushed it away.

"Sam, Sarah can do it later. We have more important things to take care of, right now."

"Her education is always more important than anything else, Dad," Sam told him.

"I understand, Sam."

"We're just driving right now, okay? It usually takes Sarah five minutes tops to finish an assignment." Sam held the book out to John again.

John sighed and took the book from his youngest son as Sarah said, "No, Grandpa. Don't give in." He handed it to her and Sarah took it with a groan, leaning back on the seat.

"I want complete sentences, Sarah," Sam reminded her. "You've been slacking on your work and we all know you can do a lot better."

"Yes, Uncle Sam," she told him.

"Let's go, we're burning daylight," John said and put his truck into reverse.

Sam got into the Impala, shutting his door and John backed out of the parking space before switching his truck into drive and drove from the parking lot, followed by Dean. Not too far away, John spotted a Jack-in-a-Box and went through the drive-thru, letting Dean go first since he was paying for breakfast.

"What do you want?" he asked Sarah when it was their turn.

Sarah looked up from her assignment over at the large menu, taking her time deciding.

"Sometime today, kid," he told her with a little impatience.

"I want a waffle sandwich," she finally decided. "Do they have chocolate milk?"

John asked the woman through the intercom.

"No, we just have regular milk," she told them.

He looked back at his granddaughter. "Is plain milk okay?"

"Yeah," she agreed, disappointed.

"You mean, yes," John corrected her and told the woman that milk was fine and ordered a meaty breakfast burrito. When the order was complete he drove up to the first window and handed the woman his credit card and looked over at Sarah. "So, what's that story about your uncle has you reading?"

Sarah looked back up after she finished the sentence she was writing. "This kid, Erik had to visit his grandparents on a Saturday even though he didn't want to. When Erik found an old key, his grandfather told him that it opened a special room he goes in when his wife wants him to do the dishes," she summarized the story.

John took his card back from the woman. "And what was in the special room?" he asked.

"It was a game room with a pool table."

"So what kind of questions does it ask?" he continued to ask while they waited on Dean to move.

"Right now, I just finished answering why Erik thought the key would open the attic door."

"And what did you write?"

"The key looked old and attics usually hold old things," Sarah told him. "How come you want to know?"

John shrugged, "Just curious and making conversation. So, what grade are you in, right now or are supposed to be in."

"Fourth grade," she replied.

"You're eight, right? Shouldn't you be in third grade, or at least second?"

"I got bumped up a grade," she explained. "I'm usually the smartest kid in my class."

John leaned on his door while holding the steering wheel in the other. "You are just like your uncle," he smiled at his granddaughter.

"My mom was smart, too. She went to the same college Uncle Sam went to until she found out she was pregnant with me then she quit so she could take care of me."

"That's what your other grandfather told me. He said you two were homeless when you were two until he finally found you," he said as he pulled up to the second window when they were finally able to move.

"Really?" she asked. "I don't remember that."

"Well, because you were very young," John told her as he took the drinks first, passing Sarah's to her.

"But I have a really good memory, though."

"Usually memories don't start until at least four and even then, it's very vague. Like your father. He remembers your grandmother and what happened that night we lost her, but that's about it." John placed his drink between his legs and took the bag of food from the young man working the window. He thanked him and moved to a parking spot next to the Impala so he could pass out the food.

John took out one of the hashbrowns and passed it to Sarah. "Would you like mine, Sarah?" He noticed Dean was waving his hand, trying to get their attention. "Row your window down." Sarah looked over at her father and leaned forward to turn the clank, rolling the window all the way down.

"I was wrong, I do need gas," Dean called over to John.

"Why didn't you call me before we pulled into Jack-in-the-box, Dean?" John asked with annoyance apparent in his voice.

He shrugged, "Jack-in-the-box sounded good."

"How empty is it?"

"It's getting close to E," Dean replied.

John ran his left hand down his face before he said, "Okay, but this is the last stop for a while." He finished taking the food out, placing the bag on the floor. "Put your trash in there when you're done. Okay, Sarah?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, opening her sandwich.

"And don't spill anything in here, either," he added.

Sarah rolled her eyes, "You sound like Dad, Grandpa."

John was backing out again. "Food stains the upholstery." John turned the steering wheel with his right hand, fast and put it into drive before pulling from the parking lot, stopping for a car that drove by.

Once Sarah finished her assignment, she and John started talking, laughing now and then and getting to know one another, forgetting the time.

As they neared Salvation, Iowa, Sarah was telling her grandfather some jokes she knew. "Why are ghosts bad liars?" she was asking him.

"Why?" he replied for the eighth time.

"Because you can see right through them," Sarah laughed. "Well, the cartoon ones, anyway."

John laughed.

"Oh yeah," she remembered another one. "What dog can jump higher than a building?"

He replied, "What?"

"Any dog, because buildings can't jump. What's a witch's favorite part in school?" Sarah asked.

"What's that?"

"Spelling."

John had to think about that one for a few seconds before it hit him. "Oh, right. 'Cause witches do spells," he smiled at her and the road.

Sarah nodded, "Mm hm."

John reached over and tickled his granddaughter. "You are too cute, kid. Possibly cuter than your uncle was but don't tell him I said that," he told her, taking his hand back. At that point, his cell phone rang. John took it from inside his jacket and answered it. "What's up, Caleb? What?! Son of a…" John was silent as Caleb talked. When they finished he said, "Thanks, Caleb. I'll talk to you later," and hung up, putting his phone away.

"What's wrong, Grandpa?" Sarah asked.

"A friend of mine was killed," he told her, slowing down. John pulled over on the side of the road and parked, getting out as Dean did the same. Sarah sidestepped over to her grandfather's side to slide out on her stomach and shut the door, hurrying to catch up to him. "Damn it!"

"What is it?" Dean shrugged.

John hit his truck in frustration, "Son of a bitch! I just got a call from Caleb."

"Is he okay?" he asked.

"He's fine. Jim Murphy's dead."

Sam leaned on the Impala, "Pastor Jim?"

John nodded over at him.

"How?"

"Throat was slashed," John explained. "He bled out."

Sam and Dean looked away, disappointed to hear their father's friend was dead.

"Caleb says they found traces of sulfur at Jim's place," John continued.

"The demon," said Dean. " _The Demon_?"

He shook his head, "I don't know. It could be he just got…He got careless. He slipped up."

"Is he a hunter, too?" Sarah asked.

"Yes, baby girl," Dean answered her. "We used to stay with him when we were kids."

"Oh, after Uncle Bobby threatened Grandpa with a shotgun?" she asked, remembering what Bobby had told her.

He nodded.

"The demon knows we have the Colt now, he must know we're getting close to him," she shrugged.

"That'll be my guess, Sarah," John agreed with her.

"What do you wanna do?" asked Dean.

"Now we act like every second counts."

"Um, having we been acting that way, all day?" Sarah asked, innocently.

"Sarah," Dean told her, getting her attention and shook his head, letting her know to just stay quiet for now.

"There's two hospitals and a health center in this county," John explained. "We split up, we cover more ground. I want records. I want a list of every infant that's gonna be six months old in the next week."

"Dad, that could be dozens of kids," said Sam. "How the hell are we gonna know which one's the right one?"

"We'll check'em all, that's how," he told him. "You got any better ideas?"

Sam came up blank and replied, "No, sir."

John turned back to his truck.

"Sarah, since we're splitting up, do you want to come with me or Sam?" Dean asked his daughter.

"Can I stay with Grandpa?" she asked.

"Dad, you mind keeping her still? I'll take her if you want," he asked his father, who was leaning on his truck.

"No, she can stay with me if she wants," said John, looking downward.

"Dad?"

"Yeah." He turned back around. "It's Jim. You know, I can't…" John paused, looking away for a moment. Sarah hugged John to comfort him, saying it was okay. He looked at Sam and Dean, "This ends now. I'm ending it. I don't care what it takes." John turned and walked away, calling back for his granddaughter. "Let's go, Sarah. Hurry up." He thrust opened his door.

"Hold up, Sarah," Dean told her and quickly got her fake ID from the glove compartment in the Impala, tossing it to her.

Sarah caught it in both hands and hurried over to climb in but John lifted her up, not wanting to wait for her, this time before he got in, shutting his door and driving off again.


	40. Chapter 40: Salvation (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 40

John and Sarah took one of the hospitals, posing as officers requesting information. Between the two of them it took a couple of hours to write down each infant.

Once they had all they need, John and Sarah left the hospital. Once outside, it hit. Sarah stopped at the edge of the sidewalk, clutching her forehead in pain. John looked back to see if his granddaughter was keeping up and saw Sarah fall to her knees and ran back over.

He kneeled on the blacktop, touching her right shoulder. "Sarah, what's wrong?"

Sarah could not respond as visions of a mobile of clowns and a lamp crossed through her mind before it showed a young mother, rocking her baby to sleep. When the mother put her baby in its crib, she looked around the room. A train was heard off in the distance.

"Sarah, talk to me. What's wrong?" John kept trying. He wanted to run back into the hospital but also did not want to leave Sarah.

Soon, Sarah was able to speak. "I know who the demon's going after next. Somewhere with a train," she said.

"What?" John was at a loss for words. "How do you know that? What just happened?"

"I can't explain it, you have to trust me." Sarah tried to stand up. John helped her and walked her to his truck where they climbed in.

John grabbed a map off the dash and looked at it, finding where there might be a train near some houses before starting the engine and heading over there. "Start explaining, Sarah," he said as he drove. "What happened? You seem like you're used to this kind of thing."

Sarah was sitting on her legs, looking out the window as she held onto the door. "Uncle Sam and I…we get these…these visions. They started out as nightmares when we sleep but ever since we met this Max guy, we get'em during the day now. We see it first and then it happens," she explained as she scanned the houses as they blurred passed.

He looked between her and the road ahead, holding the steering wheel in his right hand. "A vision?" he questioned.

Sarah nodded, not looking back.

John sighed, "When was your dad and uncle gonna tell me about this?" He shook his head as he looked ahead. "As soon as something like this happens, someone needs to pick up the phone and call me."

Sarah looked back at him. "Call you?" she questioned. "Grandpa, Uncle Sam called you when Dad was dying. Dad told me, he called you when we were in Lawrence, and after my first hunt, too. We would sooner get a call from the president than get you to call us. So don't be blaming Dad for this. Or Uncle Sam because they tried to call." Sarah returned to looking out the window, scanning for the house when another vision hit. Sarah clutched her forehead again, laying it on the door as she cried out in pain.

"Sarah? Is this another vision?" John asked. "Sarah."

Tears filled her shut eyes as visions of the same mother flashed through her mind again. This time, a soft lullaby was playing from a child's music box and the same clown mobile was there. Suddenly, the music stopped and the clock on the wall stopped as well as everything got quiet. The wind blew from an open window, rattling the mobile as a shadow walked up towards the infant's crib.

The mother walked into the nursery at that point, catching the shadow. "What are you…?" She then was shot up against the wall and slid towards the ceiling where she was then pinned. Blood appeared on her stomach and dripped down before the mother burst into flames.

The vision ended as Sarah snapped up, falling back off her legs. This was the most painful vision she had experienced yet. "Y-yeah. This is the one. The demon is going after a baby named Rosie. Ah!" Sarah gave a small yelp from the pain coming from her head.

"You sure?" asked John.

"Does it look like I'm sure?! Yes!" she snapped.

"Hey, do not talk to me like that, young lady," he scolded her, very stern.

"Do you not see me in pain here?" Sarah shot back, regretting it as her head hurt more.

John pulled up to a white house at that point to see Sam right across the street. He was also holding his head. Sam glanced up to see his father's truck and hurried around to Sarah's side, opening the door.

"You saw it, too, didn't you, peanut?" he asked when he saw his niece.

She nodded and Sam climbed in, setting his backpack on the floor at his feet and scooped Sarah up into his lap and shut the door.

"The demon's coming here tonight," Sam said as John drove off, comforting his niece in his arms.

"How long have you both been having these visions/nightmares?" John asked of his son.

Sam occasionally rubbed at his eyes in one hand, "The visions, just a few months. With the nightmares, over a year."

"So you see the demon kill someone?"

"No," he shook his head, "this is the first time seeing the demon kill someone. But it is usually of someone dying."

John got on his cell phone and called Dean and picked the closest motel to each of them to meet up at, that they needed to talk. Once John pulled into the parking lot of a motel, Sam opened his door and got out first, slinging his backpack on one shoulder before lifting Sarah, who had fallen asleep, onto his side and shut the door, stepping onto the sidewalk.

Dean stepped out of a motel room and hurried over to his brother to take his daughter from him.

"We had another vision. Sarah seems more exhausted from this one," Sam told him, passing Sarah to his brother.

Dean brushed some hair behind Sarah's right ear, looking at her. "It's been a long day and Sarah didn't get much sleep last night. Probably should let her get some rest for now." He looked at Sam. "What was the vision?"

The Winchester men went inside and Sam laid out the vision for his father and brother. Dean sat on the foot of one of the beds, holding Sarah on his lap.

John was sitting on the other bed. "Dean, why don't you lay her down on the bed?" he suggested.

Sarah snuggled against her father's neck, sleeping as Dean rubbed her back under her sweatshirt and T-shirt. He was watching her, not paying attention to his father. She looked so peaceful and beautiful in her sleep to him.

"Dean." John raised his voice a tag bit over a normal speaking voice, finally getting his oldest son's attention.

"Huh? What?" he asked.

"I said, why don't you lay Sarah down on the bed," John repeated.

"I've barely seen her all day," Dean shrugged.

John looked away for a second with just his eyes, "Okay."

Sam looked over from his place at the table in the small kitchen area. "Dean doesn't like Sarah away from his side for too long," he explained to their father. "He gets all emotional and warm when she's been away from him." Sam smiled when he got a hard glare from his brother.

"I do not," he tried to argue, trying to sound like his normal, tough macho self.

"You do too, Dean," replied Sam. "Besides, nothing wrong with it," he shrugged. "You have a young daughter. It's normal for a father to feel that way."

Dean looked down at his daughter's sleeping form, the only person who could soften both his interior and exterior shell.

"Can we can the _Full House_ moment and continue discussing these visions and the demon here?" John asked of his boys.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know what else to say. It seems like the closer Sarah and I get to anything involving the demon, the stronger the visions get."

Remembering what Sarah had told him in the truck, John rubbed his face in his hands. "I wish you boys had told me about this before."

"We didn't know what it meant," Dean shrugged.

At that moment, Sam's cell phone rang from where it lied on the table. He picked it up, looking at the number. It wasn't a number he knew either. "Hello?"

"Sam?" came a female's voice.

"Who is this?" Sam asked them.

"Think will hard. It will come to you."

Sam thought on it until it dawned on him. "Meg." He looked over at Dean for a brief moment as John stood up. "Last time I saw you, you fell out of a window."

"Yeah, thanks to you," she said. "That really hurt my feelings, by the way."

"Just your feelings?" he questioned. "That was a seven-story drop."

"Let me speak to your dad."

Sam looked over at his father, who walked over to him. "My dad? I don't know where my dad is."

"It's time for the grown-ups to talk, Sam," she told him, harshly. "Let me speak to him now."

Sam looked at his father again and reluctantly handed him his phone.

John took it and walked away. "This is John," he said into the phone.

"Howdy, John," said Meg. "I'm Meg. I'm a friend of your boys and rugrat. I'm also the one who watched Jim Murphy choke on his own blood."

John swallowed hard as he dropped his head.

"Still there, John boy?"

"I'm here," he replied, lifting his head.

"Well, that was yesterday," she said. "Today, I'm in Lincoln…" There was a long pause. "…Visiting another friend of yours. He wants to say hi."

There was a moment of silence before John heard his friend, Caleb speak into the phone, "John, whatever they do, don't give…"

"Caleb?" John asked, concerned for his friend, making Sam and Dean's heads shoot up in his direction. "Caleb. You listen to me. He's got nothing to do with anything. You let him go."

"We know you have the Colt, John," said Meg, back on the phone.

John shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, okay. So listen to this." Suddenly, there was a slash sound and John heard Caleb choking and gurgling.

"Caleb?" he asked. "Caleb."

"You hear that?" Meg asked. "That's the sound of your friend dying. Now, let's try this again. We know you have the gun, John. Word travels fast. So as far as we're concerned, you just declared war. And this is what war looks like. It has casualties."

"I'm gonna kill you. You know that?" John told her, coldly.

Meg laughed, "Oh, John, please. Mind your blood pressure. So this is the thing. We're gonna keep doing what we're doing. And your friends, anyone who's ever helped you, gave you shelter, anyone you ever loved, they'll all die unless you give us that gun." John was silent. "I'm waiting, Johnny. Better answer before the buzzer."

John looked at the far wall of the room, "Okay," he finally agreed.

"Sorry, I didn't quite get that."

"I said okay," he repeated, a little louder. "I'll bring you the Colt."

Sam stared at his father like he was nuts as Meg continued, "There's a warehouse in Lincoln, on the corner of Wabash and Lake. You're gonna meet me there."

"It's gonna take me about a day's drive to get there," he told her.

"Meet me there at midnight, tonight."

"That's impossible. I can't get there in time, and I can't just carry a gun on a plane."

"Oh," she said. "Then I guess your friends die, don't they?"

John closed his eyes, sadly, for a moment. He couldn't let more of his friends die because of him. Not after all they had done for him and his boys.

"If you do decide to make it, come alone." With that, Meg hung up.

John stared at the floor and after a few seconds, hung up, as well.

Dean stood up and gently laid Sarah down on the bed. "Dad, what happened?"

John continued to stare at the floor. "Caleb's dead." He looked up at him, "And they want me to go to Lincoln and hand over the Colt, or more of our friends will be killed," he explained.

"So you think Meg is a demon?" Sam asked, leaning against the decorative railing.

John shrugged, "Either that or she's possessed by one. It doesn't really matter."

"What do we do?" Dean asked.

"I'm going to Lincoln," he told them.

"What?"

John shrugged, "Doesn't seem like I have a choice. If I don't go, a lot of people die. Our friends die."

"Dad," said Sam, "the demon is coming tonight for Monica and her family. That gun is all we got. You can't just hand it over."

"Who said anything about handing it over?" he asked. "Look, besides us and a couple vampires, no one's really seen the gun. No one knows what it looks like."

"So what?" Dean shrugged. "You just gonna pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?"

John shrugged, too, "Antique store."

"You're gonna hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn't notice?"

"Look, as long as it's close, she shouldn't be able to tell the difference," he told him.

"Yeah, but for how long?" Dean continued to ask. "What happens when she figures it out?"

"I just…I need to buy a few hours, that's all."

"You mean for Dean, Sarah, and me," said Sam, nodding towards his brother. John did not respond. "You want us to stay here. And kill this demon by ourselves?"

John had dropped his head. He picked it back up to reply, "No, Sam. I want to stop losing people we love." John nodded at him, "I want you to go to school. I want…" He walked away from them, "I want Dean and Sarah to have a home." John choked up, quietly, "I want Mary alive." Sniffing back some tears, he looked back at his boys. "I just…" John walked back towards them, looking off to the side, catching Sarah in his peripheral vision who was still sleeping and looked back at Sam and Dean. "I just want this to be over."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them, understanding. They all wanted the nightmare to be over. It had gone on long enough. This demon was outlasting his lifespan for far too long.

"Dean, you think you can find the nearest antique store for me?" John asked after a while.

Dean looked over at his daughter. He did not want to leave his daughter alone especially when they've been apart for the majority of the day and it might freak Sarah out if she woke up and Dean wasn't there. But Dean agreed anyway and grabbed his jacket and keys. Before he left, Dean leaned over on his knuckles and whispered in Sarah's right ear, "I'll be back in a bit, baby girl. You rest up for tonight. Okay?" and kissed her right temple.

A few minutes later, Sam gently picked Sarah up into his arms and carried her out to John's truck, sliding in, careful as not to wake her just yet. They wanted to postpone waking her as long as possible.

Once they arrived at a muddy, dirt road to wait for Dean, Sam slid out and placed Sarah on the seat. After a while, she stirred as John and Sam prepared for John's meeting with Meg. Sarah slowly sat up and looked around at her surroundings, still a little groggily. Rubbing at her left eye, she looked out the back window of her grandfather's truck to see the back of it open.

Sarah opened the passenger side door and slid out on her stomach, shutting it and walked to the back of the truck, rubbing her eye again.

John was the one to notice her since he was on that side. "Hey, kiddo. Have a nice nap?" he asked, gently.

She nodded and noticed Dean wasn't there. "Where's Dad?" she asked.

"Running an errand for me," he told her.

At that point, Dean pulled up in the Impala and got out, walking over to the three of them. Sarah walked over and hugged his left leg, leaning against it. He touched it to him.

"Did you get it?" John nodded towards Dean.

Dean took a brown paper bag from inside his jacket and passed it to his father. "You know this is a trap, don't you?" he said as John took the Colt replica out of the bag. "That's why Meg wants you to come alone."

Sarah's head shot up when she heard Meg was alive. "Meg? You mean the Meg that was controlling those Daeva things?"

Dean nodded down at her. "I'll fill ya in later on what you missed. Okay?"

She nodded.

"Don't worry, Dean," John spoke up, interrupting the two of them. "I can handle her. I got a whole arsenal loaded. Holy water, Mandaic amulets…"

"Dad…" Dean interrupted him, this time.

"What?" he asked.

"Promise me something."

"What's that?" John nodded at him.

"This thing goes south, just get the hell out," Dean told him. "Don't get yourself killed, all right."

Sarah was looking between her father and grandfather, trying to figure out what they were talking about and stopped at John. "You're leaving again?" she asked when she understood.

John assured her, "Just for a little bit, okay? I'm gonna go hold Meg while you and your dad and Sam finally kill this demon."

Sarah shook her head, quickly. "No, we were supposed to fight this thing together. You can't go, Grandpa. Please don't go."

John placed a hand on her shoulder, "I have to, Sarah."

Tears filled her eyes and Sarah hugged him around the legs. "What if the Daevas are there? You can't fight them off by yourself." She was crying against her grandfather's legs. "We couldn't even fight them off together."

John handed both guns to Sam and lifted his granddaughter up into his arms. "Look at me, Sarah," he told her.

Sarah looked at her grandfather with a tear-drenched face already.

"I've been waiting a long time for this fight. Now it's here and I'm not gonna be in it. But two of my friends are dead. If I don't show up, more will die. Do you understand?"

Sarah nodded.

"I can't hear you," he said, sternly.

Sarah sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"Answer your grandfather, Sarah Lynn," Dean warned.

"Yes, sir," she finally answered John.

"I need to leave now, though so I need you to stop crying and be the big girl I know you are. You all have a job to do, got it?" John continued.

Sarah wiped her eyes dry, "Yes, sir," she repeated and gave him one last hug before he placed her down on her feet.

"Dean, the same goes to all of you. And make every shot count. Without the bullets that are left, that gun is useless."

"Yes, sir," replied Sam.

"It's up to you three now," he said. "It's your fight. You finish this." John looked between the three of them. "You finish what I started. You understand?"

Sam and Sarah nodded at him. "Yes, sir," Sarah said, sniffing back the rest of her tears.

"We'll see you soon, Dad," said Sam while Dean did not say a word, trying to hold back his emotions.

"I'll see you later," John replied. He touched Sam's left shoulder, turning to head over to the driver's side of his truck. Stealing one last look at his boys and granddaughter, John got inside and started the engine, driving away. Even though it was just for a day, it sure felt weird not having someone right there, next to him, laughing and cracking a joke or two.

It was silent as Sam, Dean, and Sarah watched as John's truck got smaller until Sarah finally broke it. "This may not be the best time but I think I left my homeschool book in Grandpa's truck."

They continued to stare forward. "He'll be back, baby girl. It's just for a little while," Dean tried to assure not just his daughter but himself as well.


	41. Chapter 41: Salvation (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 41

Sarah sat in the backseat of the Impala, staring out the window on her father's side. Her eyes had not left Monica's house since Dean had pulled up and parked. Sarah wished it could be her to shoot the demon but Dean told her that this was an important fight and they couldn't afford to make mistakes. Not that he thought his daughter would make one, he just wanted to be sure. But that did not mean Sarah didn't want to be there. She told the demon that she was going to be there to see him squirm and that's exactly what Sarah intended on doing, whether it be Sam or Dean to do it.

"Maybe we could tell'em there's a gas leak," Sam was suggesting. "Might get them out of the house for a few hours."

"Yeah, and the demon goes after another family instead and we miss our chance," Sarah replied, still looking out the window.

Sam and Dean looked back over their shoulders at the little girl. For the past few hours, the men had both noticed the sudden change in Sarah since John left. All she could talk about was that finally they found and will have the chance to kill the demon. In fact that was all Sarah could think about. Her PSP lay untouched under the backseat. Her toys were thrown on the floor in a pile also untouched while her stuffed monkey Pokémon sat on the seat, on the other side from her.

Sarah watched as Monica was putting her baby to bed, rocking her in her arms. It brought up memories when she was little and how she wished Emily had been more affectionate towards her. One night, she remembered when she was four years old, a year before she learned the truth about what was really out there in the shadows.

Sarah pulled her blanket up, over her head when she looked over at her open closet as she whimpered, quietly to herself. The wind was blowing outside and the light of the moon cast a shadow of a tree branch on the inside of the closet door. To a four-year-old, it looked like a scary hand about to grab her.

Sarah quickly jumped up from the bed and ran to her mother's bedroom that was right across the small hallway, jumping onto her bed. "Mommy," she said, trying to wake her.

Emily stirred, looking up from her pillow, still half asleep. "What are you doing out of bed, Sarah?"

"There is a scary monster in my room," Sarah told her mother.

Emily let out an annoyed moan. "Go to sleep, Sarah. There are no such things as monsters."

"Can I sleep with you?" she asked.

"No, Sarah. Now go get back in your own bed before I spank you," Emily threatened, laying her head back on the pillow, looking away from her daughter.

Defeated, Sarah climbed off her mother's bed and slowly made her way to the kitchen where she grabbed a flashlight from the junk drawer in the small apartment kitchen, standing on a chair, and took it with her back to bed.

Sarah was snapped out of her thoughts by Dean trying to get her attention. The wind was blowing outside and the lights in Monica's house were flickering on the inside. Sarah grabbed her shotgun just in case, even though it won't have any effect whatsoever and hurried after her father and uncle, towards the house.

Once inside, Monica's husband, thinking they were burglars, swung a baseball bat at Dean. Dean got him pinned to the wall as he and Sam tried to tell him they were there to help.

Monica called out from upstairs.

"Monica, get the baby!" her husband yelled.

"Monica, don't go in the nursery!" Sam yelled.

Sarah took off up the stairs and looked around until she found Monica in the nursery. She then ran in there just as Monica was pinned to the wall. Standing right before her was the dark shadow from her vision. Sarah caught sight of the yellow eyes she knew so well.

"Told ya we'd find you," she said, glaring at him just as Sam ran in behind her and aimed the Colt at the demon. The demon disappeared in a cloud of smoke as he shot at him and Monica was released.

"Where the hell did it go?" Sam wondered out loud and helped Monica up.

Sarah quickly looked around the room, trying to see if the demon would reappear. They couldn't fail this, they just couldn't. This was supposed to be the big fight to end it all. The visions. The headaches. Everything. She was so focused on the demon she almost elbowed her uncle when he scooped her up as the nursery burst into flames.

Sam carried her outside to the front lawn, holding her towards him to protect Sarah from the smoke as everyone else was coughing.

"You get away from my family!" Monica's husband yelled at the Winchesters.

Monica stopped him, "Charlie, don't! They saved us!" She turned around and took her baby from Dean. "I mean, they saved us."

Dean handed over her baby. Holding that baby made him think of just how much he missed of Sarah's childhood. Her first year. Sarah's first word. First step. First everything. In fact, Dean almost didn't want to hand Rosie over. He just kept staring at her as he thought of his own baby girl. "Sorry," he apologized, finally passing Monica her baby.

Sarah had looked up at the broken window of Rosie's nursery to see the demon still in there. Angrily, she tried to run back in but Sam grabbed and shoved her back onto the ground to run in himself. Dean quickly held him back until the demon vanished.

Sarah pounded the ground with the side of her fist, beside her. The demon had gotten away. They failed the fight. Yes, she was glad Monica and her family was okay, but they were supposed to kill the demon, too.

Back at the motel, Sarah sat on the side of the bed, clutching her stuffed monkey Pokémon to her, glaring at the floor as her father tried calling her grandfather.

"Come on, Dad," Dean was saying, his phone to his ear as it rang. "Answer your phone, damn it." Dean stopped pacing, hanging up. "Something's wrong," he said, looking at his phone. No one was paying any attention to him. "Either of you hear me? Something's happened."

Sam was sitting on the foot of the bed Sarah was sitting on. "If you had just let me go in there," he muttered, clearly. "I coulda ended it all."

Dean looked over at his brother, walking towards him. "Sam," he said, "the only thing you would end was your life," and walked away again.

Sam looked up, breathing in, "You don't know that."

Dean turned back around, "So what? You're willing to sacrifice yourself, is that it?"

He stood up. "Yeah. Yeah, you're damn right I am."

"Well, that's not gonna happen," Dean told him. "Not as long as I'm around."

"What the hell are you talkin' about, Dean?" Sam asked. "We've been searching for this demon our whole lives. It's the only thing we ever cared about."

"Sam, I want to waste it, I do. Okay? But it's not worth dying over."

"What?"

"I mean it," said Dean. "If huntin' this demon means getting yourself killed, then I hope we never find the damn thing."

Sarah looked up at her father when he said that. "But then we will never kill him, Dad. We have to find it," she tried to argue.

"No, Sarah," he shook his head.

"You said it yourself this was a dangerous job."

"That thing killed Jess, Dean," Sam reminded him, too. "That thing killed Mom."

"And my mom, too," Sarah added, standing up now. "And my aunt."

"Since when do you care again about your mom, Sarah?" Dean asked of her. "Lately, you seem not to, anymore."

"She's still my mom, Dad. I still have some love left for her," she told him.

"Well, Sam said it once…That no matter what we do, they're gone," he said. "And they're not coming back."

Sarah threw down her monkey Pokémon and tried to tackle her father, punching him, repeatedly in the legs. She didn't use her whole strength though like when she had punched Sam, but Dean could feel them as tears ran down both sides of her face. "Don't say that now, Dad. Not you! Not after everything! Please, don't say that."

Dean took hold of her wrists and kneeled down to her level as Sarah tried to pull back. "Sarah, look," he told her, trying to get her to look at him. "Look at me, Sarah." Sarah stopped struggling but continued to look away. Dean continued anyway, "The four of us…that's all we have."

Sarah sniffed, loudly, wiping her face on her upper, left arm.

"And it's all I have." He paused for a moment, watching her. "Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding it together."

Sam was breathing hard as he was listening, too. He was gonna pin his brother against the wall but his niece had beaten him to it.

"Without Sam and Dad, and you…" Dean looked down, shaking his head, slowly.

Sarah finally looked at her father and hugged his neck as Sam walked away, squeezing the bridge of his nose. "Dad," he said and let out a breath of air. "He shoulda called by now. Try him again."

Dean let go of his daughter, standing up to redial John's number. It rang before Meg finally answered.

"You really screwed up this time," she said.

Dean looked over at Sam, "Where is he?"

Sam and Sarah looked at Dean.

"You're never gonna see your father again."

Dean stared at nothing, his eyes wide in fear as he hung up. "They've got Dad," he said as he walked past Sam, turning around.

"Meg?" asked Sam.

He nodded, staring at the ground. Dean was just in total shock.

"What'd she say?"

"I just told you, Sammy," said Dean.

"We have to go save him," Sarah said, worried for her grandfather.

He nodded, "Yeah, okay. Okay." Dean went over and picked up the Colt from the nightstand, placing it behind him and grabbed his duffel bag. "We gotta go."

Sarah hurried over and grabbed hers and her monkey Pokémon from the floor.

"Dean," said Sam.

"The demon knows we're in Salvation," he told him, putting his jacket on. "It knows we have the Colt. It's got Dad. It's probably coming for us next."

"Good. We've still got three bullets left. Let it come."

Dean looked up at his brother, "Listen, tough guy, we're not ready. Okay. We don't know how many of 'em are out there. Now, we're no good to anybody dead. We're leaving. Now!" He then hurried out the door, out to the Impala.

Sarah followed, closely behind.

Out on the road, Dean sped down the road.

"I'm telling you," Sam continued, "We could've taken them."

Both of them were staring forward. "What we need is a plan," said Dean. "They're probably keeping Dad alive."

"How do you know that, Dad?" Sarah asked from behind him, hugging her monkey Pokémon to her.

Dean looked at her through the rear-view mirror, "They'll want to trade him for the gun," and looked straight ahead again. "We just gotta figure out where."

Sam shook his head, looking away.

Dean noticed. "What?" he asked annoyed.

"Dean, if that were true why didn't Meg mention a trade? Dad. He might be…"

"Don't," Dean told him.

Sam finally looked at his brother, "I don't want to believe it any more than you but if he is, all the more reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the Colt. We can still finish the job."

"Screw the job, Sam!"

"Dean, I'm just trying to do what he would want," he said. "He would want us to keep going."

Sarah was looking between the men, "Is Grandpa dead or not?"

"Sam, will you quit talking like he's dead?" Dean demanded of him. "You're scaring Sarah. Listen to me. Everything stops until we get Dad back. Do you understand me? Everything."

Sam sighed, "So how do we find him then?"

"Maybe we go to Lincoln," Dean suggested. "Start at the warehouse where he was taken."

"Come on, Dean," he said. "You really think these demons are gonna leave a trail?"

Dean agreed, "You're right. We need help" and sped up.


	42. Chapter 42: Devil's Trap (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 42

The Impala pulled into the salvage yard and parked in front of the blue, faded house. Once Sarah had figured out where they were headed, her spirits were lifted. When Dean came to a stop, Sarah was jumping out of the car before he could even shut off the engine, and ran up towards the front door.

The old, Rottweiler dog that lied, lazily on the hood of an old, blue tow truck had lifted his head when the Impala had pulled up and when he saw who had gotten out first, jumped down from the side.

Sarah kneeled down in front of the dog and got a series of wet, slobbery "kisses." She laughed from it and hugged the dog's neck with one arm since she was still holding her monkey Pokémon still. "I missed you, too, Rumsfeld," she told the dog.

Dean and Sam were walking up to the front door. "Let's go, Sarah," Dean told her. "This isn't a friendly visit. We have work to do."

Sarah stood up and patted the dog's head as she followed her uncle and father. Dean rang the doorbell and seconds later, Bobby answered the door. Sarah immediately hugged his legs.

"Hi, Uncle Bobby," she greeted the old hunter, catching him off guard.

"Hey, kiddo," he replied, smiling down at her and looked between Sam and Dean. He could tell something was up and let the three of them inside.

Sam was sitting at Bobby's desk, looking at an old book on demons while Sarah stood beside him, leaning on her folded arms.

"Here you go," Bobby was handing Dean a small flask of holy water.

Dean took it. "What is this, holy water?" he asked, looking it over.

"That one is," Bobby nodded at it and held up the other he was still holding, "This is whiskey," and took a drink.

Dean took that one to take a swig of it himself and handed it back to Bobby. "Bobby, thanks. Thanks for everything. Tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if we should come."

Bobby shrugged, "Nonsense. Your daddy needs helps."

"Yeah, but you did threaten to blast him full of buckshot. You cocked the shotgun and everything."

He took in a huge breath of air, "Yeah, well, what can I say? John just has that effect on people."

Dean smirked, "Yeah, guess he does."

"Besides, I'd take any excuse to see snotball over there," Bobby nodded over at Sarah.

Dean looked over at his daughter and smiled. He turned back to look at Bobby, "Yeah, once she figured out where we were headed, Sarah could not shut up about seeing you again. At least it took her mind off of…"

Bobby smiled over at Sarah and looked at Dean from the corner of his eye, "Yeah, Sarah's a good kid. Reminds me a lot of when you and Sam were kids."

Dean rubbed the back of his head, "I get that a lot."

Sam interrupted them when he thought they were done, "Bobby, this book…" He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it."

Bobby walked over to Sam and sat down on the edge of the desk, leaning on his leg, " _Key of Solomon_?It's the real deal, all right."

"And, uh, these protective circles, they really work?" he asked.

"Hell, yeah," Bobby told him. "You get a demon in one…they're trapped. Powerless. It's like a satanic roach motel."

Sam laughed.

"Man knows his stuff," Dean stated like it was a well-known fact and walked over to them.

"I'll tell you something else, too," Bobby continued. "This is some serious crap you boys stepped into." Sarah cleared her throat, loudly. "And Sarah," he added and winked over at her. The one drawback of being the only girl. Even though she was a tomboy, Sarah still acknowledged who she really was.

"Oh, yeah? How's that?" asked Sam.

"Normal year, I hear of…say, three demonic possessions. Maybe four, tops," he explained.

"Yeah?" asked Dean.

"This year, I heard of twenty-seven. So far."

"Plus, remember that demon crashing airplanes, taking no survivors, Dad?" Sarah added.

"Yeah, I remember," he nodded at her.

"See what I'm saying?" Bobby asked the boys. "More and more demons are walking among us. A lot more."

"Do you know why?" Sam asked.

"No," he replied, "but I know it's something big. Storm's coming. And you boys…Sarah… And your daddy, you are smack in the middle of it."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks before they heard Rumsfeld barking from outside.

"Rumsfeld." Bobby hurried over to the window. Sarah ran over too, both looking outside. All they saw was the broken chain the dog was hitched to and Rumsfeld nowhere to be seen. "Something's wrong," he said as Sarah ran over to her father, her eyes filling up with tears. She hugged Dean's leg as Meg came bursting through the door, walking inside.

Sarah glared at her and ran towards Meg, getting thrown back.

"Sarah!" Dean cried out. He turned back to Meg.

"No more crap. Okay?" Meg told them.

Dean unscrewed the lid to the flask he was still holding and walked towards Meg, staring her down. Meg sent him flying as well, into a pile of books. Sam quickly stood up, and stepped in front of Bobby.

"I want the Colt, Sam. The real Colt. Right now."

Sam and Bobby were moving over to the center of the room. "We don't have it on us," he said. "We buried it."

Meg walked towards them, "Didn't I say, no more crap? I swear, after everything I heard about you Winchesters, I gotta tell you, I'm a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and he leaves the real gun with you three chuckleheads. Lackluster, man. I mean, did you really think I wouldn't find you?"

Dean and Sarah slowly walked up behind Meg. "Actually," said Dean, "We were counting on it."

Meg looked back over her right shoulder, looking at them out of the corner of her eye and turned around to fully face the two. Both Dean and Sarah were smirking at her before looking up at the ceiling. Meg looked up too, to see a demon circle painted on the ceiling.

"Gotcha," Sarah told her.

The men then proceeded by grabbing a chair and tying Meg to it, sitting back and watching her as Sarah helped Bobby salt all the windows and doors. Sarah tried to keep her mind from thinking about her new best friend, whom she only got to play with for a week, dead. Since she could remember, Sarah always wanted a dog.

When they were done, Sarah and Bobby returned to his study. "All the doors and windows are salted," Bobby told the boys. "If there are any demons out there, they ain't getting in."

Dean stood up and walked through them, walking over to Meg, who had a stupid grin on her face. "Where's our father, Meg?" he asked of her.

"You didn't ask very nice," she replied.

"Where's our father, bitch?"

Meg pretended to be offended, "Jeez. You kiss your mother with that mouth?" she asked. "Oh, I forgot. You don't."

Sam held Sarah back when she made to run over there and punch Meg in the face as Dean got close to her, himself. "You think this is a frigging game?!" he snapped at Meg, leaning on both arms of the chair. "Where is he?! What did you do to him?"

Meg seemed like she was staying calm. "He died screaming. I killed him myself."

Sarah hurried over to the desk and grabbed her monkey, hurrying back over to her uncle, hugging it to her, tightly. She didn't want her grandfather to be dead. They were just now getting to know each other. She wanted other days like the day before. John may be hard-headed at times but he was still her grandfather.

She jumped when Dean slapped Meg across the face.

Meg smiled up at him, "That's kind of a turn-on…you hitting a girl."

"You're no girl," Dean told her, bluntly.

Bobby stood up, "Dean," he said as he walked into the kitchen. Sam and Sarah followed as Dean stared at Meg for a moment longer before following as well.

"You okay?" Sam asked his brother.

"She's lying," Dean told him, angrily as he walked over to Bobby. "He's not dead."

"Dean, you gotta be careful with her," Bobby told him. "Don't hurt her."

Dean stared at the older hunter, "Why?"

"Because she really is a girl, that's why."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sam.

"She's possessed," Bobby told them. "That's a human possessed by a demon. Can't you tell?"

"Yeah, I thought it was obvious," Sarah shrugged, feeling the monkey's large big ear in her hand as she continued to hold it in her arms.

"You did not," Sam told her, rolling his eyes.

"Did, too! Ever since I found out she was still alive. How else could she be?" she shot back.

Sam shrugged, "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I thought you knew already, college boy."

"Enough, you two," Dean told them over his shoulder and returned to Bobby, "So, you're telling me there's an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there?"

Bobby nodded.

He looked back at Meg for a moment. "That's actually good news."

"You mean exorcising her back to hell?" Sarah asked him.

"If she doesn't tell us what we want to know, yeah."

"Dad, if we do that the real Meg is gonna die," she pointed out. "She was thrown out of a building, remember? That demon is the only thing keeping her alive."

"Do you want to find your grandfather or not, Sarah?" he asked of her. Sarah didn't answer to that, looking away at the floor. Yes, she wanted to find her grandfather but she felt badly for the girl who was trapped in there somewhere, probably scared out of her mind. "Besides, if she does have to die, she'll be out of her misery. Okay?"

Sarah finally looked back at her father and nodded.

Sam got his father's journal and opened it up the page with the exorcism written on it, going over to Meg, after sharing a look with Dean.

Meg looked at Sam, "You gonna read me a story?"

Dean was the one to respond, "Something like that. Hit it, Sam."

Sarah stayed back in the entryway, watching. Bobby stood behind her and touched both of her shoulders, trying to help ease her nerves. This was only her second time involved in a demon exorcism, the first time being a year ago on a plane. At least this time, they were on solid ground. Sarah looked up at Bobby, upside down, and then back at the scene when she heard her uncle begin.

She saw Meg just smirk. "An exorcism?" asked Meg. "Are you serious?"

"Oh, we're going for it, baby," said Dean. "Head spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards."

As Sam kept going, Meg started to moan, making him stop. She looked back at him, "I'm gonna kill you." Meg then looked at Dean. "I'm gonna rip the bones from your body."

"No," Dean told her, "you're gonna burn in hell. Unless you tell us where our dad is," he nodded at her once.

Meg just kept right on smiling, not saying anything.

"Well, at least you'll get a nice tan." Dean looked over at his brother for him to continue and Sam continued reading, circling around her. Meg was starting to pant, heavily as the exorcism proceeded.

She moaned, making Sam stop again, "He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his family one last time. That's when I slit his throat."

When Sarah heard Meg say she had killed her grandfather, she turned around and hugged Bobby's leg in one arm as she held her monkey in the other, tightly. Bobby lifted Sarah up and carried her into another room, away from everything.

"It's okay, little one," Bobby assured her, comforting the little girl.

"Grandpa can't be dead, Uncle Bobby," she sniffed, quietly. "We were just starting to be a family."

"Sometimes demons lie though if they think it would mess with your head. Your grandfather could still be alive," he explained as screaming was heard from his study.

Sarah had her head against his shoulder, sniffing back more tears. "I hope so," she said. "I want to tell him more jokes."

Bobby smiled at that. "Like the ones you told me?"

She nodded. "Sorry about Rumsfeld, Uncle Bobby," Sarah sniffed again.

"It'll be okay. The old boy lived a great, long life." Even though Bobby shrugged it off, he really was going to miss his dog.

"I'm gonna miss him. He liked it when we played fetch together and he liked when I gave him treats, too."

Bobby forced a grin for Sarah, "Yeah, ol Rumsfeld loved his treats."

"Who's gonna keep you company now?" Sarah asked.

"Don't worry, I have enough hunters that come through here, regularly," he assured her, "I don't think I'll be lonely. And, I know I'll still have one buddy I can count on to keep me company, once in a while."

"Who?"

"You." Bobby kissed Sarah on the cheek, his beard tickling it as she giggled.

Suddenly, they heard Dean yell for water and blankets, and to call 911. Bobby put Sarah down onto her feet and ran over to the phones, calling 911 first. Sarah hurried in to see Meg lying on the floor, choking as blood leaked from her month. Sam and Dean were on either side of her.

Meg whispered something that Sarah couldn't quite hear and moved to her father's other side at Meg's head. She tried to lift Meg's head to place her monkey underneath for a pillow but Dean stopped her before she could.

"Don't Sarah," he told her. "Her body's completely broken. You can't move any part of her."

"I just wanted to let her use Chimchar so she'd be more comfortable," she said.

Dean placed a hand on her shoulder, "I know, baby girl but just let us handle it. Okay?"

Sarah nodded.

"Thanks for trying to help though." Dean then returned his attention back to Meg. Sam was telling her to take it easy.

"I've been awake…" Meg continued. "For some of it. I couldn't move my own body."

"I'm so sorry this happened to you," Sarah told her, trying to make Meg feel better.

Dean and Sam had exchanged looks between each other when Meg had spoken.

"And things looked…It…" Meg was having trouble breathing. Sarah looked like she might start crying again. "It's a nightmare."

"Was it telling us the truth about our dad?" Dean asked her.

Sam and Sarah looked at him. "Dean," said Sam.

"We need to know," he told his brother.

Meg answered, "Yes." She inhaled and exhaled several times, painfully. "But it wants…you to know…that…they want you to come for him."

Dean shook his head, "Dad's still alive, none of that matters."

Bobby returned with a glass of water and blankets. Dean took the water and very carefully lifted her head up by the back of her neck so she could take a drink as Sam placed one of the blankets where her head was.

"Where is the demon we're looking for?" Sam asked her once her head was lying down again.

Meg had her eyes closed. "Not there," she shook her head. "Other ones." She then opened them a little. "Awful ones."

Sam looked at Dean as Dean asked her, "Where are they keeping our dad?"

Meg looked over at him, "By…the riv…River. S-s-sunrise."

"Sunrise? What does that mean?"

She didn't respond.

"What does that mean?" Dean grew anxious.

Meg still did not respond.

Sarah sniffed back a tear and placed a hand over Meg's eyes, closing them for good and hugged her monkey to her, burying her head on top of its orange head. Dean put his arm around his daughter as he continued to stare down at Meg's lifeless body. Sam looked over at him, not saying a word. In fact, no one said anything for a few minutes before they stood up, walking out of the room.

"Uh, you better hurry up and beat it," Bobby told them, "before the paramedics get here."

"What are you gonna tell them?" Dean asked.

"You think you guys invented lying to the cops? I'll figure something out." He held up the book on demons to Sam. "Here. Take this. You might need it."

Sam and Dean both thanked the older hunter and Dean told him to be careful.

"You just go find your dad. And when you do, you bring him around, would ya?" Bobby shrugged, "I won't even try to shoot him this time."

Sarah hugged Bobby around the legs, holding her monkey against the left one until Dean peeled her away and led her over to the front door, without a word. The three of them left as Dean shut the door behind him.


	43. Chapter 43: Devil's Trap (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 43

The Winchesters were in Jefferson City, Missouri. Dean was standing at the trunk, loading his gun, not saying a word. Sarah was sitting in the backseat, doing the same thing, making sure everything looked fine. She was so glad that John was still alive and wanted nothing more than to help her father and uncle get him back. Family was the most important thing to Sarah and nothing would stop her from helping to rescue John.

After examining each piece of her gun, Sarah put it back together and got out of the Impala to put the gun behind her, pulling her sweatshirt down, over it. Sarah shut her door and walked back to where Dean was standing.

"You okay, Dad?" she asked of him.

"Yeah. I'm okay, baby girl," he told her not looking from the gun in his hand.

Sam was looking through Bobby's book on the hood, on his side. "You've been quiet," he said.

Dean didn't respond right away as he checked the gun in his hands. "Just getting ready," was all he said after a moment.

Sam looked ahead from where he was standing, squinting from the bright sun. "He's gonna be fine, Dean." When Dean didn't respond again, Sam continued flipping through the book.

Sarah looked up at her father, shading her eyes from the sun with her hand. "We'll find him, Dad. Don't worry," she tried to assure him, herself.

Dean looked over at his daughter. "I know we will, baby girl." Dean then returned his focus on the gun until he felt Sarah hug his legs. He smiled down at her then caught sight of Sam drawing something on the hood of the trunk and quickly moved over to see it. "Dude, what are you drawing on my car?"

"It's called a devil's trap," Sam explained as he continued. "Demons can't get through or inside it."

"So?"

Sam gave one last look at the picture in the book before moving around to the other side of the car, "Basically turns the trunk into a lockbox."

Dean wiped his fingers on it, trying to see if it came off. "So?" he repeated.

Sam wiped the dirt off and started drawing the same symbol. "So," he said, "We have a place to hide the Colt while we go get Dad."

"What are ya, nuts?" Sarah asked of her uncle. "Why would we leave behind the best weapon we have?"

"We have to save what bullets we have left, Sarah. We can't just use the Colt on just any demon, we gotta use them on thee demon."

Dean walked towards Sam. "No, we have to save Dad, Sam. We're gonna need all the help we can get."

Sam closed the book, "Dean, you know how pissed Dad would be if we used all the bullets? He wouldn't want us to bring the gun."

"But Grandpa would understand, wouldn't he? If he knew we brought it to save him," said Sarah.

"No, he wouldn't. We went through a lot of trouble for this gun, Sarah and if he knew we used all three bullets on a bunch of regular demons, he'd kill us," he explained.

"Then Grandpa would be a hypocrite because he used it on that vampire," she pointed out.

"Don't argue with me on this, okay Peanut?" Sam just told her. "He wouldn't want us to bring the gun and that's that."

"I don't care, Sam. I don't care what Dad wants, okay," Dean blurted out. "And since when do you care what Dad wants?"

"We want to kill this demon," he shot back. "You used to want that too. Hell, you're the one who came and got me at school. You're the one who dragged me back into this. You're the one who dragged your kid into this, Dean. I'm just trying to finish it."

Dean just shook his head at Sam, looking down. "Boy, you and Dad are more alike than I thought, you know that?" he said. "You both can't wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? I'm gonna be the one to bury you."

Sam looked off to the side.

Dean looked down again. "You're selfish, you know that? You don't care about anything than revenge."

Sarah had been volleying her head back and forth, listening to her uncle and father. She looked down with Dean's last few comments. She wanted nothing more than to avenge her family, and wanting to watch this demon die, she didn't think how anyone else felt. For all Sarah figured, her father didn't care either but hearing how upset he was, made her feel lousy.

"I'm sorry, Dad," she told him.

Dean looked down at his daughter, "For what?" he asked her.

"For being selfish and only wanting revenge when I didn't even think about you."

He shook his head, "Baby girl, you're not selfish. Don't worry about what we're talking about. Okay? You have a lot more cares than your uncle and grandfather has."

Sam looked at his brother. He couldn't believe what Dean just told his niece about him. "That's not true, Dean."

Dean scoffed, messing with the Colt in his hand.

"I want Dad back but they are expecting us to bring this gun. They get the gun, they will kill us all."

Sarah grew scared when he said that.

"That Colt is our only leverage and you know it, Dean. We cannot bring that gun."

"I think Uncle Sam's right, Dad. Maybe we shouldn't bring the gun," she shrugged. "I don't mean to vote against you though." Sarah looked down at her feet.

Dean watched her before turning back to his brother, placing the gun in the trunk. When both Sam and Sarah weren't looking, Dean slipped the Colt back into his jacket pocket and once they were ready, headed off in search for John once again.

Sarah had emptied out her clothes and books into the trunk and packed her duffel bag like her father had done. Only, Sarah included something that Dean did not have. When Sarah got the rest of her stuff back from her grandparents, she couldn't take everything and left the rest at Bobby's house, up in the spare bedroom. Sarah figured her super soaker gun would come in handy since it held a lot of water, filling it up with holy water. She carried her duffel bag over her right shoulder, behind her as they walked.

When they turned to the right, Dean figured out what Meg meant by sunrise. Over across the street was an apartment building with the name "Sunrise Apartments" on a sign in front and several children playing while mothers watched them. Realizing that demons could possess anyone and they wouldn't know who, the Winchesters started coming up with a plan to get inside. Sam agreed to pull the fire alarm to get everyone in the building outside and while Dean distracts a fireman, Sam would break into the truck.

"Hold up there," Sarah spoke up. "Remember, I'm still a kid."

Dean shrugged, "So?"

She held her arms out, halfway. "Meaning, I have a small size and I hardly doubt they'd let a little person become a firefighter. How am I supposed to get in there?"

"Crap," Dean said when he realized it, too.

Sam and Dean looked around, trying to come up with a new plan. Sarah looked over at the building when it hit her. "I got it," she told the men.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Keep your plan. When Dad distracts the firefighters, I'll make my way in by the fire escape."

Dean shook his head. "No, Sarah. You're not going off by yourself."

"I'm not hearing you come up with anything else, Dad," she pointed out. "Just give me a chance, okay? There's no way I'm just walking in there."

"It's out of the question, Sarah," he said, sternly.

"We don't have any other choice. If you want to save Grandpa you have to let me do this on my own. I'm covered, trust me. I stocked up, too." Sarah patted her duffel bag behind her, a determined look on her face.

Dean looked away.

Sam squatted down to his niece's level, "It's too dangerous for you to do this, period much less on your own." Sarah looked over at her uncle to start arguing with him until he continued. "But, thinking about it, you're no ordinary kid are ya?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows at Sam. "Does this mean you agree?"

"I really want to agree with your dad and tell you, you can't do this, but you're right, we need to let you do this on your own."

Sarah looked over at her father again. "Dad?"

Dean let out a long breath. He did not want Sarah to go in unprotected but it looked like they didn't have a choice in the matter and he reluctantly agreed, too.

Sam stood back up, straight and nodded down at his niece, "We'll see you inside, Peanut."

Sarah nodded in return and made to hurry over to the apartment building when Dean stopped her. "Hold on, baby girl. If anything happens or things start getting out of control, you run, got it? Don't try and be a hero. You sprint out of there as fast as you can. Like your grandfather, you're no good to us dead."

"I promise, Dad." Dean was expecting a hug from her but Sarah then took off, looking both ways before sprinting across the street. He watched her go as he realized his little girl was growing up. Dean felt a hand on his left shoulder and looked back at his brother as they shared the same look, thinking the same thing.

Sarah stopped running once she got to the opposite side of the street, stepping up onto the sidewalk and shoved her hands into her jeans pockets. She looked around, walking around a girl's jump rope game and continued around the corner.

Down the alley, she looked up at the fire escape. Sarah hid behind a dumpster as she heard the fire alarm go off and when the time was right, Sarah made her way up the steps of the fire escape, carefully. Every time she came to a window she would peak in, warily as not to get caught. Sarah could hear a fire truck pull up from around the corner and ducked if she thought one of the firefighters might be coming back there. She remembered back in kindergarten when a firefighter brought his truck and taught her class about fire safety and about all the procedures and equipment so she pretty much knew the drill of what to expect.

Once Sarah reached the fifth floor, she ducked over to the window and peeked in. Inside looked like the master bedroom and over on the bed, sprawled out was her grandfather, unconscious. Making sure the coast was clear Sarah moved a milk crate under the window and quickly and quietly opened her duffel bag, taking out a knife. She then stood up on the crate and very carefully slipped the knife between the double window panes, lifting it up to unlock it, her tongue hanging out as she gently bit down, squeezing it between her teeth.

The latch finally unlocked and Sarah slipped the blade out before pushing on the panes without making a sound. Sarah then stepped off the crate and put the knife away, taking out her super soaker next, closing and slinging the duffel bag over her head. She then proceeded to climb through the window, carefully.

Inside, Sarah looked around the room. The bedroom door was open. Pressing herself against the wall beside it, she peeked around the door frame to see two persons sitting at the kitchen table. It had to have been demons.

Sarah took a deep breath, letting it out before she ran into the kitchen/living area. The couple jumped up, facing her. Their eyes flashed black as Sarah held up her super soaker and sprayed the demons with a waterfall of holy water, rapidly switching back and forth. She must have pumped the thing more than a dozen times when she was preparing for this.

The demons cried out as the water burned their skin. At that moment, two firefighters came bursting in the front door and wrestled the demons into a nearby closet. Sarah fished out a container of salt from her duffel bag and while her father and uncle held the door shut, she poured salt around the bottom of it.

Sam and Dean then stripped out of the firemen outfits and Sarah showed them where John was being kept.

Dean stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his father's unconscious body sprawled out on the bed. "Dad," he said as he walked over.

Sarah set her super soaker on the bed and climbed up to crawl over to her grandfather, putting her right ear to his chest. "There's a heartbeat," she said, "but something doesn't feel right."

Dean took out his pocket knife to cut him free, "He's alive, Sarah. That's all that matters."

"But Dad…" Sarah tried to argue with her father.

To be sure, Sam sprinkled holy water from a flask. Nothing happened.

"See? Nothing happened," Dean told his daughter as John stirred, lifting his head. It still did not ease Sarah's nerves, though. Something was up and she could sense it.

Dean and Sam lifted John up and half carried him towards the front door. However, they were met by two more demons in a firefighter and random guy meat suit. Sarah quickly gave a few pumps to her super soaker and held it up to them, drenching them as Sam and Dean pulled John out the window.

"Sarah!" Sam called once they were out on the fire escape.

Sarah turned and ran for the window, quickly climbing out before Sam poured salt along the sill and the Winchesters made their way down. Once their feet hit the ground, Sam was then ambushed by yet another demon who shoved him to the ground, repeatedly punching him in the face.

Sarah pumped her super soaker once more but when she tried to squirt it at the demon, only a few squirts came out not going very far. "Crap!" she exclaimed, trying to pump it again.

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot and when she looked up the demon was dead on the pavement. Sarah looked over to see her father standing there, holding the Colt up as smoke was coming out of the barrel.

With no time to celebrate, Dean grabbed Sam up and helped him over to where he had placed John and his own duffel bag. He shoved the duffel bag at Sarah before lifting his father up, and he and Sam carried John all the way to where they had left the Impala and drove somewhere safe.

While Dean took care of his father, Sam and Sarah salted the doors and windows. Sarah still could not shake a feeling she had about her grandfather. A feeling that felt familiar.

Dean came out, wiping his hands on a rag.

"How is he, Dad?" Sarah asked, hurrying over to him.

"He's fine, just needs to rest." He sat down on the edge of a table. "You okay, baby girl?"

Sarah set the salt container on the table beside him. "Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?"

"Better now I know everyone else is okay." Dean looked over at Sam, "what about you, Sam?"

Sam stared out the window. "I'll survive." There was a moment of silence before he turned around. "Hey, you don't think we were followed, do you?"

"I don't know," Dean shrugged, "I don't think so. I mean, we couldn't have found a more out-of-the-way place to hole up."

Sam agreed and looked away for a second. "Hey, uh…" He licked his lips and took a deep breath. "Dean, you, um…" Sam exhaled. "You saved my life back there."

"So I guess you're glad I brought the gun, huh?"

"Man, I'm trying to thank you here," Sam told him, annoyed.

"You're welcome," Dean replied and looked down.

Sam stared at his brother before walking away.

Sarah looked up at her father as he stared off into space. She could see the hurt in his eyes and hugged him, resting her head against him. "I'm glad you brought the gun, Dad," she assured him. "You were right, this family is a lot more important than the stupid demon is."

Dean looked over at her. He moved his right hand and touched the back of his daughter's head, holding it to his leg. "Thanks, baby girl. I needed that after…"

Sarah looked up, not removing her arms from him, "After what?"

"After…" Dean stared at the floor again. "You know that guy I shot?"

She nodded.

"There was a person in there."

At that point, Sam turned around, listening. "You didn't have a choice, Dean," he told him.

Dean nodded, "Yeah, I know. That's not what bothers me."

"Then what's the matter?" Sarah asked, concerned for him.

"Killing that guy, killing Meg…" he shook his head. "I didn't hesitate. I didn't even flinch." Dean paused for a few seconds. "For you two and Dad…the things I'm willing to do or kill, it's just, uh... It scares me, sometimes."

John walked into the room. "It shouldn't," he told Dean, making him look up. "You did good."

Dean looked at him, confused. "You're not mad?" he asked.

John shook his head, "For what?"

"Using a bullet."

"Mad," said John. "I'm proud of you."

Dean couldn't believe that.

"You know, Sam and I…we can get pretty obsessed. But you… You…You watch out for this family. You always have."

Dean looked down at his daughter and over at his brother before turning back to his father, staring at him, sideways. "Thanks."

The lights then started flickering. John hurried over to the window as Dean stood up, straight. "It found us. It's here," said John, looking back at his boys.

"The demon," said Sam.

"Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door," he told him.

"Sarah and I already did it."

"Well, check it. Okay?" Sam went to recheck the salt lines as John looked out the window again. "Dean, you got the gun?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling his daughter behind him as he stared at his father.

"Give it to me."

"Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation, and it vanished," Dean explained as he took out the Colt from behind him.

"This is me," said John. "I won't miss. Now the gun, hurry."

Dean looked down at it in his hands.

"Don't do it, Dad. Don't give it to him," Sarah told her father, quietly.

"Hush, Sarah," John told his granddaughter. "Son, please."

Dean looked back up at his father and slowly backed away. Sarah did the same when she felt him back into her.

John stared at his first-born. "Give me the gun. What are you doing, Dean?"

"He'd be furious," said Dean.

"What?"

"That I wasted a bullet," he finished and shook his head. "He wouldn't be proud of me. He'd tear me a new one." Dean slowly raised the gun, cocking it. "You're not my dad."

"Dad, wait. You kill the demon possessing Grandpa, you kill him, too," Sarah reminded him.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye then back at his father.

"Dean, it's me," John told him.

"I know my dad better than anyone," Dean said, "and you ain't him."

"What the hell's gotten into you two?" he asked.

Sarah looked up at her grandfather. "I knew I felt something familiar. I know who you are."

"I am your grandfather, that's who I am, Sarah."

But Sarah just shook her head at him.

Dean told him, "Stay back."

At that point, Sam walked back in and suddenly stopped in his tracks, surprised to see the Colt out and pointing at his father. "Dean. What the hell's going on?"

"Your brother and niece's lost their minds," John told his youngest son.

"He's not Dad," Dean also told him.

Sam asked, "What?"

"He's possessed by the demon we've been looking for," Sarah explained.

"Are you sure?"

"I've had this feeling since we picked Grandpa up. One I recognized."

"Don't listen to them, Sammy," John tried to tell Sam.

"Dad's different, too," Dean added.

John was growing more annoyed. "We don't have time for this. Sam, you wanna kill this demon, you gotta trust me."

Sam looked between his father, and his brother and niece before he finally made a choice and walked behind Dean and Sarah.

John nodded at them in disbelief, "Fine. The three of you so sure? Go ahead. Kill me."

Sarah looked up at her father, watching him. She could see his arm that was holding the gun, shaking and knew he couldn't do it. Demon or not, it was still her grandfather in there and Sarah understood. She took his other hand in hers and rubbed it with her other hand, comfortingly.

John had looked down but when he came back up, his eyes were yellow. "I thought so," he said, evilly. Suddenly, the three of them were shot back and pinned to the wall, making Dean drop the Colt. John walked over and picked it up, looking at it. "What a pain in the ass this thing's been," and looked over at Sarah. "Good to see ya again, Sarah. We haven't spoken in person in over a year and a half."

Sarah glared back at her grandfather. "Get out of my grandpa, you piece of crap!" she ordered at the demon inside.

"I like this meat suit, actually. Think I'll keep it for a bit." The demon looked over at Sam next.

"We've been looking for you for a long time," Sam also glared at him.

"Well, you found me," the demon shrugged.

"But the holy water…"

"You think something like that works on something like me?" The demon pinned Sam even more where he couldn't move his head.

"I'm gonna kill you," Sam growled at the demon.

"Oh. That will be a neat trick," the demon sneered at him and set the Colt down on the table. "In fact…here. Make the gun float to you there, psychic boy." The room was silent as Sam stole a glance at the Colt then looked back at the demon. "You know, this is fun." The demon walked over to Sam. "I could have killed you a hundred times today, but this…" He exhaled, looking away from Sam and grinned, "This is worth the wait." The demon looked to the left at Sam, "Your dad…he's in here with me. Trapped inside his own meat suit. He says hi, by the way. He's gonna tear you apart. He's gonna taste the iron in your blood."

"Let him go," Dean threatened, "Or I swear to God…"

The demon was looking over at him, "What? What are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I'm concerned…this is justice." He walked over to Dean, staring down at him. Sarah tried to break free more but wasn't successful at all. You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter. You know, like you have which you're welcome, by the way. The one in the alley…that was my boy." The demon was whispering so only Dean heard. "You understand?"

"You gotta be kidding me," Dean told him.

"What? You're the only one that can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family?" The demon then grinned. "Oh. That's right. I forgot. I did. Still…" He held up two fingers, "Two wrongs don't make a right."

Dean curled his lip at the demon, "You son of a bitch."

"I wanna know why," Sam said over from his spot. "Why'd you do it?"

The demon turned around to look back at Sam. "You mean, why did I kill mommy and pretty little Jess?"

"Yeah."

The demon grinned back at Dean and backed up. "You know, he never told you this, but…Sam was gonna ask her to marry him. Been shopping for rings and everything." John walked back to Sam and turned on his heel to face him. "You wanna know why? Because they got in the way."

Sam demanded, "In the way of what?"

"My plans for you, Sammy," he answered. "You…Sarah…and all the children like you."

"Listen," said Dean. "You mind just getting this over with 'cause I really can't stand the monologuing especially when we heard all this already."

The demon abruptly turned on Dean again. "Funny. But that's all part of your M.O., isn't it? Masks all that nasty pain." He walked over to him. "Masks the truth."

"Oh yeah," he told him. "What's that?"

"Bet Sarah didn't tell you this, but you fight and you fight for this family, but the truth is…they don't need you, especially Sarah. Not like you need them."

Sarah closed her eyes, looking away. She was hoping her father never had to hear that.

"Sam…" The demon continued. "He's clearly John's favorite. Even when they fight, it's more concern than he's ever shown you. And Sarah… Oh he loves Sarah. Adores her."

"Yeah, and I bet you're real proud of your kids, too, huh?" said Dean. "Oh, wait, I forgot. I wasted 'em."

The demon did not respond. He smirked, taking a step back and looked down. Suddenly, Dean felt a stabbing pain in his torso as the demon stared at him.

"Dean!" Sam called, making Sarah look up again. "No!"

Dean started bleeding as his insides felt like they were twisting around.

"Daddy!" Sarah cried out.

Sam and Dean started trying to get John to fight the demon but it wasn't any use. Sarah's chest was rapidly moving as her heart pumped as she watched her father in pain. That other familiar feeling started to rise and filled her emotions to record height.

"Daddy!" she yelled and the demon was sent flying back against the wall, releasing the three of them from the wall. Dean lost his balance from the pain and fell completely to the floor. Sarah quickly ran to his side, falling to her knees beside him and saw just how much blood he was losing. Thinking fast, she ripped off her sweatshirt and balled it up, shoving it against her father's chest and torso area. "Hang in there, Daddy. It's gonna be okay."

While Sarah had ran over to take care of her father, Sam ran over to retrieve the Colt as he tripped over himself and stood over the demon, pointing it straight at him.

The demon sneered at him, "You kill me… You kill Daddy."

Suddenly, John was able to break through. The yellow disappeared from his eyes. "Do it, Sam. Shoot me," he pleaded with his son.

Sarah looked back over her shoulder as she held her sweatshirt against her father. She could hear Dean also pleading with her uncle but to not shoot him. She looked away in fear that Sam may actually do it and tried to focus on her father. All the pleading catching in her ears felt painful to hear as tears ran down both sides of her face.

However, she wasn't expecting to hear the sound of the demon leaving her grandfather's body and flew up and then down into the floorboards.

While Sam loaded his brother and father into the Impala, Sarah carried Dean's duffel bag out there and climbed into the backseat beside her father and continued to hold her sweatshirt on his front.

Sam drove while John sat in the front seat, grunting. "Look, just hold on, all right? The hospital's only ten minutes away."

"I'm surprised at you, Sammy," John told him, looking forward. "Why didn't you kill it?" He looked over at his youngest son. "I thought we saw eye to eye on this. Killing this demon comes first. Before me, before everything."

Sarah looked over at her grandfather as she sat on her heels, "Not before family, it doesn't."

Sam glanced up at his brother in the rear-view mirror. "Look, we still got the Colt. We still have the one bullet left. We just have to start over, all right? I mean, we found the demon once…"

Out of nowhere, a semi-truck smashed right into the passenger side of the Impala. Glass shattered as the whole thing was dented in as it was pushed sideways.


	44. Chapter 44: In my Time of Dying (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 44

"Here comes the pitch." Dean winded up and tossed the baseball underhand. The ball flew over as Sarah held the baseball bat in position. When the ball was in close range, she swung at it and sent it right into the air. Dean and Sarah watched as it soared through the air until Sarah remembered and ran for first, then second, and then rounded third as Dean cheered. Once her foot hit third base, Sarah headed for home and slid on her stomach. A cloud of dust stirred up.

Sarah stood up and looked over to her father, smiling. However, Dean was nowhere to be found. "Dad?" she asked, looking around. Sarah started to panic. "Dad," she said a little louder. "Dad!" Sarah ran all over the ball diamond but Dean was gone.

Suddenly, Sarah sat up in a hospital bed, "Dad!" She looked around and saw her grandparents and second cousin sitting around her bed.

Her grandmother was the first on her feet. "Oh, thank you, God," she said, thankful her granddaughter was awake. Beth wrapped her arms around Sarah, hugging her. "I thought we were going to lose you, angel."

But Sarah was looking everywhere but them. Her father, uncle, and grandfather was nowhere in sight. Was everything just a dream? Did she really go on a cross-country road trip with her father and uncle? And did she really fight monsters? It felt too vivid to be a dream.

"Where's my dad? Where's Uncle Sammy? Where's my grandpa?" she asked them.

Greg moved closer to her on Sarah's opposite side, "I'm right here, Sarah. Don't worry. And it's Papa, remember?" he assured her, his hand on her shoulder.

Sarah looked up at her grandfather. "Not you, I mean my other grandfather. Are they okay? Is my dad okay?" She was growing more and more hysterical as her heart thumped more.

"Sweetheart, you need to calm down. What's important is you, right now," said Greg.

"What's important is finding out if they're all okay," Sarah exclaimed. "Is my dad alive? Where's my uncle and grandpa? Somebody please tell me what happened?"

Beth tried to calm her down before she said, "You were all in a car accident, angel. They called your papa since he was never removed as your emergency contact person. The doctor says your shoulder was yanked from its socket."

Sarah looked down at her left arm. She had not noticed there was a splint covering her left shoulder, holding it in place.

"You also hit your head and suffered a very mild concussion but thankfully it wasn't serious."

"How did my arm rip out of its socket in a car crash?" Sarah questioned.

"The doctor says it looks like it was pulled and the fact that you were found lying across your father, my guess would be he instantly grabbed your arm out of reflex when the truck hit," Greg guessed. "Otherwise you would have been thrown from the car."

"Oh, what do you know," Mark finally spoke up in a sarcastic voice, "the bastard finally did something right for a change."

Sarah shot her second cousin a death glare. "Go to hell, Mark," she told him.

The adults were surprised to hear that come out of the little girl's mouth, towards someone. "Sarah Lynn, you do not talk that way to an adult," Greg scolded her, more stern than Dean usually scolds her.

She shot him a glare next, "I don't care right now!" Her voice rose. "I want to know if they are alive! Can someone just fuckin' tell me?!" Sarah's anger was rising too as her cheeks felt hot. In fact the lights on the ceiling were starting to flicker.

Greg told his wife to go find a nurse to bring up any of the Winchesters who was awake before he turned back to his granddaughter. "Young lady, I don't know what you get away with from your father but you _do not_ raise your voice or curse. Do you understand me?"

Sarah did not back down as years of holding back feelings finally came out. "Like I said, I couldn't give a crap right now. All I care about is that my family is okay."

"We're your family, too, Sarah," Mark reminded her.

"Family?" Sarah turned on him again. "You people thought I was a burden! I've heard you talk. I heard what you all say about me. Good, Christian people, my ass! Yeah, you may not have taken it out on me but words still hurt. My dad never thought of me as a burden, he never felt he _had_ to love me like he was forced. No, Dad loved me because I was his baby girl which he calls me more than my name now." She turned her head back to Greg, "As for my grandfather, I told him he was my favorite grandfather." Tears were pouring from her eyes as she finally told her grandfather how she felt. Sure, her grandfather and the rest of the Holden family loved her but not like the Winchester side. "You know why? Because he loves me for who I am. I've only known Grandpa for less than a week but we have had a lot better good time than I've ever had with you. He's willing to get close to me whereas you'd rather pay for me to see a doctor and take medication."

Greg was starting to get angry himself how his granddaughter could talk to him like that. How she could feel that way. Out of nowhere, he slapped her across the face right as Beth returned with a male nurse pushing John in a wheelchair. Sarah stared up at Greg, surprised until she noticed her other grandfather was there and quickly threw back the covers and scooted over to the edge, sliding down from the bed and hurried over to John, jumping into his lap. She wrapped her right arm around his neck, crying into it.

John quietly tried to settle her down. "Shh, 's okay, sweetheart. It's okay. I'm here, I got ya," he said, hugging her with his left arm since the other one was in a sling.

Greg stood in the same spot, watching the two of them. "Sarah, honey, I didn't mean it. I'm sorry."

"Just leave me alone," her cries muffled a little from her grandfather's neck.

John was glaring up at him like his granddaughter had done before he told the nurse to push him back to his son's hospital room. The nurse than pulled him back out of the room and wheeled John back down where they had come. Sarah stayed on his lap the whole way there.

"Is Daddy and Uncle Sammy okay, Grandpa?" she sniffed.

"Your uncle is fine, just bruised up, is all. I sent him to meet up with Bobby to tow the car back to his place," John explained.

"What about my dad?"

John couldn't respond and stared at the floor.

Sarah lifted her head to look at him. "My dad…he did make it, right?"

John looked up at her, "He's still holding on but…The doctor says the chances of him surviving…"

Sarah stared back at her grandfather. "No. No, he can't die. My dad can't die, he just can't." She dropped her head on his collarbone this time and cried into it. "I promised Dad I would protect him. I failed. I failed."

John rubbed her back. "It's not your fault, Sarah. I can promise you that," he assured her. "There was nothing you could have done. You're just a kid."

"I can't lose him, Grandpa. Daddy was the first to believe in me when no one else did and love me for who I am. Daddy has always been there for me the past year."

John sat there and listened to his granddaughter, her cries for her father tore at his heart. He had to do something for his son, not just for his and Sam's sake, but for Sarah's sake, especially. John wasn't about to let his granddaughter grow up an orphan.

They finally arrived back on the floor where Dean's room was on. When Sarah looked over and saw her father lying there, unconscious and with a tube sticking in his mouth, she quickly slid off her grandfather's lap and hurried over to his side.

"Dad? Can you hear me?" Sarah tried.

There was no response of course.

Tears built up in her eyes once more and fell down her cheeks. Sarah reached over to touch Dean's right, upper arm and closed her eyes. "God, it's me, Sarah Winchester. God, please don't take Dad like you took Mom." Sarah dropped her head, face-first onto the bed beside where Dean lay. Her tears soaked the sheets as she continued. "I can't lose him. He's not just my dad, he's my best friend. Dad's the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Even when life is one big pile of crap, I know everything will be okay because he'll always be there for me. So please, God. Don't take him away."

The room grew quiet except for Sarah's sniffles and the machine Dean was hooked up to. John sat there, behind his granddaughter, listening. After a while, Sarah walked around and climbed up onto the bed next to her father as she lied against him, careful not to pull out any of the tubes that were attached to him and started to sing the song from _Dumbo_ , changing the word "baby" to "daddy" until she fell back to sleep. Unknown to her was a presence standing beside the bed, listening.

John just sat back and watched the whole thing, wishing Sam would hurry soon so he could get what he had planned over with and Sarah could have her father back. He was so far into thought John did not hear Greg walk up and lean against the door frame, crossing his arms across his chest.

"My wife used to sing that to our girls when they were young and sang it to Sarah when she stayed with us," he spoke up, making John look back at him. Greg looked over down the hall for a moment then returned his attention to John. "I really didn't mean to hit her," he shrugged. "I never thought Sarah felt that way. Being a grandfather to a very gifted child isn't easy, you know?"

"Gifted or not, the fact is, Sarah is still a kid," John told him, coldly, turning the chair so he could look at him. "There is no excuse for hitting her."

He shrugged, "And you're right. I do love her though."

John looked back at his granddaughter. "She's a pretty good kid, huh? Got lots of Winchester traits in her."

"Was her father ever obsessed with the supernatural?" Greg asked.

John looked back at the man and shook his head, "Why?"

"Up until she turned five, Sarah was the most terrified kid you would ever meet. She'd jump at her own shadow," he explained. "Then one day out of the blue, we caught her reading about monsters and how to hunt them. It wasn't normal, especially for a small child." Greg shrugged, "It's like she got brave overnight and frankly it scared us."

John stayed silent as he was trying to figure out how Sarah could have suddenly taken an interest in the supernatural and how to hunt them, and at age five. Is their family's curse that strong to affect someone who was growing up away from all that? No wonder Dean took his daughter along, Sarah was already involved and Dean knew he had to finish what was already started.

"Have to say though, Sarah has never yelled at me like that. Argued with me, maybe, but she never got that angry."

John finally spoke again. "She has mine and her uncle's temperament. You get us pissed enough…" he told him. "We're stubborn, too."

Greg smiled at that. "Yeah, that sounds like Sarah."

Both men laughed at that.

"She's mostly like her dad," John said. "In fact, she reminds me a lot of him at that age. The way she shadows him, assuring everything will be okay." He looked down at the floor.

"That kid grows up way too fast," Greg shrugged, staring at the floor as well. "She acts so much older than what she really is. My nephew was her best friend. I really hate to admit this but at one point, I wished something would happen where she'd lose some of those brain cells and just be a normal kid."

The presence that stood near Sarah was listening to the men and wouldn't you know it, it was Dean himself. Dean couldn't believe some of the things Greg was saying. He already wanted to punch the man's face in when he heard Greg had hit his daughter.

 _Why can't you people just accept the poor kid?_ He was snarling at Greg and turned to his own father. _How can you just sit there and let him talk about her like that, Dad?_ No one could hear Dean.

After a while, Greg decided to head back to his granddaughter's hospital room back on the pediatric floor to wait until Sarah woke up, leaving John alone to his thoughts.

Dean stood there staring at him. _Come on, Dad,_ he told him, _you gotta help me. I gotta get better. I gotta get back in there. Sarah needs me._ Dean paused as he watched John just sit there, watching his limp form. _I mean, you haven't called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Don't you see how much this is hurting Sarah? Aren't you going to do anything? That guy's been gone for a while, aren't you even gonna say anything?_ His tone rose a little in frustration but John just sat there, doing nothing. _I've done everything you ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had. And you're just gonna sit there and watch me die and let your only granddaughter become a friggin' orphan? What the hell kind of father are you?_

Suddenly, Dean heard a noise and went to check it out right as Sarah had lifted her head, half asleep. She looked over at her father's lifeless face then over at her grandfather, sitting up.

"Grandpa, did you say something?" she asked him.

John looked over at her and shook his head, "No, I've just been sitting here, quietly. "How ya feelin'?"

"Wishing Dad could wake up." She looked back at her father. "I wish I had Chimchar here with me."

"Who's Chimchar?" John asked.

"He's a Pokémon on TV. I got him for Christmas before my mom died. Can a stuffed animal survive a car accident in one piece?" Sarah asked her grandfather.

He only shrugged, "I don't know, sweetheart. I guess it depends on where you had it when it happened."

Sarah thought about it, remembering when she had him last. "He should be in the backseat in the Impala."

"It might have gotten thrown out the window when the truck hit."

Sarah looked alarmed to hear that possibility. "I hope not."

John looked at his granddaughter, "If you had a choice of who you could have back, your toy or your dad, who would you choose?" he asked, serious.

She stared back at him. "My dad, of course. What kind of question is that?"

He shrugged, "Just wondering."

Beth walked in the room next. "How are you feeling, angel?" she asked, making John and Sarah look up at her.

Sarah looked back at her father. "Fine. Just want my dad to wake up."

"You love him, don't you?" she smiled, walking over to Sarah's side of the bed.

"More than anything else in the entire world," Sarah replied.

Beth placed her hand on Sarah's upper back, watching Dean. She could see a lot of her granddaughter in him. "Angel, we've been discussing about it and we figured it'll be best if you come with us. Mark is still welcoming you into his home and you can see that fellow who brought you to our house whenever you want since Mark lives in Sioux Falls now."

Sarah twisted her waist to look up at her grandmother. "I'm not living with Mark. Even if Dad doesn't make it, I still have my uncle Sam and Grandpa. And we still have a job to do. Don't you get it? I don't want any part of any of you."

"Sarah, that really hurts our feelings, especially after all we've done for you."

"Not as much as I felt." Sarah let out a deep breath. "But my throat hurts from yelling so much and I have no energy left to argue. Can you all just go home?"

Beth looked at her before she left the room. It wasn't long before Greg returned.

"Sarah, I'm sorry if you feel like we never loved you but if you want us to leave then don't expect us to come back. It was a long drive to get down here."

Sarah paid her grandfather no attention. She laid her head down on her father's stomach, wanting him to just leave.

Greg stood there, watching her. In a calm voice he told her, "Sarah, I'm sorry. Please don't shut us out. We're still your family, too."

She didn't even lift her head.

"Just leave the kid alone," John told him. "She's been through a lot the past week. Sarah's just hurt and confused."

"Fine," he shrugged and turned back to Sarah. "Call us later, Sarah. Your uncle has our number." With that, Greg left the room for the final time, stealing one last glance at his granddaughter who didn't even lift her head to say good-bye.


	45. Chapter 45: In my Time of Dying (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 45

Sarah lied there beside her father. John had returned to his own hospital room when Sarah asked to be alone. For a couple hours now, Sarah just lied there, thinking. Finally, she spoke as if Dean could hear.

"Remember when we first met, Dad? You didn't seem like you liked me at all," she was saying. "Then we went on my first hunt and I got taken by those skinwalkers. But I think it was before that. I saw how proud of me you were when you first trained me and I shot all those targets. And you were so intent on me talking with you even though I wasn't ready to share what I was hiding. Truth is, I've been passed off and unbelieved by so many others, I didn't think you would either."

Sarah sat up and turned around to face her father, having some difficulty having her shoulder in a splint. "I never thought Uncle Sam counted because he didn't need to believe or not since he was having nightmares, too. But when you told that kid, Lucas that you would believe him, I just knew it at that point. I'm not mad that you were skeptic on it because it does sound pretty weird but I could tell that you wanted to for me."

"I…I used to dream at night of who my dad could be. Mom told me, eventually, after I kept bugging her about it." Sarah shrugged one shoulder. "She seemed like she hated you and that's when I learned I looked like you. She says I reminded her of you. I didn't know whether to be excited or upset. I asked if you knew about me, if you would like me. Mom said that you didn't care about anyone but Grandpa and Uncle Sam." Sarah forced a grin, "Guess she was wrong, huh? 'Cause you do love me, too," and gave a short chuckle until her smile faded away. She looked down at the bed sheet in front of her. "I always kept hoping and praying that one day you would find out about me and that day when I saw you standing there in Papa's house and Papa said you were my dad, it made it the happiest day of my life. I hoped you would take me with you and you did even though it would be dangerous for me. Guess the demon did something right 'cause if it weren't for him, I don't know where I'd be right now. Mom might still be alive but I would still be miserable."

"Sometimes, I wish I wasn't so smart. Tell ya the truth, that's probably why I can't relate to other kids. Mom told me my first complete sentence was when I was two. What two-year-old can speak a complete sentence? I'll tell you. None. Sometimes I do want to be normal but then I probably wouldn't be able to hunt."

Sarah looked back up. "I really wish you could hear me, Dad. Don't worry about what that demon said, I do need you. I mean, who's gonna tease me? Who's gonna sing along with me? Who's gonna pick on Uncle Sammy with me?" Tears filled her eyes again. "Who's gonna call me, baby girl? Who's gonna watch cartoons with me? You can't die, Dad. Please hang in there. You have to get better, Dad." Sarah pinned her chin to her chest and cried the hardest she had ever cried until her father's heart monitor started beeping, quickly and loudly. Thinking that couldn't be a good sign, she slid off the bed and ran outside, looking down both sides of the halls. "Help! It's my dad! He needs a doctor in here!"

Several nurses and doctors came running in, pushing past Sarah, who also didn't let her back in. Sprinting fast, she hurried to her grandfather's hospital room, using the door frame to stop. Her uncle was standing there with John sitting up in bed. "Grandpa! Uncle Sam! Come quick! Something's wrong with Dad!" she told them, scared out of her mind.

Sam hurried past his niece, who followed after him back to Dean's hospital room where the doctors and nurses were surrounding his bed, shocking him with a fibrillator as they tried to find a pulse.

Sam hugged the door frame, hoping Dean would pull through. His chest moved rapidly. It felt like he couldn't breathe. His brother had to pull through. Sam couldn't lose him. Not yet. Sam needed his big brother there.

Sarah stood there beside her uncle as tears poured down her cheeks like a waterfall as she bit down on her lower lip. She was biting down so hard she was starting to taste blood. Sarah quickly looked away, hiding her face in Sam's leg. Sam hadn't even noticed she did, either. He was too focused on his brother.

When the fibrillator wasn't working, the doctor switched to CPR, pushing on Dean's bare chest. Both Sam and Sarah were growing more and more hysteric as they hoped and prayed to themselves that Dean would pull through until a loud voice got their attention, looking in opposite directions.

Sarah questioned, "Dad?" Not long after that, the monitor returned to the normal, calm beeping sound and the doctor announced that they had a pulse. Sarah's hard breathing ceased and hugged her uncle once more. This time, he noticed and squatted down to wrap his arms around her waist instead of lifting her under her arms and both shared a hug of relief. A relief that Dean made it through that episode and relief that each other was okay.

Both of them stopped though when they thought they heard a voice talking to them.

"Do you think Dad is walking around as a ghost, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe, Peanut," he replied. "How do you feel, by the way? The doctor says you had a small concussion there? How's your head feel?"

"It hurts a little but it's okay," she told him, touching her hand to the bandage wrapped around her head where it hurt. "What about you?"

"A little sore but I'm glad to see you're okay, Peanut. I was worried about you." Sam hugged his niece to him again. He was so thankful Sarah made it through all that. She had been on his mind the whole time he was gone. Like his brother, Sam couldn't bear the thought of losing his niece, too. "Hey, I brought you someone."

"Who?"

Sam carried her back to his father's hospital room and went over to where the duffel bag was sitting on the foot of the bed, opening it up with one hand. He then pulled out Sarah's stuffed monkey Pokémon.

Sarah's eyes widened as she lit up in utter happiness. "Chimchar!" she exclaimed, happily and took it from her uncle, hugging it in her right arm. "Thank you, Uncle Sammy."

Sam kissed her cheek. "You're welcome, Peanut." He pulled out something else next. "Your PSP made it out as well since it was on the driver's side, lodged underneath the backseat," Sam explained, placing it in her left hand.

Sarah hugged her uncle again. "What about my other toys?" she asked.

He shrugged, "There's a lot thrown everywhere in the car, but I think you may have lost some. At least Chimchar is safe, though, huh?"

She nodded.

John finally spoke up after being silent, letting uncle and niece talk first, "How's Dean doing now?"

"They managed to get a pulse going again," Sam looked over at his father. "Everything seems stable now."

"Tell Grandpa about hearing Dad's voice, Uncle Sam," Sarah urged her uncle.

"What do you mean you heard your father's voice, sweetheart?" John questioned, confused.

Sarah shrugged, "I can hear spirits. Back in Lawrence, I was able to hear Grandma in your old house and I swear I heard Dad yell, get back and then I heard him telling us that he was after some kind of spirit that he could grab."

"That's right, I forgot you can hear spirits," Sam remembered, suddenly. "Can you hear your dad now? Is he in this room?"

Sarah looked down at the floor, trying to hear anything. "No, but why is there water on the floor?"

"We were wondering that ourselves, Peanut. Let us know when you hear your dad again. Okay?"

Sarah nodded at her uncle. "Uncle Sam, I'm hungry."

Sam couldn't help but smile, "I see your appetite is still intact. Come on. Let's go get something from the cafeteria."

"Ew, no. I've had hospital food before. Can I have a burger and fries from somewhere else?" she asked, trying to butter him up with a puppy-dog look.

"How about a salad?" he suggested.

"What do I look like? A rabbit?"

"Fine, Dean Jr., I will go get you a burger," Sam gave in. "You're lucky you're cute, by the way."

Sarah grinned, receiving a series of kisses on her cheek before her uncle put her down on her feet.

"Want anything, Dad?" Sam asked his father.

"No, thanks," he replied and Sam started to walk out of the room. "Wait, Sam." Sam stopped to look back. "I promise, I won't hunt this demon. Not until we know Dean's okay."

Sam nodded and walked away.

"I'm gonna go sit with Dad again," Sarah told her grandfather.

"Wait, Sarah," John stopped her as well. "Come here. I want to talk with you."

Sarah went over and climbed on his bed as John scooted over to give her some room, inviting her to sit beside him. Sarah basically had to frog-leap over before climbing over him to sit next to her grandfather, who put his arm around her.

"I wanted to let you know how proud I am, especially back on that vampire hunt. I never expected just how mature you really are. When you chopped that vamp's head off, you did it without a smile. I never saw you mess around or anything," he told her.

"Dad would beat my ass if I played around with a weapon," she said.

"That's good to hear, but I'm still proud. You did good, sweetheart."

Sarah looked up at her grandfather, holding her monkey beside her, in her right arm, between them. "Papa never told me he was proud of me before," she shook her head.

"Sounds to me like those people don't know the real meaning of what family is," and John smiled down at her.

She smiled in return and laid her head against him. "You're the best grandpa in the whole world."

John smiled down at her, hugging her head to him. "Always remember this, sweetheart. I love you and I will always love you, no matter what."

"I love you, too, Grandpa," Sarah replied, looking up at him. "I can't wait until we go on more hunts, together. I like riding shotgun with you. With the four of us together, we can evenly split up. One time I can go with you while other times I can go with Dad and then once we figure out what we're dealing with, we can all kill it together. Then when we find the demon again, we can all gang up on it and take it down. He won't even know what hit him, right, Grandpa? 'Cause Dad's gonna get better. I have to keep telling myself that, right?"

John took a silent breath. "Right, kiddo. Your dad's strong, he'll hang on."

"I'm so thankful for my family," she smiled.

He smiled back at her, "Same here." John hugged her one last time and kissed the top of her head before sending her back to her father's room. He watched her go, his heart breaking. John knew he was going to break her heart what he was planning on doing to help her father. The kid needed her father lot more than she needed him, though.

Sarah pulled herself up onto the edge of the bed and looked at her father. She then looked around the room, "Dad, can you hear me? Say something. Anything. I might be able to hear you, remember?"

No reply came.

Sarah looked at the floor. "Please, Dad. I know you're there, just talk to me."

 _I'm here, baby girl. Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere._

Sarah shot her head up, looking around. "Dad? Is that you?"

There was a pause before she heard, _Yeah, its Dad. Can you hear me, Sarah?_

Sarah slid down from the bed, using the sound of her father's voice to hear where he was. "Remember back in Lawrence?" she reminded him.

 _That's right! Baby girl, listen to me. There's a reaper loose in the hospital._

Sarah raised her eyebrows, "A reaper? It's not after you, is it?" Another pause which Sarah took as an answer. She knew her father well enough. "Dad…" She looked at the floor. "If it's here naturally then there's nothing we can do." Sarah just stood there, staring at the floor. She thought she was going to cry again but there just weren't any tears left.

She sniffed in through her nose. "I wish this was like Zelda and all I had to do was release a fairy from a bottle and you'd be healed. But this is real life, not a video game."

 _I know, baby girl. Trust me. I don't want to leave either. You and Sam are my responsibility. I'm supposed to watch out for you both. It's my job._ Sarah could tell her father's voice was cracking.

"Guess this is like before only now there's no healer. I wouldn't want anyone to die in your place anyway. It wouldn't be fair to them." Sarah looked back at her father's body when it hit her. "Maybe Grandpa will know what to do." Sarah hurried back to her grandfather's room to see it was empty. The hospital pajamas he had been wearing were lying there on the bed as Sarah walked over to the bed, slowly. "He left again…" She placed her right hand on the bed, leaving it there as she closed her eyes. "Maybe Uncle…" Sarah opened her eyes and noticed her grandfather's journal right there on the bed. Pulling it towards her, she opened the journal and flipped through it until she came to a part about reapers and read through it.

 _Thanks for not giving up on me, baby girl._

"That's what family's for," she said, her eyes not leaving the page before she continued reading.

 _Son of a bitch!_

Sarah looked back, not really sure where to look. "What, Dad?"

There was no response that time.

"Dad? You there? Dad?" Sarah kept trying to listen for her father's spirit but there was just no response. It was now freaking the little girl out. "Oh God. I hope I'm not too late. What is taking Uncle Sam so long?"

Sarah slammed the journal shut, wishing she had her book with her at the moment. She remembered a chapter about reapers in there somewhere. Sarah decided to head back to her father's room and just sat on the edge of the bed, facing the door.

"I couldn't find anything in Grandpa's journal but I guess you did. It didn't sound good though. Hope everything's okay."

At that moment, Sam walked in. "Hey, Peanut. Where's your grandfather?" he asked her.

Sarah shrugged one shoulder, "Who knows. I think he left. He changed back into his clothes."

Sam handed his niece a regular sized paper cup from Jack-in-the-box. "Did you hear anything from your dad yet?"

She nodded. "Dad's hunting a reaper," she told him, looking up at her uncle. "I tried to find something in Grandpa's journal but I didn't see anything. Obviously, Dad did though but not in a good way, it sounded like." Sarah took a drink of her soda, setting it between her legs.

Sam handed her the paper bag of food before heading back to John's room to grab the journal, bringing it back. He looked through it himself but didn't find anything. He stood on his brother's other side, thinking.

"Dean, are you here?" he asked after a while, looking around the room.

"I tried already, he haven't said anything since I read through Grandpa's journal," Sarah said, focusing on the French fries for now. The bag was on the bed beside her. "I wish we knew how to help him."

Sam had his hands on his ribs. "Me, too, Peanut."

They stayed silent before Sam spoke again. "Hang in there, Dean. We'll figure something out. You have to hold on, all right?" He forced a small snicker, "Come on, you can't…You can't leave the two of here with Dad. We'll all kill each other. You know that."

Sarah couldn't help smile at the floor as she held a fry up to her mouth. It was so true, too. She heard Sam suck in some heavy air.

"Dean, you gotta hold on," he said. "You can't go, man. Not now." Sam was breathing heavy, constantly, by now. "We were just starting to be brothers again." To Sarah, "Can he hear me, Peanut?"

Sarah listened for any sound of her father's voice. It was dead quiet. She shook her head and dropped it, not eating any more. Sam dropped his as well.

After a moment, Sarah broke the silence, singing the _Dumbo_ song again.

"That was beautiful, Peanut," Sam told her, quietly when she finished.

"Thanks," was all she replied.

Suddenly, Dean woke up, choking, surprising the two of them.

Sarah dropped her fries and the drink on the floor, getting up onto her knees, leaning on her right arm. "Dad?"

Sam quickly screamed for help. Doctors and nurses came running in, kicking him and Sarah out. They stood there, still in shock, waiting. Sarah was squeezing her uncle's hand in hers, praying in her head.


	46. Chapter 46: In my Time of Dying (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 46

After tests were ran, Sam and Sarah were allowed back in Dean's room the next morning. Both of them barely slept at all and John still hadn't turned up.

The doctor was going through his chart. "I can't explain it," he was telling Dean. "The edema's vanished, the internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You gotta have some kind of angel watching over you." He closed his chart.

Dean thanked him before the doctor left them alone. The doctor wasn't even out the door yet before Sarah was climbing onto the bed and jumping on her father, hugging his neck.

"Dude, my insides may be healed but I'm still sore, you know," he told her but hugged her anyway before turning to Sam. "You said a reaper was after me?"

"That's what Sarah said," Sam shrugged. "She was the one talking to you."

"Sarah, how did I ditch it?" he asked, turning back to his daughter.

Sarah looked up at her father. "I don't know. I was reading Grandpa's journal when you said, son of a…"

"Don't finish that phase. I got it," he told her.

"Dean, you really don't remember anything?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, "No. Except this pit in my stomach." He looked up at his brother, "Sam, something's wrong."

A knock on the door turned their heads to see John standing there. "How you feeling, dude?" he asked Dean.

"Fine, I guess," Dean replied with a small smile. "I'm alive."

"That's what matters."

"Where were you last night?" Sam asked of his father.

John was leaning against the door frame. "I had some things to take care of."

"Well, that's specific," he said, sarcastically.

Sarah was sitting on Dean's right side by now. "Can you not do this, right now, Uncle Sam?" she told her uncle. "Dad just got better and everyone's okay now."

"Sarah's right, Sam." John shook his head. "I mean, half the time I don't even know why we're fighting. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I've…I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?"

"Dad, are you all right?" Sam asked.

John forced a smile, "Yeah. I'm just a little tired. Hey Sammy, would you mind…? Do you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"

Sam nodded, "Yeah. Yeah, sure," and walked out of the room.

John watched him go.

"What is it?" asked Dean.

John looked down, "You know, when you were a kid…" he looked at Dean. "I'd come home from a hunt. And after what I've seen…I'd be… I'd be wrecked."

Dean looked down at his daughter for a second then looked back up at his father.

"And you….You'd come up to me…you'd put your hand on my shoulder, and you look me in the eye, you…" John looked away, swallowing a lump in his throat and nodded before looking back. "You'd say, 'it's okay, Dad.'"

Sarah had been listening, too. She looked at her father then back at her grandfather. That was exactly what she told her own father.

"Dean," John continued, "I'm sorry."

"What?" Dean asked.

"You shouldn't have to say that to me. I should've been saying that to you." John looked down at his granddaughter. "You shouldn't have to say that, either, Sarah. I've listened and noticed so many similarities of the two of you, of your dad and me. I've put…I put too much on your dad's shoulders. I made him grow up too fast and that's exactly what's happening to you."

He switched back to Dean, "You took care of Sammy, you took care of me. Now, you're taking care of your own kid. And you didn't complain then, and I haven't heard you complain now. Not once."

Dean switched arms and wrapped the one he had across his stomach, around Sarah as John stared at the floor, at his feet.

"I just want you to know…" A tear ran down the side of John's nose as he looked at his oldest son. "…That I am so proud of you." His lower lip quivered as he sniffed in through his nose.

Dean looked up from his daughter, "This really you talking?"

He nodded, "Yeah." John smiled. "Yeah, it's really me."

Sarah had been trying to figure out why her grandfather was crying so much. It seemed like he was saying good-bye or something. Finally, she had to ask. "Grandpa, what's wrong?"

John forced a smile for her, "Nothing's wrong, sweetheart."

"But you're crying. I haven't seen you cry yet?"

John reached down and kissed the top of her head. "Promise me something, kiddo."

"What?" she asked.

"Don't grow up too fast. Just because you're a hunter, doesn't mean you should always act grown up. Enjoy what you can, okay?"

Sarah nodded as Dean said, "Dad, you're scaring me."

"Me, too," she agreed.

John shook his head, "Don't be scared," and placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "I want you to watch out for Sammy too, okay?"

"Yeah, Dad, you know I will," Dean told him.

John then leaned over and whispered into Dean's left ear, keeping it down so Sarah couldn't hear. Dean moved his head back in surprise of what his father was telling him. Sarah hated she couldn't hear anything.

John stood back up, another tear on his face as he shared a long look with his son. When Dean looked away, John turned and walked out of the room.

Sarah quickly looked between the men. "What did Grandpa say, Dad?" she asked.

Dean grabbed her around the head and held her close, his eyes shut. "It's nothing, Sarah. Don't worry about it."

Sarah pulled away and saw her father was crying himself. Moving as fast as she could, she scooted closer to the edge and leaped down, running out the room, after her grandfather. What she saw would haunt her for a long time.

There inside John's hospital room with him was the demon, who sneered at her, making John look back. "Shit," he said. "Sarah."

Sarah stood there, horror on her face and her lower lip starting to quiver. "Grandpa…what…what's going on?"

John was then brought to his knees as he felt a pain inside of him.

Sarah hurried over to him. "Grandpa? What's happening? Why is the demon here?"

"Sarah…" he tried to get out. "I didn't…I didn't want any of you… t-to see this. Do not tell anyone…got it? This is our se…" John fell forward, beside where Sarah stood.

She fell on her knees, touching her grandfather's left shoulder. Sarah looked back over her right shoulder to see the demon wink at her before he disappeared and turned back to him. "Grandpa?"

There was no response. "Grandpa!" The tears she thought were all gone were now pouring again. She looked up at the doorway and screamed for help. Thankfully, Sam was walking back, holding the cup of coffee in his hand. When he heard his niece yell for help, he hurried up to see what was going on and saw them, dropping the coffee onto the floor which spilled everywhere as he ran inside.

"What happened?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head. "I don't know," she cried, pitifully.

Sam screamed for help as well. Once the doctors and nurses were there, Sam went and got Dean, bringing him back. The nurse tried to push them out of the room but Dean told her that John was their father.

They watched as the doctors and nurses tried to do all they could to save John. But there was nothing they could do and the head doctor decided to call the time of death.

Sarah stood there, watching as they worked on her grandfather. Her chest was moving, rapidly as she breathed heavily to herself. Tears continued to pour down both sides of her face. When the doctor announced the time of death, she backed out of the room until she hit the far wall, shaking her head.

"No, no, no. No. This can't be happening. This just can't…" Sarah broke down harder and turned on the wall, hitting her forehead to it. She banged on the wall, repeatedly with the side of her fist getting her father and uncle's attention.

Dean, seeing his daughter in pain, pushed away from Sam and limped over, falling to his knees beside her. He then pulled Sarah into his arms. Sarah wrapped her good arm around his neck as they held their heads against each other for a long time.

For the whole day, neither Dean nor Sarah said a word. Sam tried getting them to talk at first, especially since Sarah was there but she just wouldn't open her mouth. She sat in the backseat of Bobby's car, hugging her monkey to her as she leaned against her father.

While at Bobby's house, the Winchesters had a traditional hunter's funeral for John, salting and burning his body. Both Dean and Sarah stood there, staring into the fire, barely even blinking. Sarah didn't even feel bothered that much by the cold, night air against her arms. Her sweatshirt was pretty much unwearable now.

Sam was the only one who wasn't a statue. "Before he…" He had given up with his niece and tried to get anything from his brother. Anything that may make this any clearer. "Before he…" Sam was finding it hard to speak. He couldn't believe his father was gone for good. John wasn't MIA this time. He was dead. "Did he say anything to you?"

Dean looked over at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"About anything?"

He looked back into the fire. "No."

Sam looked over at his brother.

"Nothing," Dean finished.

Over the next week, Dean fixed the Impala, teaching his daughter how to rebuild a car. All they ever brought up was something car-related. That was it. Sam tried to get them to talk, and even Bobby tried. Neither of them would, not even to each other. Sarah wouldn't even touch her PSP. From morning to evening, until they went to bed, all that got their attention was the Impala.

Sam stood at the window inside Bobby's house, watching his brother and niece work on the car when Bobby came up beside him.

"Still out there?" the older hunter asked, knowing the answer already.

Sam sighed, "Yeah."

"Well, we tried all we can, Sam. All we can do is, wait until they're ready."

"I know my brother," Sam told him. "He's not gonna talk on his own. And with Sarah, she's gonna shadow whatever he's doing."

Bobby shrugged, "She's a kid. There's still hope for her."

Sam just shook his head. "You don't know how stubborn Sarah can be." After a while, Sam decided to head out there, maybe talk to Dean about what he had found on one of their father's cell phones.

Dean was underneath the car, on a creeper, loosening a part. Sarah sat on her legs, beside where his legs were sticking out, watching and listening when Dean explained what he was doing. The stereo was on, playing rock music.

"How's this car coming along?" Sam asked.

"Slow," Dean told him, continuing.

Sam looked back behind him and returned to looking down at his brother, "Yeah. Need any help?"

He let the part fall, beside him with a loud noise. "What, you under a hood? I'll pass." Dean then pushed himself out from under the car.

"Need anything else then?" Sam continued to ask.

"Stop it, Sam." Dean stood up and walked over to the table where he had tools and some parts laid out.

"Stop what?"

"Stop asking if I need anything," he told his brother. "Stop asking if we're okay. We're okay. Really, I promise. Right, Sarah?"

Sarah stood up. Sam tried to help her but she pushed his hands away. "I'm fine," was she said, quietly.

Dean took apart the ratchet he was using and connected another piece to it.

Sam placed his hands on his pelvis, "All right, Dean. It's just…We've been at Bobby's for over a week now, and neither of you haven't brought up Dad once."

Dean looked back at his brother. "You know what? You're right. Come here," he motioned with his hand. "I wanna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug. Maybe even slow dance," he smiled, sarcastically.

Sam shook his head, "Don't patronize me, Dean. Dad is dead." He watched as Dean walked back over to the car. "The Colt is gone and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all this, and you're acting like nothing happened."

"What do you want us to say?" Dean asked him.

"Say something, all right?" Sam raised his voice. "Hell, say anything. Aren't you angry? Don't you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day long, buried underneath this damn car."

Sarah finally looked up at her uncle, glaring at him. "Why don't you mind your own business, Uncle Sam? Dad and I said we were fine." She told him.

"Because what you're doing isn't healthy, Sarah," he replied.

"But getting revenge is," said Dean. "So, got any leads on where the demon is? You making heads or tails of any of Dad's research? I sure ain't and neither does Sarah." Sam twisted around for a second before untwisting. "But you know when we do finally find it…No. No, wait. Like you said, the Colt's gone. But I'm sure you figured out another way to kill it. We got nothing, Sam. Nothing, okay? See, the only thing I can do, is I can work on the car and bond with my daughter in the process." Dean kneeled down on one knee.

"Well, we got something all right," said Sam, taking a cell phone out of his pocket. "That's what I came out here to tell you. It's one of Dad's old phones. Took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail. Listen to this." He held the phone out to Dean.

Dean stood back up, taking the phone from him and put it to his ear, listening to a message from some woman named, Ellen he didn't know of and handed it back.

"That message is four months old," Sam explained.

"Dad saved that chick's message for four months?" he asked.

"Yeah," he said.

"Who's Ellen? Any mention of her in Dad's journal?"

"No. But I ran a trace on the phone number and I got an address."

Dean shrugged, "Ask Bobby if we can use one of his cars."

"Do I have to stay, Dad?" Sarah asked. "I'd rather be with you right now."

Dean ran his right hand through her hair, "No, baby girl, you can come if you want. It's not a hunt. We're just gonna go see who this Ellen is and come right back."

She nodded.

"Come on. Let's go get cleaned up before we head out." Sam watched as Dean led his daughter inside the house.


	47. Chapter 47: Meeting New Friends

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 47

Sarah sat in the front bench of an old minivan, behind her father. Her forehead was against the window as she stared out, clutching her monkey to her. Her grandfather dying right there in front of her played in her mind as if it was on a loop. She closed her eyes as his last words echoed. Sarah couldn't believe he was gone. Why do good things happen to good people? They were starting to be a family. Sarah was starting to have just what she and her father wanted. She had realized couple days ago, John had probably made a deal. His life for Dean's. Deal-making was also in her book, but normally it took place at crossroads. Where did he find one?

Dean pulled up to an old roadhouse joint. Sarah lifted her head to look straight out through the front window. It looked like they should be riding up on horses to that place.

Dean turned the engine off. "This is humiliating," he complained to himself, out loud and stepped out of the van, shutting the door. "I feel like a frigging soccer mom."

Sam got out of the front seat, shutting his door and opening up the side door for his niece. "It's the only car Bobby had running," he explained. "Besides, you do have a daughter." Sam laughed as his brother scowled at him.

"You see me driving her to soccer practice?" he asked.

Sam tried to lift Sarah out of the van to help her, but Sarah was sitting down and sliding out of the van herself. "I wish Sarah could play soccer, actually," he shrugged after shutting the side door and walked around the van to Dean's side.

Sarah didn't say anything to her uncle about how she'd rather play baseball than soccer. She kept quiet, standing beside her father, leaning her head against him. Dean did though, sort of.

"Nah, I see Sarah more of playing little league." The three of them looked around and peeked inside the place, trying to see if anyone was home. It seemed deserted. So Dean used a lockpick to break in. Looking inside, it was quiet with someone sleeping on a pool table.

"Hey buddy," Sam tried to wake the guy as Dean stepped closer to him. "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen."

Dean agreed.

Sam went into another room to check out the rest of the place. Sarah walked beside Dean as he headed towards the kitchen. Dean felt something dig into his back. "Oh God, please let that be a rifle," he hoped.

Sarah looked back and saw a pretty, young woman looked to be around Sam's age, holding a shotgun rifle up to the middle of Dean's back. Thinking fast, she jumped up and grabbed the shotgun out of the young woman's hands before she even knew what was happening, and pointed it to her.

The young woman was surprised. "Wait, you're a little kid?" she asked, amazed.

"Who you calling, little kid?" Sarah glared back at her. "You Ellen?" She nodded up at the young woman.

"No, I am. Who's asking?" The three of them turned their heads to see Sam walking back into the room with his hands folded behind his head and an older woman following him, pointing a pistol at him.

Dean looked between the women. "I'm Dean. This is Sarah and that's Sam." He nodded over at his brother.

The older woman, Ellen looked between the boys. "Sam? Dean?" She gave one last look between them. "Winchester?"

"Yeah," all three said in union.

"Son of a bitch," she said.

"Mom, you know these guys?" the younger woman asked her.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys." Ellen laughed as the Winchesters stared at her. She lowered the pistol. "Hey, like I said, I'm Ellen. My daughter, Jo."

"Hey," the young woman, Jo told them. "Can I have my gun back?"

Sarah lowered her guard and gave the shotgun back.

"Thanks. You're pretty good, kid. Not bad, considering you only have one, good arm."

Dean grinned, placing a hand on top of his daughter's head, "Of course. She is a Winchester after all."

"So what can I do for you boys?" Ellen asked them.

"You called our dad, said you could help," he told her, sitting back on a barstool that was behind him. "Help with what?"

"Well, the demon of course," she replied. "I heard he was closing in on it."

Sarah was trying to climb up onto the barstool next to her father, having more difficulty. She really hated having no use of her left arm and couldn't wait until her shoulder healed. Dean stood up again to help her.

"Was there an article of Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed?" he asked, lifting his daughter up to set her on the barstool. "I mean, who are you? How do you know about all this?"

"Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad a long time ago. John was like family once."

"Oh yeah? How come he never mentioned you before?"

"You'd have to ask him that," she told him.

Sarah looked away, looking around at the décor while Dean asked, "So why exactly do we need your help?"

"Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if…" Ellen stopped in mid-sentence and shifted her weight. "He didn't send you."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other.

"He's all right, isn't he?"

"No," Sam replied. "No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think and um, it just got him before he got it, I guess."

Sarah's emotions were starting to take over. She jumped down from the barstool and ran over to one of the arm chairs that were around a coffee table, curling up into a ball. After watching her, Dean stood up and walked over to her, lifting her up into his arms, being careful of her shoulder.

Ellen watched the scene, "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," he told her, comforting his daughter. "We're all right."

"Really," she said. "I know how close you and your dad…"

Dean looked over at her, "Really, lady, I'm fine."

No one said anything for a moment until Sam said, "So look. If you can help we could use all the help we can get."

Dean looked over at his brother when he said that.

"Well, we can't," Ellen admitted, sharing a look with her daughter before looking back at Sam. "But Ash will."

"Who's Ash?" asked Sam.

"Ash?" she called.

Everyone turned as the guy sleeping over on the pool table violently stirred from a deep sleep. "What?" he called back and looked over his shoulder. "Closing time?"

Sam looked at Jo, pointing back at Ash, "That's Ash?" he asked.

Jo nodded, smiling at him, "Mm-hm. He's a genius."

The guy, Ash stood up and walked over to the bar, taking Sarah's seat. Sam hurried back out to the van to fetch his father's research, bringing it back inside and dropped it on the bar.

Dean was standing at the bar, holding Sarah on his right side. "You gotta be kidding," he scoffed, smiling. "He's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie."

Ash looked over at Jo, who was standing on the other side of the bar. He looked back at Dean, "I like you."

"Thanks," he replied.

"Just give him a chance," Jo told Dean.

Dean looked from Jo to Ash before shifting his daughter so he could sit down, setting her on the bar. "All right," he said, touching the overstuffed folder, "this stuff's a year's worth of our dad's work. So, uh…" Dean pushed it over to Ash. "Let's see what you make of it."

Ash opened it up and pulled out a stack of papers and began going through it, shaking his head at it. "Come on. This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody that can track a demon like this."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks again. "Our dad could," Sam shrugged, like it was a well-known fact.

He looked up at them then returned to shifting through the papers. "These are nonparametric statistical overviews," Ash explained. "Cross-spectrum correlations. I mean…damn." He couldn't believe how organized and put together the research was. "They're signs. Omens. If you can track them, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning? It ain't fun."

"Can you track it or not?" Sam asked, impatiently.

"Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time. Give me…" Ash thought on it, shutting his eyes. Opening them, he said, "Fifty-one hours," and walked away.

Dean was leaning on his arms that were wrapped around Sarah, on the bar. "Hey man," he called after Ash.

"Yeah," he replied, turning around slowly.

"By the way, I, uh, dig the haircut."

Ash pointed to his hair, "All business up front…" and ran it along the side, flipping his hair out. "…and party in the back."

Sam chuckled to himself as Sarah said, "I like him. He's cool." Dean watched Jo walk around the bar, not paying Sarah any attention. Sam noticed a folder sticking out, behind a police scanner, "hey Ellen, what is that?"

Ellen looked over there. "It's a police scanner. We keep tabs on things."

Dean swung around and walked over to where Jo was cleaning tables, setting Sarah on his seat.

"No, no, no. The folder," Sam corrected.

Ellen paused before walking over to grab it, "Uh. I was gonna give this to a friend of mine. But…take a look if you want," and set it in front of him and looked over at Sarah. "Want something to drink, little one?"

She nodded. "Yes, please."

"What ya have?" Ellen smiled, sweetly at her. "We got Coke, Root beer, and we may have some milk, too."

"Do you have chocolate milk?" Sarah asked.

"You know, we just might." Ellen went in the back to double check as Sam went through the folder. After a few minutes, she came back and set a glass of chocolate milk in front of her.

Sarah took it, taking a long drink.

"What do you say, Peanut?" Sam reminded her, not looking up.

She stopped, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand as she finished swallowing. "Thank you, Miss Ellen," Sarah thanked her, politely.

"You are welcome, sweetheart," Ellen replied. "Let me know if you want some more, all right?"

Sarah nodded.

Dean was over talking to Jo about how her mother got into hunting. Jo explained that her father was a hunter who died when she was a kid.

"Sorry to hear about your dad," she was saying now.

Dean nodded, raising his eyebrows before looking away. "Yeah," he said, quietly. "So, uh…I guess I got fifty-one hours to waste. Maybe tonight we should…" Dean thought on what he was saying and then changed his mind. "No, you know what? Never mind."

Jo looked at him, "What?"

Dean looked away again, "Nothing, just, uh… wrong place, wrong time."

"You know, I thought you were gonna toss me some cheap pick up line," she told him, making him laugh. "Most hunters come through that door, think they can get in my pants with some pizza, a six-pack, and side one of Zeppelin IV."

"What a bunch of scum bags," he stated.

Jo shook her head, smiling, "Not you."

Dean shrugged, "I guess not."

Sam called Dean over to check out the folder he was still reading.

He walked over to his brother, "Yeah?"

"A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of," Sam explained. "Looks to me like this may be a hunt."

"Yeah, so?" shrugged Dean.

"So I told her we'd check it out."

"We can't, Sam," he said.

"Why not?"

"Sam, Sarah has a dislocated shoulder still healing. She can't hunt yet," Dean reminded his brother.

"She can stay here," Ellen offered. "We'll keep an eye on her for you."

Dean replied, "Thanks but no thanks."

"Why not, Dean?" asked Sam.

"Sam, you're willing to leave your niece with a bunch of strangers we just met?"

"If Ellen's a friend of Dad's, then we shouldn't have anything to worry about. It's not that far away."

"Trust me, Sarah will be well protected and taken care of," Ellen assured him.

"I said no. Look Sam, we didn't come here to hunt," Dean turned back to Sam. "If we did, I would have left her with Bobby."

Sarah reached out and grabbed her father's arm. "Dad, if there are innocent people getting killed, then you should go and help them," she told him. Sarah didn't want her father to leave either but she knew that lives were at stake here that he and Sam could save.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "I'm not leaving you here, baby girl."

"Dad, I'll be fine. Remember when we rescued Grandpa from those demons?"

"You weren't injured then," he pointed out.

"Dad, those people are gonna die if you don't go help them," Sarah argued with her father.

"Some other hunter can take care of it."

Sarah glared at her father. "Quit being hard-headed, Dad. What if there are no other hunters for a while? What if more die that you could have saved?"

Both Ellen and Jo were impressed by the little girl, exchanging looks between each other.

Sam backed his niece up. "Peanut's got a point there, Dean."

Dean looked at his brother and over at Ellen. "You have my word. Your daughter will be fine," she assured him again.

He did not want to give in but he knew he wouldn't hear the last of it from his daughter. _Why did Sarah have to have such a loving and caring heart?_ Dean thought to himself. "Fine," he finally gave in. "But if anything happens, baby girl, call me. Okay?"

She nodded at him.

Dean went outside to bring in his daughter's duffel bag and monkey.

Sam squatted down to give his niece a hug, who was standing by the door, and kissed the side of her head. "We'll be back. Okay, Peanut?"

"Okay, Uncle Sammy," Sarah hugged him back.

Sam rubbed her back a few times before letting go and stood up so Dean could hug her, good-bye. Dean kneeled down and pulled his daughter into a tight embrace.

"You're more trusting than I am, baby girl," he mumbled in her ear.

"I'm just good at seeing when someone's good," she replied.

Dean kissed the side of her head, holding it for a long time and then held his head against hers. Finally he stood up, ruffling her hair. "Be good, got it?" he smirked, knowing she would. Dean knew Sarah hated disappointing him and tried hard not to cause trouble.

Sarah grinned in return. "I will, Dad."

Dean turned to Ellen and Jo, "Make sure she ices that shoulder an hour before bed. Otherwise, the kid's pretty much independent. Easiest baby-sitting job one can ever have."

"Dad, I'm not a baby," Sarah told him, folding her right arm into the sling she was wearing, lightly.

"Fine, kid-sitting. Satisfied?"

Sarah smiled again, nodding and Dean gave her one last kiss before following his brother outside to the van. The boys got in and not long after, drove off in the direction of the town the murders were taking place in.


	48. Chapter 48: Dealing with Feelings

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 48

"You got to be kidding me," Dean said as he drove down the highway towards the town the murders were taking place in. "A killer clown?"

"Yeah," Sam replied. He was holding a flashlight over the news articles he was looking over again in the folder, open in his lap. "He left the daughter unharmed and killed the parents. Ripped them to pieces, actually."

"And this family was at a carnival that night?" he asked.

"Right, right. The Cooper Carnival."

Dean shrugged, focused on the road ahead, "So, how do you know we're not dealing with some psycho in a clown suit?"

"Well, the cops have no viable leads," explained Sam, "and all the employees were tearing down shop. Alibis all around. Plus, the girl said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. Cops are saying trauma, of course."

"I know what you're thinking, Sam," Dean smirked. "Why did it have to be clowns?"

Sam looked at his brother and rolled his eyes, returning to the folder in his lap, "Oh, give me a break."

He laughed, "You didn't think I remembered, did you? Come on, you still bust out crying whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television."

"At least I'm not afraid of flying," Sam pointed out.

"Planes crash," he replied.

"And apparently, clowns kill."

Dean did not respond to that not finding anything to say. Sarah had a reason to be afraid of flying since she was on a plane during a storm with her grandfather, Greg at a young age and it ended up having enough turbulence to scar a kid for life. Dean just did not prefer being on a plane when he knew there could be a chance for it to crash. "So these types of murders," he finally changed the subject back to the job, "they ever happen before?"

"Uh, according to the file," Sam said, looking it over, "1981. The Bunker Brothers Circus. Same M.O. It happened three different times, three different locales."

"It's weird though. If it is a spirit, it's usually bound to a specific locale. You know, a house or a town."

"How's this one moving from carnival to carnival?" Sam asked.

"Cursed object, maybe," guessed Dean. "The spirit attaches itself to something, the carnival carries it around with them."

Sam groaned, "Great. Paranormal scavenger hunt."

"Yup," he said. "This case was your idea. By the way, why is that? You were awfully quick to jump on this job."

"So?" Sam shrugged.

"It's just not like you, that's all. I thought you were hell-bent-for-leather on the demon hunt."

He shrugged again, "I don't know. I just think, taking this job, it's what Dad would've wanted us to do."

Dean looked over at his brother, "What Dad would have wanted?"

"Yeah."

Dean looked forward again, in disbelief.

"So?" he questioned.

Dean gave a quick look at him before turning back to the road. "Nothing," he said.

Sam looked back at his brother for a moment, not saying anything before returning to the folder again. After ten minutes of silence, Sam looked up, ahead, thinking of his niece back at the roadhouse and how close she was to his brother. "Hey, uh, Dean."

What?" he replied, still focused on the road.

"Sarah didn't want me to say anything but back at the hospital before you woke up, a boy asked her out. I think there might be a spark between them. She sneaks off in the middle of the night to call him."

Dean kept juggling his focus on his brother and the road. "What boy? How old is he? Where's he from?"

Sam tried to stifle a smile. There wasn't a boy, he just wanted to get Dean's reaction but he continued. "His name's Tim, a year older than her. Already talking about prom and even getting married. They want to name their kids, Dean Jr., Frank, and Melody." Sam looked away, hiding his grin since he couldn't mask it anymore, not expecting Dean to whip out his phone and go into his contacts, looking up Ellen's number he had gotten before they left. He snapped back at his brother when he heard Dean tell Ellen to put his daughter on the phone.

Sarah sat at the bar, a stack of Pokémon cards in front of her, facedown as she slumped over with her chin on the edge of the bar. She drew a card from the top of the deck and placed it next to another that was faced up, putting the Pokémon card that lost into a pile to the side. The place was a little busy now with other hunters.

Sarah wasn't paying anyone else attention and did not hear Jo walk up. "What'cha got there?" Jo asked, wiping off the bar around the little girl's card game. When she didn't respond, Jo bent over to stare at Sarah at eye level. "Hello? Earth to Sarah. Come in, over."

Sarah looked up with just her eyes as Jo smiled at her and repeated what she had asked before. "My Pokémon cards," Sarah replied. "I don't have anyone to battle with so I'm battling myself."

Jo had stood up again. "Oh, cool. I remember that came out when I in middle school, I think. You like that?"

Sarah lifted her head to nod, yes and then lowered it back down onto her chin.

Jo watched as she continued to wipe down the bar. Sarah was drawing another card, placing it next to the victor of the last battle. Finally, Jo asked, "Mind if I ask what happened to your mom?"

"Combination of the demon and a brain tumor," she replied not looking up.

"How long ago did she pass away?"

"A year next month."

"I'm sorry to hear that, I know how it feels to lose a parent as a kid," Jo told her.

"I'm fine," Sarah said like her father would respond.

Jo happened to look over where her mother was working in the kitchen, exchanging looks between each other. Finally, Ellen called over to Sarah, "Gettin' hungry yet, Sarah? I can fix you a grilled cheese if ya like."

Sarah shrugged, "Sure."

The phone on the wall behind the bar rang. Ellen stopped washing a glass, grabbing a hand towel on the way to answer it, drying her hands. "This is Ellen," she said. "Dean? Calm down, here she is." Ellen stretched the phone over to where Sarah was sitting, who had lifted her head when she heard her father's name.

"Dad?" she asked into the phone. "What's wrong?"

"What's this I hear about a boyfriend?" Dean demanded of his daughter. "Just because I tease you about it, doesn't mean I want you start dating already. You're only eight."

Sarah looked like she had no clue what her father was talking about. "Dad, I don't have a boyfriend. Who said I did?"

"Sam says a boy at the hospital asked you out," he told her. "You are too young to be talking marriage and kids, young lady."

"Dad, I do not have a boyfriend. The only ones I talked to at the hospital besides our family was Papa, Gram, and Mark, that's it. I swear. I was too busy worrying about you to see if there was even any other kids there," she tried to tell him, honest as she could.

Dean looked over at his brother who had an _oh, shit!_ look on his face. Sam did not mean to take this that far. He didn't think Dean would lose it. At least not that far.

"Dean, I was kidding. I really did not mean it," Sam tried to dig his way back out of the grave he had just dug himself into.

Dean glared over at him before rolling his eyes away. "Sorry about that, baby girl. But just know this, just because I tease you about that stuff, I don't want you dating until you're my age. Got it? And I want to meet this guy first and he has to be approved by myself, Sam, and possibly Bobby too just to play it safe."

"Considering I still think boys in that way are still disgusting to me, that will not be a problem," Sarah assured her father.

"Okay, baby girl," he grinned, glad to hear his only daughter say that about boys. "Aside from that, are you okay? I hear a bunch of people. Is the place packed now?"

Sarah looked back around the place at all the hunters, talking and drinking. "Yeah, I didn't know there were so many hunters out there besides our family."

"There's hunters all over the place out there, we just don't make it known. We don't gather in groups and hold raffles. Just make sure you stay in Ellen or Jo's sight. Understand? Do not talk to any of them."

"What if they talk to me first?" Sarah asked. "I can't ignore them that'll be rude."

"Tell them your dad says you can't talk and if they have a problem they can deal with me. Still can't believe I let you and Sam talk me into leaving you behind." Dean was mostly thinking out loud with that last part.

"Dad, I'll be fine, all right? Remember, I took down my six-foot tall uncle with one punch," she reminded him. "And you taught me everything I know. You said it yourself, I'm a Winchester." The roadhouse got deathly quiet when the name Winchester was mentioned.

Jo looked up from pouring a glass of beer for a forty-three-year-old, rugged-looking hunter as Sarah noticed, too.

She looked back, scanning around the room, "This is awkward," Sarah said.

Dean knew what she meant. He was wondering why it had gotten so quiet in the background.

Ellen came to Sarah's rescue, "Uh, Sarah, could you come help me with something?" she asked.

"Sure, Miss Ellen," she replied. "I have to go, Dad. Miss Ellen needs help."

"All right, baby girl," he said. "I will see you when we get back. I love you."

"Love you, too, Dad." Sarah handed Jo the phone who hung it up before gathering up her Pokémon cards and jumped off the stool. She hurried into the kitchen catching murmurs of _There's another Winchester?_ and _That's gotta be Dean Winchester's kid_. "Yes, Miss Ellen?" Sarah asked of her.

Ellen was busy cooking. "Maybe you should hang out in here until closing time," she suggested. "I didn't think how much you being a Winchester would make a fuss around here. Word can spread among hunters."

"Okay," she shrugged. "Need any help for real?"

"Nah, it's not as busy as it usually is. Everything's under control," Ellen smiled at her.

Sarah walked over to the kitchen table that was in there and sat down in one of the chairs.

Ellen watched her as she grilled a couple steaks, flipping them over now and then. "So, what did your dad want?"

"Uncle Sam told him I had a boyfriend now," she replied, restarting her card game. "I don't though and I don't want one. Boys can be my friend. I don't mind that."

"So you don't like boys unless they are your friend," Ellen tried to figure out. "Seems like a good idea. You have a long life ahead of you."

"Dad says I can't date until I'm twenty-seven, and he, Uncle Sam, and Uncle Bobby has to meet him first," she explained what Dean had told her.

"Uncle Bobby? Bobby Singer?" she asked Sarah.

"Yeah. You know him?" Sarah asked, too.

"There is rarely a hunter I don't know, but yeah, I know him. Haven't talked in while, though."

Sarah was sitting back against the back of the chair, looking over at Ellen. "We're staying at Uncle Bobby's house while Dad and I rebuild the car. My dad has the coolest car ever. It's a 1967 Chevy Impala. Grandpa gave it to Dad for his eighteenth birthday and Dad's gonna pass it to me when I turn eighteen. Uncle Sam is mad about that but Dad says he trusts me more to take care of it because Uncle Sam doesn't know anything about cars like we do."

"How old are you, sweetie?" Ellen had been wondering how old Sarah was since she heard the kid speak.

"Eight."

"Eight?" she asked, surprised. "Wow, I'm impressed. I thought you were eleven."

Sarah sighed, "I get that a lot. I have a high IQ for someone my age and a good memory."

"Bet your mom and dad are proud," Ellen smiled.

She shook her head. "My mom was never proud of anything I did. Dad says I make him proud every day, though."

"I heard you telling Jo out there, she passed away a year ago. What did you mean by a combination of the demon and a brain tumor?" Ellen was making up a couple dinner plates now.

Sarah explained about what really caused the tumor to grow, eventually leading into her past as Ellen moved around the kitchen, tending to customers' orders and washing dishes. The conversation carried on passed closing time. By the time, Sarah knew it, she, Ellen, and Jo were having a late dinner at the table.

"I'm so sorry you had a mom like that," Jo said.

Sarah shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I'm fine," she said. "I have my dad and uncles, and that's all I need…I guess." Sarah looked down at what was left of the macaroni and cheese Ellen had made for her, thinking about her grandfather again.

"Is there something else you want to talk about?" Ellen asked, concerned.

She shook her head at her dinner, "No, I said I was fine."

"We're here if you want to talk," said Jo. "Is it your mom?"

Sarah shot her head up at them, "What part of fine don't you get?"

"Don't yell at us," Ellen told her in a stern voice. "We just figured since you opened up to us already, you're comfortable talking with what's bugging you. If you don't want to talk, that's fine."

Sarah sat there, staring at her food still. "I'm sorry, Miss Ellen, Miss Jo. Mind if I be excused?"

"Yes you may. Want that ice for your shoulder now?"

She nodded, slowly.

Ellen stood up and headed to the freezer to make up an ice pack, putting ice cubes into a sandwich bag and wrapped it in a paper towel. Sarah tossed her leftover food into the trash and put her bowl in the sink before taking the ice pack from Ellen, thanking her and headed to the extra bedroom in the back.

Sarah lied down on one of the beds, on her right side and held the ice pack to her shoulder, wishing her father was there. After lying there for an hour, Ellen knocked on the door, sticking her head in.

"Hey, I wanted to check on you. I'm heading to bed, need anything?" she asked.

Sarah shook her head, not looking up.

"I'm straight down the hall if you need anything and Jo's across the hall. Okay?"

She nodded, this time.

Ellen stepped into the room to set Sarah's cards on top of her duffel bag. "You left your cards in the kitchen. They're on top of your bag." Ellen watched her lay there, staring at the far wall on the other side of the room. Every motherly instinct told her to go over and hug the little girl but she stifled it. "Bathroom's right next to you on the left. Good night."

"'Night," Sarah replied, somberly.

Ellen left, shutting the door behind her.

Sarah pulled out the photo she had given back to John and stared at her grandfather as a tear flowed down her cheek.

"Hello, Sarah."

Sarah jumped, lifting her head to see the demon sitting on the other bed, smiling at her. Angrily, she sat up. "What are you doing here?"

"Just thought I'd check up on you. You know, see how you're doing," he said.

""What did you do to my grandpa?"

"Nothing, it was all his idea," the demon shrugged. "I just helped him help your dad."

Sarah eyed him, suspiciously, "I don't believe you. What are you talking about?"

"Now Sarah, I figured of the three of you, you'd be able to figure out what your grandfather did. Your daddy mysteriously wakes up and then your grandfather dies. Think about it."

She bit her lower lip. Sarah did not want it to be true but feared her grandfather had made a deal with the demon to save her father. "But I thought you get ten years. Why did Grandpa die now?"

The demon leaned on his left knee. "Let's just say, he got a raw deal," he smirked.

Sarah leaped to her feet. "You're supposed to give him ten years, that's the deal. That's what it says in my book."

"Not necessary, it depends on the person and how valuable the soul is."

"So my grandpa is down in hell, right now?" she questioned the demon.

"Experiencing the worse pain imaginable," the demon smirked.

"You son of a…" Sarah made a dash for her bag, grabbing her gun, pointing it at the demon who continued to smile.

"Wrong gun, Sarah, you need this, remember?" The demon pulled the Colt out from inside his jacket.

Sarah stared at it, seeing if she could make it come to her. She figured if she just thought about her father in danger, it could work but it didn't and only caused a headache.

The demon smirked again, "See ya later, Sarah." And with that, he was gone, leaving Sarah alone.

Sarah lowered the gun and fell back against the door, more tears falling. A knock on the door snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Everything all right, Sarah?" she heard Jo call through the door. "I heard you talking to someone."

"No, just talking to myself," Sarah called back, lying.

"Okay," it sounded like Jo didn't believe her but did not argue. "Good night."

"Yeah. Good night." Sarah listened until she was sure Jo had gone into her own room and walked over to climb on to the bed, sitting back on her legs. She stared at the pillow before she started punching it, repeatedly with her right fist. "Stupid demon! Stupid demon! Stupid demon! You ruin everything!" she said, out loud, trying to keep her voice down. "I hate you!"

Sarah thought about her grandfather and what she had learned in Sunday school about what hell was like which only made her anger rise even more as she got louder, tears pouring from her eyes. It eventually brought Ellen, Jo, and Ash in.

Ellen opened the door as Ash asked, "What the hell is going on in here?"

They watched as Sarah continued punching the pillow, screaming out her hatred for all demons now. Ellen and Jo hurried over and grabbed a hold of the little girl, trying to calm her down.

Sarah out of nowhere clung onto Ellen, surprisingly both women. Ellen didn't fight it, though. She rubbed the girl's back as she held her in her arms. "Settle down, you're okay," Ellen assured her as Sarah sobbed into her left shoulder.

Jo watched, standing beside the bed now. Ash had gone back to his room. Ellen and Jo exchanged looks between each other as Ellen continued to hold Sarah. After a while, Sarah cried herself to sleep. Jo had noticed the picture of John and his boys and picked it up to get a better look at it as Ellen laid Sarah down, on the well-fluffed, one could say, pillow and Jo passed the picture to her mother.

Ellen took it and looked the picture over, recognizing John. At least they knew what was wrong with her now.


	49. Chapter 49: Breaking Down Walls

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 49

It was midmorning around nine o'clock. The roadhouse was deserted again of hunters. Sarah sat at the coffee table on the floor with her chin pressed to it as she stared at a glass of water, trying to focus on it. She remembered how she was able to send the demon flying across the room. If only she could get control of her powers, they may have a better fighting chance the next time. Sarah scrunched her forehead, thinking of her grandfather dying, figuring the same thing would work like it did the night before with the Colt.

As Sarah continued, Ash walked by, noticing her staring at a glass of water. "What the…"

"Ash!" Ellen called from the bar.

"It's okay," Sarah assured, "my dad cusses, too. I already know every word."

Ellen returned to preparing for the day.

Ash shook his head and walked away as Sarah continued staring at the glass. _Come on!_ She thought as she tried to move it. After five minutes, Sarah thought of her grandfather, father, and uncle all killed by the hands of the demons not really thinking of the consequences. The glass started to shake as rings rippled on the surface of the water. Once she saw the demon laugh as her family laid there, not moving, bloody and beaten up, the glass flew across the room, crashing against the far wall into a dozen pieces.

Sarah shot up to her feet in shock and turned to Ellen, "Sorry, Miss Ellen! I didn't think it would do that."

"What was it you were trying to do?" she asked, grabbing a broom and dust pan and walked over to where the glass had broken.

Sarah hesitated, not sure how to explain it. "Uh. Um. Well, you see…Nothing. I'll clean it up, Miss Ellen." She walked over and took the broom and dust pan from her, squatting down to start sweeping, being careful not to cut herself.

Ellen watched her clean up the mess and then walk over to one of the arm chairs, sitting down. Sarah just sat there, staring off into space. Ellen wished she knew what was going on inside that head of hers, but figured it was something to do with her grandfather.

"You sure you don't want to talk?" she urged Sarah.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Sarah replied.

Ellen let out a long breath before returning to her work.

The following morning, Sam called the roadhouse this time, asking about the homicidal clown they were hunting. Ellen took a guess and said it was a Rakshasa, a race of ancient Hindu creatures. She explained how a Rakshasa appears in human form and feeds on human flesh. They can also make themselves invisible and cannot enter a home without being invited first. Rakshasas live in squalors, sleeping on a bed of dead insect, feeding every twenty to thirty years. Only way to kill a Rakashasa is with a dagger made of pure brass.

Sam thanked Ellen and was about to end the conversation when she interrupted him. "Sam, I'm worried about Sarah. She doesn't seem to be taking your father's death quite well," she explained.

"You mean keeping it held in?" he asked. ""Yeah, Dean's doing it, too. None of them are talking about it, won't let me help or anything."

"That's not what I mean." Ellen told Sam about the first night and the day before. Only Ellen didn't see what Sarah did with the glass and assumed she had thrown it. "Jo has tried to talk to her. I've tried. No one can get through to her and I'm worried it's gonna destroy her from the inside out. Sarah doesn't seem to want to run around and be a kid."

"Actually, as long as I've known her the past year, she isn't the kid who runs around and acts like a normal kid but I understand what you're saying and you're right. Sarah isn't the out-of-control kid who throws or punches things. Something's up and I know Sarah knows something," Sam explained, walking a way's away behind his brother.

"How do you figure?" she asked.

"Sarah was the last to see my dad alive. She says she doesn't know but I think she does."

"Of course, someone that young seeing their grandfather die. We'd all be scarred too. The question is what did she see?"

Sam shook his head, "I have no idea. Look, I doubt she'll talk to any of us, but maybe if I can talk to Dean, maybe the two of them can share and care with each other. I mean, they are dealing with the same feelings, basically, and Sarah is closest to him."

"If Dean won't talk to you, what makes you think he'll open up to a child? Even if it's his own."

"Because I've seen how Dean is with his daughter. It's like Sarah has the ability to make him all soft and cuddly. Dean was never like that, he's the tough, macho guy not a teddy bear," he explained.

"Fatherhood can do that to a person, sometimes," Ellen shrugged before she happened to look over to see Sarah coming from the bedrooms, rubbing the sleep from her eye and still in her pajamas. "Sarah's up, Sam. Want to talk to her?"

"Yeah, put her on," he replied.

Ellen held the phone up telling Sarah it was her uncle. Sarah walked around the bar and took the phone.

"Hey Uncle Sam, did you kill the psycho clown yet?" she asked into the phone.

"Not yet, we had to call Ellen to see what it was we were up against," he told her and explained what Ellen had said.

"I hate clowns," she stated.

Sam had to smile at that. "So do I, Peanut. They scare ya, huh?"

"Scare me? What idiot is scared of clowns? I'm talking about how dumb it is to put paint your face and wear shoes ten times your size just to get a laugh from children. Get a job, pal."

"Thanks for that, Peanut," he told her, shaking his head.

Sarah realized her uncle must have had a fear of clowns. "Oh crap. Sorry, Uncle Sammy. I didn't mean to call you an idiot. Did you see _It_ , too?"

"See what?" he asked.

"The movie," she said.

"What movie?"

Sarah let out an annoyed breath. " _It_."

It finally clicked in what Sarah meant. "Oh, you mean, Stephen King's _It_. No, I didn't see it. No, it was just something your dad did when we were kids."

"What'd he do? Hide in the closet and jump out at you while wearing a clown suit?" she asked.

"No," Sam answered before changing the subject away from clowns. "So, how are you feeling, Peanut? How's your arm doing? Are you remembering to ice it before bed?"

"Yes, but it still kind of hurts."

"Hey, could have been worse," Sam shrugged. "Your dad or me would have had to do it ourselves and that would have hurt a lot more. With as much chocolate milk you drink, it'll be healed in no time."

"I hope so," she said.

Sam could tell she was still upset over John's death by the tone of her voice and him bringing up any part of the accident did not help any. "Peanut, can you please talk to someone? I don't care who as long as you let it out. You know you can come to me about anything." He could hear his niece moan to herself. "I'm just worried about you. This isn't like you."

"I'm okay, Uncle Sam. Really," she told him in a frustrated tone. "Why can't everyone just leave it alone? I don't want to talk!" With that, Sarah dropped the phone, letting it dangle from the cord and ran back to the room she had been staying in, slamming the door shut. She then threw herself onto the bed and buried herself into her music, using headphones. She didn't come out for the rest of the day. Ellen and Jo both tried talking to her but Sarah was just too closed up. There was only one person who could get in there and he was closed up himself.

Sam talked to Dean about what Ellen had told him about Sarah. Dean brushed it off as what he had told Sarah. If he backed off and let Sarah come to him when she was good and ready, she'll eventually talk to him. It worked before and it'll work again. So Sam called Ellen back to let her know.

Once the Rakshasa was finally killed, Sam and Dean headed back to the roadhouse, getting there the following morning where Sarah ran out from her room into her father's open arms. Dean and Sarah shared an extra-long hug. The boys celebrated their victory over a couple of beers until Jo walked up, leaning on the bar beside Dean. She eyed Sam in a way that told him to leave.

Sam looked back, wondering why she was staring at him until it finally dawned on him what she wanted. "Oh, uh…um. Sarah, you said you were going to teach me that card game of yours, why don't you show me now?" he suggested.

"Now? But you and Dad just got back. I missed you guys," Sarah told her uncle.

Now it was Sam's turn to pass Jo's look to his niece.

It took a minute before Sarah took the hint that the adults wanted to talk alone. "Right. Let me go get my cards." She jumped down and hurried back to the room to grab them.

Once Sam and Sarah were gone, Jo spoke, "Cute kid you got there."

"Yup, sure is," Dean stared at his beer in his hands.

"So," she changed the subject.

"So," he repeated, looking up at her.

"Am I gonna see you again?"

"Do you want to?" he asked.

Jo thought on that before she replied, "I wouldn't hate it."

Dean stared at his beer, "Hm. Can I be honest with you?" He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Ellen was eavesdropping on their conversation. Understanding as a parent himself, he knew where she was coming from and would probably eavesdrop on his own daughter's conversations with boys. That and Dean just wasn't feeling up to it. He did not feel in the mood. "See, normally, I'd be hitting on you so fast it would make your head spin. But, uh, these days…I don't know."

"Wrong place…" Jo asked and smiled over at her mother's back. "…Wrong time?"

Yeah," he said, quietly in almost a whisper.

"It's okay, I get it."

Ash came out at that point with his computer and John's research. "Where have you guys been? Been waiting for you," he told Sam and Dean.

Sam was sitting over at one of the tables with Sarah, with her cards spread out between them on the table, "We were working a job, Ash. Clowns?"

Ash looked at him, "Clowns? What the…"

"Got something for us, Ash?" Dean asked, interrupting him.

Sam stood up and hurried back over to the bar as Sarah quickly gathered up her cards again and joined the adults, too. "Find the demon?" Sam asked, sitting down on the same stool he was sitting on before.

"It's nowhere around," Ash explained. "At least, nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises its head, I'll know."

Sarah walked up at that point and stopped dead in her tracks. She wasn't sure if she should tell them the demon had been there, three nights ago. Would it even make a difference if they knew it?

"I mean, any of those signs or omens appear anywhere in the world my rig will go off. Like a fire alarm," she heard Ash continue. So shouldn't he have noticed anything that other night? The demon was right there inside the roadhouse. Could it be Sarah had just imagined the whole thing?

Dean had tried to check it out himself on Ash's computer but quickly pulled his hand back as he got a death glare.

Sam scoffed, "Ash, where did you learn to do all this?"

"MIT. Before I got bounced for fighting," he replied.

Sarah was hanging her arm over her father's right leg. "I tried to pester him two days ago. Learn some new things, nope. Guy locked himself up in his room."

"This little punk threatened me," Ash nodded towards the little girl.

"I wouldn't have had to but you decided to call me, shorty," Sarah glared back at him.

Dean reached down and popped his daughter on her backside. "I am really not in the mood right now, Sarah Lynn. So knock it off. The next time, I hear you threatening someone and they're not killing you, you will be over my knee before you can blink," he warned her.

Sarah was rubbing her backside where it hurt, "Yes, sir."

"So," Sam changed the subject quickly. "MIT, huh."

"It's a school in Boston," Ash explained.

"Okay," said Dean, looking over at Ash, "give us a call as soon as you know something?"

"Si, Si, compadre," he replied.

Dean smiled and took one last swig of his beer before standing up. "You all packed and ready to go, baby girl?" he asked, looking down at his daughter.

Sarah hurried down the hall to the bedroom and quickly threw everything inside her duffel bag, before returning to where her father and uncle were standing by the door.

"Peanut, what do you tell Ellen, Jo, and Ash for letting you stay with them?" Sam told his niece.

Sarah set her duffel bag down and ran over to hug Ellen and Jo, thanking them. With Ash, the two of them exchanged handshakes, with Sarah trying to squeeze his hand. Ash squeezed back though, showing no mercy. She glared back at him as she walked back towards her father and uncle, shaking her hand. She walked backwards, pointing two fingers at her eyes then at him.

When Sarah was close enough, Dean cupped his hand around her head and pushed her along, out the door.

Inside the van as Dean started the engine, Sarah admitted, "I like them. Especially Miss Ellen. Hey Dad, I think Miss Jo likes you. Maybe you should date."

He rolled his eyes. "Great, my own kid is trying to hook me up." Dean looked back over his shoulder to back out. "Like I told Jo, not really into dating, right now."

Sarah grinned for the first time in a couple of weeks, "You're afraid of Miss Ellen, aren't you?"

Dean looked up at his daughter, through the rear-view mirror, "What? That's crazy, Sarah. I am not afraid of Ellen. I can take her, any time. Any day." There was a sudden knock on his window, making Dean yelp out in surprise.

It was Ellen, holding up Sarah's monkey. "I think Sarah left this behind," she said as Dean manually rolled down the window and took the monkey from her, tossing it over his shoulder.

Sarah caught it. "Thank you, Miss Ellen," she told her.

Ellen smiled back at the little girl, "You're welcome, Sarah."

When Ellen headed back inside the roadhouse, Dean rolled the window back up.

"Not afraid?" Sarah smirked at her father again. "Dad, you sounded like a girl."

"I did not and that was a yelp of surprise, not fear," he argued back.

She nodded, still smirking, "Sure, Dad. Sure."

Dean drove back to Bobby's place where he and Sarah continued working on the Impala. He continued to teach Sarah what to do, letting her help when it was something she could do. Conversations were still the same, nothing but cars. Sarah was learning pretty fast on what Dean was teaching her.

The two of them were working on putting new wheels on when Sam walked up, "You were right."

Sarah looked back at where her uncle was standing at the back of the car. "Right about what?" she asked.

"Not you, Peanut," he told her, quietly. "I mean your dad."

Dean finished tightening the bolt and stood up. "About what?" he asked, walking to the other side. Sarah followed after him.

"About me and Dad," said Sam. "I'm sorry the last time I was with him, I tried to pick a fight."

"No you're not," Sarah said without realizing it.

"Sarah, please. This is between your dad and me. You know nothing about what we are talking about," he told her.

"Really, because it seems like ever since that day when I talked to Grandpa over the phone, all I've seen and heard is you hating him. You wanted to find him but yet you bickered with or about him. Yeah, I fought with him, too and got mad but I wasn't intending too. So no, you're not sorry. Why are you even out here?"

Sam shook his head at his niece. "You want to argue with me on this then fine. Why are you even upset over this? You barely even knew our father. You met him, what a month ago for maybe five minutes. Then we spend a week together. Your dad and I, we've known him our whole lives."

Dean stepped in, "That's enough, Sam," he said. "It doesn't matter how long Sarah knew Dad for. The matter is, he was her grandfather and that what counts."

"The only reason Dad was her favorite grandfather is because Dad never punished her like her other one," Sam argued.

That heated Sarah up. "You don't even know the reason why Grandpa was my favorite, so shut up!" she snapped at him. "You don't know what it's like growing up with my other family."

"Don't tell me to shut up, Sarah," Sam scolded her. "I will wash your mouth out with soap."

Sarah glared at him.

"That's enough, both of you," Dean ended it before it got ugly. "Even with Dad gone, I still have to referee? Just cut it out. All right?"

Sam looked away, off to the side, his hands on his sides. "You may not see it, Sarah," he said, looking at his niece again, "But I do love him. And I am sorry for being angry with him all the time. It hurts to think that our dad died thinking that I hate him." His voice was cracking as he spoke. He looked at his brother, "You're right, Dean. What I'm doing right now, it's too little, too late." Sam switched back to Sarah, "I miss him just as much as you do, if not more. And I feel guilty as hell," inhaling and exhaling fast.

Sarah looked at the ground, feeling guilty for saying that to her uncle. They were all hurting. All three of them. It did hurt like hell having John gone from them, especially after spending a year searching for him. Plus, it wasn't Sarah's fault she didn't get to know her grandfather more, and Sam was sorry for always picking a fight with his father.

She looked up at her uncle and suddenly dashed over to him as Sam kneeled in the dirt. Uncle and niece shared a hug, together for a long time. "I'm sorry, Uncle Sam. I didn't mean any of it. I…"

"I know, Peanut," he replied, holding her in his arms, tightly. "I didn't mean any of it either. We both had no right to say those things." After they finally let go, Sam stood back up and looked over at his brother, who had been watching the two of them, not saying anything. "I know I'm not all right, Dean. Sarah knows it, too. And neither are you." There was a short pause before he told them he'll let the two of them get back to work and walked away.

Sarah watched her uncle head back inside the house before closing her eyes at the ground. Whoever said life was easier than death, did not know what they were talking about. Having to move on after losing a loved one, it hurt and Sarah wasn't sure if she could take any more pain. Shortly after, her thoughts were interrupted by glass shattering behind her. Sarah turned around in time to see her father with a crowbar in his hands, smashing into the trunk.

Sarah watched as her hero fall apart before her very eyes until he eventually stopped, leaning forward on his arms. She hurried over to him and hugged his legs.

Dean looked down, almost forgetting that his daughter had been standing there. "Sorry you had to see that, baby girl," he apologized.

"It's okay, Dad," she looked up at him. "I did the same thing with my fist and a pillow the first night at the roadhouse." She looked down at the dirt, "I think I scared them."

Dean stood up and lifted his daughter up onto the trunk, away from the hole he had just put into it and sat down next to her, hanging his feet off the back bumper they haven't changed yet. He leaned forward, his forearms on his knees, switching from the dirt to ahead of him, a few times. "I, um…baby girl, I seem to always forget just how much alike we are."

"I thought Uncle Sam and I were alike?" she said, picking at a loose thread on her polyester athletic shorts.

"No," he shook his head and looked back at her. "Truth is, I think you're more like me than you are Sam or your grandfather."

Sarah looked up at her father, squinting from the bright sunlight.

Dean looked away. "Sarah, you're pretty much my clone," he told her, looking at her again. "It's like looking in a mirror, sometimes. I already heard about your outbursts. I shouldn't have left you behind. I should have put my foot down. I should have been there for you."

"But Dad, all I did was punch a pillow," she shrugged. "I would have done it even with you there. You did."

He looked down again, a whole lot of stuff on his mind. "You know how you look up to me…a lot, baby girl?"

"Yeah," Sarah replied.

"How you try to be just like me and always feel the need to defend me?"

"What about it, Dad?" she asked, leaning on her elbows that dug into her legs.

Dean looked around the salvage yard with just his eyes. "You…you got that from me, too. Since as long as I could remember, I worshiped my dad. I listened to the same music, did everything he did. It wasn't just because of that night with letting that shtriga get away. I wanted to make him proud by obeying every order, being the perfect son. Until the day he died, not once did my own dad tell me he was proud of me."

"So that's how you knew the demon was possessing him?"

Dean nodded, looking at the dirt. "You know that leather jacket of mine, you like?" he looked back at Sarah.

She nodded.

"It was Dad's first."

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yup," he finally smiled. "I remember I wanted it since the day I first saw him wear it."

"Can I have it, one day, Dad?" she asked.

Dean sat up, straight to put his arm around her, "The day I die the jacket is yours."

Sarah looked at the dirt, that time. "I don't want to think about when that day comes," she told him, sadly.

Dean hugged her to him in one arm and kissed the top of her head.

"Did Grandpa really put more attention on Uncle Sam than he did you?" Sarah asked, thinking about that day when they ran into the demon.

"We were both looking out for Sam. It didn't mean he didn't love me any less," Dean assured her.

A tear appeared. Sarah quickly wiped it away. "I'm sick of crying, Dad but I can't stop. Every time I think about Grandpa, it makes my eyes all watery. How do you keep from crying? Is there a secret to it?"

"There's nothing wrong with crying, baby girl. Trust me when I say, you're a lot stronger than me if you can cry. It helps to get all that grief out of your system. Me, I'm a guy. I have to mask it. I can't just cry, I have to keep it together for you and Sam."

"But maybe you'll feel better then, Dad. You said it yourself just now, it makes you stronger. I won't tell anyone if that's what you're afraid of. I just don't want you to become depressed like Mom did. Mom wasn't a very happy person her last two years and it affected everyone else around her and herself. She never cried either…" She thought for a couple seconds, looking up at the sky. "That I know of."

Dean was looking at the ground again.

"We can cry together, if you want," she kept trying. "I'll keep doing it just for you. Grandpa's gone…" Sarah choked on some more tears, letting them fall, wiping her nose on her bare arm. "Uncle Sam was right I didn't know Grandpa for that long. That's what hurts the most about all this. For a whole year, I hear all about him and I'm hoping and praying every single day that we would find him that same day, or the next. That day, he called, I'm glad I answered your phone. If you or Uncle Sam had done it, I never would have gotten the chance. He would have hung up once he was finished giving those names." Sarah's eyes and nose ran as she continued to cry. "It's unfair I only got a short amount of time with him."

Dean rubbed her upper, left arm above the part of the sling as Sarah held her head against him. "I know, baby girl. I wish you could have had more time with him, too."

"Do you think Grandpa really did adore me?" she asked.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Maybe." Dean looked away. He could feel his face growing hot and his eyes gloss over. He tried to stifle it but his nose was starting to run and tried to sniff, quietly so Sarah wouldn't hear. Either it wasn't that quiet or she just had good hearing because she looked up.

Sarah pulled her arm that was between them and wrapped it across her father's back, rubbing it like he'd done for her. "It's okay, Dad. Really. Let it out."

Dean looked down at his daughter and stared into her eyes. It got to where he couldn't hold it any longer and broke down. Father and daughter sat there on the trunk of the car and cried, holding each other for God knows how long before Sarah was able to speak again and started singing the song again. In fact, when she finished, both of them sang it together. Dean didn't care how lame it was. All he cared about was that moment, holding his little girl in his arms.


	50. Chapter 50: Bloodlust (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 50

Dean drove down the highway, excited to be driving the Impala again. "Woo!" he yelled out. "Listen to her purr. You ever heard anything so sweet?" Dean asked Sam.

Sam just shook his head at his brother, smiling, "You know, if you two wanna get a room, just let me know, Dean."

"Oh, don't listen to him, baby," Dean assured the car, "he doesn't understand us," and looked up at the rear-view mirror to see Sarah sitting behind him, zoned out on her PSP. "Right, baby girl?"

Sarah wasn't paying her father any attention. She was trying to take her mind off life by killing some zombies. The Winchesters had stayed at Bobby's for almost a month until Dean and Sarah finished rebuilding the Impala and waiting for Sarah's shoulder to heal. Not much had changed though since she and her father had talked. Sarah was still not herself. In fact, she had been itching to get back out there and hunt so badly, she didn't care what it was. Sarah just wanted to kill something and video game zombies weren't cutting it. So when they caught wind of a possible hunt, Sarah immediately agreed.

Sam had scoffed at his brother's enthusiasm. "You're in a good mood."

"Why shouldn't I be?" Dean asked.

"No reason," he shrugged.

"I got my car. My baby girl in the back all healed up, nicely. Got a case. Things are looking up." Dean stared out his window at the passing scenery.

Sam could not believe the sudden change in his brother. Now if only he could see his niece that way. "Wow," he laughed. "Give you a couple of severed heads and a pile of dead cows…and you're Mr. Sunshine."

Dean let out a small snicker, grinning as he stared ahead again. "How far to Red Lodge?"

"Uh," Sam looked over out the front window, "about another three hundred miles."

"Good," said Dean, wanting to drive for as long as possible. Not only was he excited about how good the Impala was roaring but it was also because it was something his daughter and him built together. Dean remembered the many times when he was growing up when he and his own father was always working under the hood, fixing it up. That was only doing small things that took a few hours tops. He and Sarah actually redid everything, from the engine to the rims, and Dean was loving every moment of it. The Impala wasn't just his anymore, it was Sarah's, too and he had already given her, her first lesson of driving it. Of course, Sarah had to sit on his lap but it was something.

Upon arriving in town, the Winchesters spoke to the sheriff about what they knew first. It didn't really help and Sam got a little uncomfortable and creeped out as he noticed his niece seeming to enjoy how the sheriff was explaining how a cow drops dead.

When they were outside again, Sam noted, "Peanut, you definitely scare me, sometimes."

Sarah just shrugged.

They headed over to the morgue where Dean got the head mortician out before they got started looking over the body and the severed head.

"All right, open it," Dean nodded up at Sam.

Sam looked back at his brother like he was nuts. "You open it," he replied.

Dean sighed and lifted the box with the head inside, "You wuss," and carried it over to an examining table. He flipped the lid off as Sarah was pulling a step stool over so she could see, as well. A strong smell hit their nostrils. Dean turned the box around and stared down at the lifeless head.

Sam walked over still putting his own gloves on.

"Well, no pentagram," Dean shrugged.

"Wow," said Sam, staring at it. "Poor girl."

"Maybe we should, uh, look in her mouth. See if those wackos stuffed anything down her throat. You know, kind of like the moth in _Silence of the Lambs_ ," he suggested.

"Great movie, by the way," Sarah pointed out.

Sam pushed the box over to Dean, "Yeah, yeah. Go ahead."

"No, you go ahead." Dean pushed it back to him.

"What?" Sam asked of him.

"Put the lotion in the basket," he smiled at his brother, trying to keep a straight face.

"Right, yeah, I'm the wuss, huh."

"Oh for Pete's sake." Sarah grabbed onto the edge of the box and pulled it over towards her. She then stuck her gloved fingers in its mouth and pushed it open, examining inside, closely.

"That's my girl," Dean praised but got a look that said, _and I'm supposed to be the kid?_

Sarah continued to look inside the mouth until she noticed holes alongside the gums. "Dad, Uncle Sammy, check this out."

"You want me to throw up, don't you," Sam told her.

Sarah pulled her hands back and dropped them at her side, on the table, leaning on them. "You have seen many things in your life and have killed a lot of monsters, seeing blood and guts spill out, and you're worried about looking inside a freakin' vampire's mouth?" she questioned of her uncle.

Dean looked alarmed. "Vampire?" he questioned, too.

Sarah looked back down and lifted the head's upper lip, pushing on the gums. A porcelain white fang popped out.

"A retractable set of vampire teeth," Dean realized. "You gotta be kidding me."

"Well, this changes things," said Sam.

Dean looked at his brother, "You think?"

Sarah was biting her lower lip, starting to suck on it as she stared at the head. Why did it happen to be a vampire? Why? Yes, she wanted something to kill but why vampires? Vampires were the first hunt she went on with her grandfather and it didn't help that it was barely a little over a month ago. She didn't cry though. Even though her father said it was good to cry, Sarah was actually all cried out now. She was way passed that stage. Now, she just held what was left, in.

The Winchesters headed over the local tavern that night. Once they were inside, Dean wrapped his right arm around his daughter, protectively as they walked up to the bar.

"How's it going?" Dean greeted the bartender.

"Living the dream," he said. "What can I get for you?"

"Two beers and a ginger ale, please." Dean unhooked his arm so he could take out his wallet.

"So we're looking for some people," Sam began as the bartender turned to fish out the drinks for them.

The bartender scoffed, "Sure. It's hard to be lonely."

Sam half smiled and shared a look with his brother. "Yeah, but that's not what I meant," and unfolded a fifty dollar bill, setting it on the counter. The bartender looked at before he grabbed it. "Great, so these people, they would have moved here about six months ago. Probably pretty rowdy, like to drink."

"Yeah, real night owls, you know," Dean added, putting his beer to his lips. "Sleep all day, party all night."

"Barker Farm got leased out a couple months ago," he said. "Real winners. They've been in here a lot. Drinkers. Noisy. I've had to eighty-six them once or twice."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them before Dean thanked the bartender. They each took one last swig of their drinks, including Sarah before turning around to leave the bar, getting a suspicion they were being watched. The Winchesters headed outside and around back, splitting up. When a guy came around the corner, they jumped him, pinning him to the wall.

"Smile," Dean ordered the guy.

"What?" he questioned.

"Show us those pearly whites."

"Oh for the love of…" Dean pushed the knife closer to his throat. Sarah looked as if she was rearing to take the guy down, right then and there. "You want to stick that thing somewhere else? I'm not a vampire."

Sarah perked up when she heard him mention vampires. Was he another hunter? The curiosity fueled her attention.

"Yeah, that's right," he continued, staring at Dean. "I heard you guys in there."

"What do you know about vampires?" Sam asked of him.

The guy looked over at him with just his eyes, "How to kill them. Now, seriously, bro, that knife's making me itch." There was a moment of silence before he tried to break his arm free from the boys.

"Hey!" Sam said.

"Woah, easy there, Chachi," he told him and slowly raised it to lift his upper lip, showing them that he wasn't a vampire. "See? Fangless. Happy?"

It actually disappointed Sarah that he wasn't. She wanted to slaughter something soon before she exploded in anxiousness.

Sam and Dean took a step back, next to Sarah.

"Now, who the hell are you?" the guy demanded.

"None of your business, pal," Sarah told him, coldly which she felt her father place a hand on her shoulder, letting her know to take it easy before he introduced the three of them. Turns out, the guy's name was Gordon.

Gordon took the small family over to where he had his car parked to show them his arsenal. "Sam and Dean Winchester. I can't believe it," he smiled at them. "You know, I met your old man once. Hell of a guy. Great hunter."

Sarah looked up him, slowly. So, he knew her grandfather, huh? Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"I heard he passed. I'm sorry."

Sam and Dean nodded, not saying a word. Dean stared down at the ground.

"Big shoes," Gordon continued. "But from what I hear, you guys fill them. Even this little one here."

Sarah glared up at him at that, "Who you calling little?" she threatened.

"You, shorty," he replied.

"You know, I can have you down on your knees like that," and Sarah snapped her fingers to prove her point.

Dean grabbed the back of her new leather jacket (well, new to her anyway), and yanked her back to bend over and whispered to her, "Next chance we get, you're over my knee. Don't think I forgot what I said back at the roadhouse." He let go and stood up, apologizing to Gordon for his daughter. "You seem to know a lot about our family."

"Word travels fast. Just picked up word there was a new Winchester in the gig. You know how hunters talk."

"No, we don't actually," he said, looking over at Sam, who was staring at the guy.

"Guess there's a lot your dad never told you, huh?"

Dean looked back at him, raising his head.

"So, um," Sam began, and shifted his weight on his feet. "So those two vampires, they were yours."

"Yup. Been here two weeks," Gordon smiled.

"Check out that Barker farm?" Dean asked.

"It's a bust. Just a bunch of hippie freaks. Though they could kill you with that patchouli smell alone."

He shrugged, "Where's the nest, then?"

Gordon retracted his weapon arsenal back into his car. "I got this one covered. Look, don't get me wrong, it's a real pleasure meeting you fellas. But I've been on this thing for over a year. I killed a fang back in Austin, tracked the nest all the way up here. I'll finish it."

Sarah shrugged, "We could help you. A team is better than one."

"Thanks," he told her. "But I'm kind of a go-it-alone type of guy."

Dean smiled, "Come on, man. I've been itching for a hunt."

"Me, too," Sarah chimed in.

"Sorry," he said. "But, hey, I hear there's a chupacabra two states over. Go ahead and knock yourselves out." Gordon then got into his car. Looking back, he said, "It was real good meeting you, though. I'll buy you a drink on the flip side," and started the engine, driving away.

The Winchesters watched him leave before exchanging more looks between each other. But none of them took no for an answer and before anyone knew it they had hurried over to where Gordon was taking on a vampire at a warehouse where he was on his back with the vampire over him.

Sam pulled Gordon away from a motorized saw while Dean and Sarah charged over and took care of the vampire. Sarah had him, knocked off his feet as she and Dean went at it, and repeatedly punched the vampire in the face, not taking it easy in the slightest. All that was pent up was released into every single punch.

Dean ordered his daughter to move before dealing the final blow, sawing off the vampire's head as blood splattered all over his face. Sarah watched it like a kid on Saturday morning, watching cartoons and Dean felt like one on Christmas morning. He stood up and looked over at the others.

"So, uh, I guess I gotta buy you that drink," Gordon told him and let out a scoff that said, amazing.


	51. Chapter 51: Bloodlust (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 51

The Winchesters and Gordon sat in the bar, having a few drinks. Well, Dean and Gordon were. Sarah ordered a ginger ale. Gordon insisting on paying for everyone and toasted to another vampire dead, clinking it against Dean's, and followed by Sarah's who wanted to be a part of it.

Sam sat back, not saying a word.

"Dean," Gordon began after he chugged down his shot and chuckled. "You gave that big-ass fang one hell of a haircut, my friend.

Dean thanked him.

"That was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And Sarah," he gave a whistle, "Man, I wouldn't believe you were just a kid. I take back the "short" jokes I said."

Sarah grinned from ear to ear at him, looking at her father before returning back to the hunter. "I take back the threat too. Sorry, man."

"No, problem," Gordon told her.

Sam couldn't believe his niece wasn't picking up on the same vibe he was getting from this so-called hunter. Usually she was the one who picked it up before him, but Sarah was acting like she didn't feel anything.

Dean took another drink of his beer, noticing his brother was staring off into space, not saying anything. "You all right, Sammy?" he asked inside his drink.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam told him, quietly.

"Well, lighten up a little, Sammy," Gordon told him.

Sam shook his head towards his brother and niece, "They're the only ones who get to call me that," he responded, defensively.

Gordon looked between the brothers. "Okay. No offense meant. Just celebrating a little. Job well done."

"Right, well, decapitations aren't my idea of a good time, I guess."

"Oh, come on, man," said Gordon. "It's not like it was human. You gotta have a little more fun with your job."

"Yeah, Uncle Sammy. Lighten up, would ya," Sarah told her uncle, cheerfully. Sarah didn't know where this sudden cheerful disposition came from or if it was because she was finally able to hunt again. All she knew was that her and her father took on a vampire and won.

Sam looked over at his niece, trying to figure out this sudden change. Don't get him wrong he was glad to see Sarah smile again. It just didn't feel right around this guy.

Dean snapped his fingers, "See, that's what I've been trying to tell him." He looked over at his brother again, "You could learn a thing or two from this guy."

Sam looked at his brother as Dean took another drink then looked between the three of them. "Yeah, I bet I could," he nodded at his brother and made to stand up. "Look, I'm not gonna bring you guys down and Sarah shouldn't be in a bar in the first place. I'll take her back to the motel"

Sarah looked between her uncle and father.

Dean wiped under his right eye with his hand, "You sure?"

"Yeah," said Sam.

"I want to stay with Dad," Sarah objected to her uncle.

"A bar is no place for an eight-year-old, Peanut. Let's go."

"Since when? I've been coming into bars for the past year and it's not like I'm drinking." Sarah turned to her father for support. "Dad, can't I stay? Please?"

Sam gave an annoyed sigh.

"Come on, let the kid stay," Gordon told him.

He looked at the man, coldly but did not say anything. Instead, Sam turned back to his niece. "Let's go, Sarah."

Finally, Dean spoke up. "Sarah's fine, Sam. She can stay if she wants to. At least she knows how to have a good time."

Sam looked up, towards the ceiling, his frustration at record height now. "Seriously?" But he just left it at that and walked away.

Dean stopped him, pulling out the keys to the Impala. "Remind me to beat that buzz kill out of you later, all right?" and tossed the keys over his head which Sam caught in one hand before walking away again.

"Something I said?" Gordon asked when he was gone.

"Ah, no, he just gets that way sometimes," Dean assured him. "Tell you what…" He picked up his shot glass. "…match quarters for the next round." Dean looked at his daughter. "Want some more ginger ale, baby girl?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, please."

"Polite kid you got there," Gordon complimented once they ordered their next round.

Dean shrugged, "Sarah's other family is very proper, I guess you can say."

Both men took their shots.

Soon, Dean was telling a story about when he was sixteen, hunting a werewolf. "I'm sitting there and I'm looking into the fire and I'm thinking to myself," he told them, "I'm sixteen year old. Kids my age are worried about pimples, prom dates. I'm seeing things that they'll never even know. Never even dream of." He stared at the center of the table before he snapped out of it. "So right then, I just sort of…"

"Embraced the life?" asked Gordon, finishing for him.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Yeah."

Dean looked away, "Yeah. How'd you get started?" he asked, before taking another drink of his beer.

Gordon was looking downward. "First time I saw a vampire I was barely eighteen. Home alone with my sister. I hear the window break in her room. I grab my dad's gun, run in. Try to get it off her. It was too late. So I shoot the damn thing...which is about useful as snapping it with a rubber band. It rushes me, picks me up, and flings me across the room…" He looked away, across the bar before looking back. "…Knocks me out cold. When I wake up…the vampire's gone…my sister's gone."

Sarah was listening, intently to the story. "What happened then?" she asked him.

He was staring downward again. "Then….Try explaining that one to your family."

She and Dean nodded. "Try explaining anything to your family," Sarah added, thinking about the Holden family she still hasn't called yet. That was the last thing on her mind and she really didn't want to have to deal with them at that point.

"So I left home," he continued. "And then bummed around, looking for information. How you track them, how you kill them. And I found that fang. It was my first kill."

Dean raised his glass towards him, "Sorry about your sister."

"Yeah. She was beautiful. I can still see her, you know? The way she was." Gordon took a drink and sighed. "But, hey. That was a long time ago." He turned to look over at Sarah. "What about you, Sarah. When was your breaking point?" Gordon asked her.

Sarah thought on that, staring inside her glass again. She could feel both set of eyes on her. "The day Dad came and got me from my grandparents, I kind of already knew what he did for a living. My first hunt was a skinwalker and I guess you can say, I barely got my feet wet with that one. Even though I've been doing this for a year, I think it was back in May when I had almost lost Dad for the second time is when I finally embraced what it was I was doing. I…I don't know, it just…felt like this was what I was born to do. That it was something I had to do." Sarah looked up at her father. "I still mean it, Dad about having to protect you."

Dean let out a small grin and reached over to grip the back of her neck. "Same here, baby girl."

Sarah continued, "Then when Grandpa… All I want to do now is hunt and nothing else."

"Yeah, that's gotta be rough what happened to him," Gordon nodded between the two of them.

"Yeah," both of them replied. Dean barely glanced up but that was more than what Sarah did. She didn't look up at all.

"Yeah, you know," said Dean, touching his right ear, "he was just one of those guys. Took some terrible beatings…and just kept coming. So you're always saying to yourself, you know, he's indestructible. He'll always be around. Nothing can kill my dad. And just like that." He snaps his fingers, "He's gone." Dean took a deep breath in. "In the beginning sometime after I got Sarah, I started telling her stories about her grandfather and I think that's what hurts her the most about all this. Am I right, baby girl?"

Sarah nodded at her glass. "I started fantasizing about him. Then when I finally met Grandpa and finally got to hunt with him, it felt great. Almost as great as hunting with my dad, you know. I loved it."

He looked back at Gordon, "Can't talk about this to Sammy," and he gave a silent chuckle. "You know, I gotta keep my game face on."

"Uncle Sammy wouldn't probably understand," she said.

"Wouldn't it be harder to say this in front of your kid?" asked Gordon, confused why he was so open with his young daughter but not his brother.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know. I guess it's because there's no hiding anything from this kid." He forced a smile. "I swear it feels like this kid has me figured out in the whole year she's known me than my own brother has, the past twenty-three years. Like she's a clone of me or something. Sarah is the only one who knows I'm not handling it very well. It feels like I have this…"

Sarah had finally looked up at her father when Gordon made her, sharply turn her head. "Hole inside you?" he asked, finishing for her father again.

Dean stared at the hunter.

"And it just gets bigger and bigger and darker and darker?"

He continued to stare at him, shocked how he could know how they were feeling inside, especially Dean.

"Good," Gordon said. "You can use it. Keeps you hungry." Gordon paused for a second before continuing. "Trust me, there's plenty out there needs killing and this'll help you do it. Dean, it's not a crime to need your job."

Sarah looked over at her father, who was still staring at Gordon, letting everything sink in. She looked back down at her glass again. Sarah didn't like this feeling she had nor did she want it. In fact, she hated it and hoped getting back into hunting would rid her of this feeling. Now, she's not so sure.

Eventually, the bar grew quiet as people left. It was getting late and Sarah was growing bored as her father and Gordon kept talking and made her way over to crawl into Dean's lap, snuggling against him. She laid her head on his right arm that he kept on the arm of the chair.

Dean lifted his right arm to raise her head towards him to kiss the side of Sarah's forehead. "Tired, baby girl?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head, trying to deny it as she tried to stifle a yawn. She laid there listening to Gordon talk on about the hunting business being black and white and all this other crap and her father say how her uncle wouldn't agree. Gordon said that he wasn't wrong, he was just different. Sarah didn't like how Gordon was talking about her uncle that way. Gordon didn't know anything about him, so why should he judge him that way. And why wasn't Dean saying anything to defend his brother?

Sarah was so deep in thought she hadn't realized she had been squeezing her father's whist that was draped around her. Dean looked down at her, "Sarah, easy. What's gotten into you?"

Sarah snapped out of her thoughts and realized what she had been doing. She let go of his arm. "Sorry, Dad," she told him, silently.

"It's okay, baby girl," he assured her. "We're gonna be leaving in a little bit. Okay?"

She nodded, staring under the table.

Dean took her hand in his and kissed it, smiling at her.

Gordon was spectating from his side of the table. "It's weird to see you the warm, fatherly type after killing that vampire. If you're not careful, you could get too soft. A hunter has to be thick-skinned all the time. He can't soften his guard for anyone."

Dean looked back at the hunter with a questionable look on his face. He was starting to rethink this guy's attitude already. "I used to be thick-skinned all the time, never letting anyone in. Then I became a father. I'm not reading fairy tales and kissing boo-boos, but even I know when it's good to just hold my little girl."

Gordon shrugged, "Maybe you're not the hunter I thought you were."

"Maybe, maybe not," Dean shrugged in return.

When the men were finally ready to leave, Dean and Sarah hitched a ride with Gordon to the motel the Winchesters were staying at. When Dean opened the door, Sam was nowhere to be found.

The men sat at the table in the motel room with a map of the area spread out in front of them as Sarah leaned on the table between them. It was getting later and later and Sam still wasn't back yet.

"Car's parked outside," Gordon was saying as he looked out the window. "Probably went for a walk. Seems like the take-a-walk type."

Sarah glared at him. More and more he judged her uncle, the more he was moving from her good list to her hated list. "Can you stop, please?" she asked, trying to sound the nicest as she possibly could.

He looked at her. "Stop what?" he asked.

"Just because my Uncle Sam isn't the hunter you are, doesn't mean you can judge him like that."

"Sarah, take it easy. It's okay," Dean tried to tell her as the door opened behind him and Sam wandered in.

Sarah hurried over to her uncle and hugged his legs. Sam was caught off guard of her since he noticed Gordon was there, first.

"Where you been?" Dean asked of him.

Sam nodded towards the door, "Can I talk to you alone?"

Dean looked back at Gordon. "You mind chilling out for a couple minutes?"

Gordon was staring up at Sam and shook his head, grinning.

The Winchesters headed outside to the parking lot.

"Dean, maybe we ought to rethink this hunt," Sam began looking around.

"What are you talking about?" he asked. "Where were you?"

Sam scoffed, "In the nest."

Dean couldn't believe it. "You found it?"

"They found me, man."

"Wha…" Dean stopped in mid-sentence. "How'd you get out? How many did you kill?"

Sam shrugged, "None."

"None," Sarah questioned.

"They didn't just let you go," Dean added.

Sam smiled and stopped walking, "That's exactly what they did."

"All right, well, where is it?"

Sam put his hands on his side, "I was blindfolded. I don't know."

"You gotta know something."

"We went over that bridge, outside of town. But Dean, listen. Maybe we shouldn't go after them," he said.

Sarah asked, "Why not?"

"I don't think they're like other vampires," Sam explained. "I don't think they're killing people."

Dean stared at his brother like he was crazy, "You're joking." When Sam didn't respond, he added, "Then how do they stay alive or undead, whatever the hell they are?"

"The cattle mutilations," he said. "They live off of animal blood."

"And you believed them?"

Sam spread his arms out to the sides, "Look at me, Dean" and scoffed. "They let me go without a scratch."

"Doesn't the bite take a while before it affects its victim?" Sarah asked.

"But there's no bite on me is what I'm telling you, Peanut," he told her.

"Wait, so you're saying…" Dean was finding it hard to figure out what the heck was going on. Vampires good? Was it the end of the world or something?

Sam raised his eyebrows at him, grinning.

"No man. No way. I don't know why they let you go. I don't really care. We find them and we waste them." Dean then stormed away.

"Why?" Sam asked him and followed after him.

Dean stopped and turned back around to face his brother. "What part of vampire don't you understand, Sam? If it's supernatural, we kill it. That's our job."

"No, Dean, that's not our job," Sam argued. "Our job is hunting evil and if these things aren't killing, they're not evil."

"Of course they're killing people," he argued back. "That's what they do. They're all the same, Sam. They're not human, okay? We have to exterminate every last one of them."

Sarah was volleying her head back and forth between her father and uncle. She could see Sam growing frustrated as he held his hands over his eyes.

"No Dean. I don't think so, all right," he told his brother. "Not this time."

"Gordon's been on those vamps for a year," Dean pointed out. "He knows."

"Gordon?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah," he replied.

"You're taking his word for it?"

Dean nodded once, "That's right."

"Ellen says he's bad news."

Sarah perked up at the mention of their new ally.

"You called Ellen?" Dean questioned this time.

Sam nodded.

"And I'm supposed to listen to her? We barely even know her."

Sarah spoke up again at that point. "I trust her," she said.

Sam and Dean looked down at the little girl.

"If Miss Ellen says Gordon's bad news then I believe her."

Sam smiled down at his niece as she looked up at her father. It felt good having, at least one person come over onto his side.

Sarah continued, "Besides, it's the same with Gordon. You barely know him, too. What's different from listening to him and not her?"

"It's a substitute for our dad, Sarah," Sam realized and shrugged, "a poor one."

She looked over at her uncle, then back at her father who was looking off to the side, smiling like Sam was crazy and walked away.

Sam followed after him. "He's not even close, Dean," he told his brother. "Not even on his best day."

Dean stopped and turned around again, holding his hands up. "You know what, I'm not gonna talk about it…" he began.

Sarah hurried over to them. "Dad, is it true?" she asked.

"No, of course not, baby girl," he tried to assure his daughter. "Gordon's just another hunter we're working with."

Sam was shaking his head at his brother while Sarah could see right through her father. She missed her grandfather so much and she knew Dean missed him twice as much, but even Sarah knew you couldn't fill the hole inside of them with just anyone. It was an insult to his memory. Sam said the exact same thing she was thinking, too before Dean suddenly winded back and slugged Sam in the face.

Sarah quickly jumped between the men. "You can't be mad at Uncle Sam, Dad, for saying how he feels."

Dean stared down at his daughter. He asked, "Why not?"

"Because it's true, that's why," she told him. "I told you, Dad. I miss Grandpa, too but he still lives on in us. He lives in you, he lives in Uncle Sam. Boy does he live in Uncle Sam."

Sam cleared his throat, loudly for Sarah to move on and get to the point.

"Even when our heroes die, their memory lives on. Yeah, it hurts like hell having Grandpa gone but transferring everything over to Gordon just because he gets our feelings right isn't going to help any. Having a hole in our heart is normal when we lose a loved one. I mean, I was wrong, after all, that Uncle Sam understood us."

Dean stood there. He tried to tune out what his daughter was saying because he knew she was right, but it wasn't easy ignoring his little girl. So instead, he walked away again. Inside the motel, they noticed Gordon was gone and the keys missing as well.

As Sam looked up the directions to the vampires' farm, Dean gave his daughter her next lesson in cars: When there's no key, hot wire it, and showed her how. Once Sam figured out how to get there, they were off.

After a moment of silence, Sam looked up from the map, straight ahead before looking back over his left shoulder at his niece. "Were you just quoting _The Lion King_ back there, Peanut?"

Sarah was staring out her window on her father's side. She looked over at her uncle and said, "Maybe."

Sam couldn't help but laugh to himself.

She asked, "What?"

"What is it with you and Disney flicks?"

Sarah shrugged, "First thing to pop into my head."

Sam took that as a reasonable answer and left it at that.


	52. Chapter 52: Bloodlust (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 52

On the way to the Vampires' nest, everything was quiet. No one spoke a word. Sarah glanced over to see Sam stealing a look at Dean but neither one of didn't say anything. She looked down and pulled out the photo again, staring at it even though she could barely see it. _Wish you were here, Grandpa. We could sure use your help_ , Sarah thought to herself. Then she wondered who's side John would even take, Dean's or Sam's on whether or not these vampires should be killed or not.

Before she knew it, her father was pulling up to the nest and the three of them jumped out, going inside where they found one of the vampires sitting there, bloody and tied down. Gordon was standing next to her, holding a knife.

"Sam, Dean, Sarah," he told them, "come on in."

Sarah was looking over at the vampire. Now that her uncle had told them the vampires weren't actually killing people, she was feeling a little remorse towards the girl and her soft heart was getting the best of her. "What's going on here?" she asked Gordon, confused as well. Why was he torturing her?

"Just poisoning Lenore here with some dead man's blood," he said like it was no big deal and a smile on his face. "She's gonna tell us where all her little friends are."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them as Sarah told him, "But Uncle Sam says they're not killing anyone. Maybe we should let her and the rest of them go."

Gordon laughed at that. "You're kidding, right? They're monsters. Of course they're killing people."

She shook her head, "No, no they're not. They let him go without a scratch. What vampire do you know that does something like that?"

"Look, obviously you're just some little, snot-nose kid after all, so why don't you run along and play Barbies or have a tea party while the grown-ups take care of some business." Gordon looked over at Dean, "Come on, Dean. Want to help?"

"Look, man…" Dean didn't like how he was speaking to his daughter. "Don't talk to her that way."

Gordon shrugged at him, "It was my mistake. When I saw her with that other vampire I thought she a natural-born hunter but if she can easily be manipulated like any other kid, she's just baggage. A hunter can't be held down, you know."

Sarah made to run over to sock him where the sun doesn't shine until Dean held her back, shoving her towards his brother as he glared at Gordon. "Don't ever call my kid, baggage," he told him.

"Hey, man. Cool it, I'm sorry, okay. Looks like I crossed a line there," he replied. "You're gonna help me or not? I was just about to start in on the fingers." Gordon ran the knife he was holding along Lenore's left arm. The dead man's blood coursed through her veins, poisoning her some more.

"Woah, hey, maybe you should chill out there, huh," Dean told him.

He shook his head, "I'm completely chill."

Sam was holding his niece's shoulders, standing behind her. "Gordon, put the knife down," he told the hunter.

"Sounds like its Sammy who needs to chill."

"Just step away from her, all right?" Sam said, as calmly as he could.

Lenore was starting to gasp for breath. Gordon looked down at her then back at the Winchesters. "You're right," he finally said, tossing the knife onto the table. "I'm wasting my time here. This bitch'll never talk." Gordon went into his bag and pulled out an even bigger knife, examining it, "Might as well put her out of her misery," and looked over at Sam and Sarah. "I just sharpened it so it's completely humane."

"What's so humane about killing someone that doesn't deserve to be killed?" Sarah demanded of him.

"She's not human, kid," Gordon reminded her. "She's just a monster."

"You're the monster, maybe we should kill you," she said, coldly towards him.

"Right, well I would like to see that," he smiled at her.

Sarah just glared at him and tried to step forward to untie Lenore. She stopped, abruptly when Gordon pointed the blade at her. "I'm not touching you, I'm untying the girl," she told him.

"You're not doing anything," Gordon said, the blade inches from his face.

Dean stepped around the table, quickly pulling his daughter back towards him. "Let's talk about this, Gordon," he said, eyeing the guy.

"What's there to talk about?" asked Gordon, lowering the knife. "It's like I said, Dean, no shades of gray."

Dean tightened his grip more than Sam was on Sarah's shoulders, staring at Gordon, "Yeah, I hear you. And I know how you feel."

"Do you?"

"That vampire who killed your sister deserved to die," he said. "But this…"

Gordon laughed. "Killed my sister? That filthy fang didn't kill my sister. It turned her. Made her one of them. So I hunted her down and I killed her myself."

Sarah couldn't believe what she just heard. "You did what?"

"It wasn't my sister anymore," he said. "It wasn't human. I didn't blink. And neither would you." Gordon pointed the blade at each of them, including Sarah.

Sarah started struggling in her father's hold, trying to break free. Hate and anger were rising up inside of her. If Gordon wasn't on her hate list yet, this right there did it. How could a person be so heartless as to go through the trouble of hunting down their sister and killing her without hesitation?

"So you knew all along then?" Sam asked Gordon. "You knew about the vampires. You knew they weren't killing anyone. You knew about the cattle and you just didn't care."

It was finally sinking into Dean's mind about Gordon.

"Care about what?" Gordon questioned him. "A nest of vampires suddenly acting nice? Taking a little time-out from sucking innocent people and we're supposed to buy that? Trust me. Doesn't change what they are," he looked back at Lenore then returned his attention to the Winchesters. "And I can prove it."

He socked Dean to the floor, unexpectedly and grabbed Sarah up, holding a death grip on her. Sarah struggled against him, kicking him madly but Gordon just kept a firm grip on her.

Dean jumped back to his feet, holding out his gun, cocking it. "Let her go," he threatened the hunter. "Now!"

"Relax. If I wanted to kill her, she'd be on the floor. Just making a little point," Gordon told him and walked backwards, towards Lenore. He then sliced across Sarah's right hand over the vampire, letting the blood drip down. It landed on Lenore's cheek and upper lip.

Dean never lowered his gun, every instinct telling him to shoot as his little girl cried out while the knife cut into her hand.

Once the blood dripped down, Lenore's second set of teeth came out as she snarled for more. Sarah was blinded in fear that she hadn't realized she could use her preferred signature move on him.

"Hey!" Dean yelled again.

"Think she's so different?" Gordon asked Sarah, holding her firmly still and looked over at Sam and Dean. "Still wanna save her? Look at her."

Dean looked at Lenore, thinking it over.

"They're all the same," Gordon continued. "Evil. Bloodthirsty."

Sarah suddenly realized and shoved her heel right into his groin, putting all her strength into that one kick. Gordon dropped her as he keeled over in pain, kneeling to the floor. Sarah didn't stop there though. She got into a fighting stance and punched him in the side of the face.

"That's enough, Sarah," Dean told her when she about to throw another one, his gun lowered a little.

Sarah backed away, keeping an eye on Gordon, who was wiping blood from his mouth.

"Sam, get the girl out of here," he said, meaning Lenore, who had receded her fangs, trying to refuse the temptation.

Sam walked over and untied Lenore, lifting her up into his arms, and carried her out of the room.

Gordon stood up, "Uh-uh, uh-uh," he objected.

Dean pointed his gun at him, "I think you and I have some things to talk about," he told Gordon. "Sarah, go help Sam."

"But…" Sarah tried to object, wanting another whack at Gordon.

"Go, Sarah Lynn," he told her, sternly.

Sarah reluctantly followed after her uncle, getting the door for him. The two of them made sure all the vampires got out of town all right before heading back to the nest, to check on how Dean and Gordon was doing.

Gordon was tied to a chair, looking pissed while Dean stood there, watching him.

"We miss anything?" Sam asked his brother.

"Ah, not much," replied Dean. "Lenore get out okay?"

Sam stared at Gordon, "Yeah. All of them did."

Gordon stared back up at him, not saying anything.

"Then I guess our work here is done," said Dean. To Gordon, he told him, "How you doing, Gordy? You gotta tinkle yet?"

No response.

He walked over to Gordon's other side, "All right then. Well, get comfy. We'll call someone in two or three days, have them come out, untie you." Dean stuck the knife he was holding into the table.

"Ready to go, Dean?" Sam asked.

"Not yet," he replied and looked at Sarah, who was fuming at the guy, looking like she wanted to hit him again. What the heck, she earned it. "Want to do the honor, baby girl?"

"If you mean hit him, then yes. More than anything, right now," she said, not taking her eyes off Gordon.

"Go right ahead then," he grinned.

Sarah winded her right fist back and punched Gordon in the side of the face, using all her strength again. Once the deed was done, the Winchesters then turned to leave.

Outside, Dean stopped. "Sam," he said, feeling antsy.

"Yeah?" he replied, looking back at his brother.

"Clock me one," he told him, preparing for it.

"What?"

"Come on. Come on, I won't even hit you back. Let's go."

Sam scoffed, "No."

Dean clapped his left hand in the other. "Let's go. You get a freebie. Hit me. Come on."

Sam looked away and waved his hand at him, walking towards the Impala. "You look like you went twelve rounds with a block of cement, Dean. I'll take a rain check."

Dean held his hands out, following after him.

"Can I, Dad?" Sarah asked eager.

"No, you can't hit me," Dean told her, looking back at her as he walked to his side of the Impala. "Did I hit you first?"

"No," she replied, defeated. He did deserve it though after hitting Sam.

"I wish we never took this job," Dean said afterwards, stopping at his door. "It's jacked everything up."

"How do you figure?" Sarah asked, beside him.

Dean thought on it, looking away and then leaned on the roof. "Think about all the hunts we went on, our whole lives," he was looking at Sam.

"Okay," Sam shrugged.

"What if we killed things that didn't deserve killing? I mean, the way Dad raised us…The way I'm raising Sarah."

Sam looked off into the distance. "Dean, after what happened to Mom," he told him. "Dad did the best he could. You're doing the best you can."

Dean looked in the same direction. "I know he did," he said before pausing. "But the man wasn't perfect and I know I'm not. And the way he raised us to hate though things? And man, I hate them. I do. So much, I'm raising my kid the same way. When I killed that vampire at the mill… I didn't even think about it. Hell, I even enjoyed it."

Sam shrugged, "You didn't kill Lenore."

"Well, every instinct told me to. I was gonna kill her, kill them all."

"Yeah, Dean, but you didn't," said Sam. "And that's what matters."

Dean looked down for a second before looking away again, "Yeah. And because you're a pain in my ass."

Sam laughed at that. "Guess I might have to stick around and be a pain in the ass, then." He then opened his door and was about to get in when Dean told him, thanks. Sam smiled at him. "Don't mention it." Sam moved again to get in when Dean stopped him once more.

"By the way, you're in back, this time," he said and nodded his head towards Sarah. "Sarah's riding shotgun for a while."

Sarah brightened up upon hearing she had shotgun, "Really?"

Dean nodded, moving over to open his door to let Sarah climb in and stood there, looking in the opposite direction, this time. Sam had shut the door and opened the back one, getting into the backseat. Dean was staring back at the house that Gordon was still tied up in. He stood there in thought for a long time just leaning on the roof of the Impala.


	53. Chapter 53: CSP with DT (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 53

Darkness. Fire. It was everywhere. Bloodcurdling and heart-wrenching screams could be heard echoing throughout as slashing and tearing were heard, and bodies lay about in pieces then reformed together as if by magic. John hung there, broken, bloody, and torn, by chains. He screamed out as some hideous creature tore at his mangled body, his eyes shut tight.

"De…an… Sam… Sar…ah… Mary…" he moaned, trying to take his mind away from the excruciating pain that was so unbearable no one would ever wish on their most hated enemy. His fingers twitched as they hung, limply. There was another jolt of pain as his insides were ripped out, making John scream out to be heard a million miles away.

Suddenly, Sarah bolted out of a sound sleep, breathing like she just ran a marathon.

"You okay, baby girl?" Dean asked beside her, concern on his face.

Sarah looked around. She was still riding shotgun. The bright sun shined through the windshield as she quickly wiped the sweat from her face with her arm. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay, Dad."

Sam spoke up from the backseat, "Was it another vision?"

Sarah didn't answer. _Not again!_ She thought. Besides visions of the past and yet to come, occasionally Sarah could see into hell and see souls being tortured. It was rare and it's been a long time since she last had one but it does happen and scares the crap out of her.

Dean was trying to juggle the road and his daughter at the same time. "What was it you saw?" he asked.

She looked out the side window. "Nothing," she told him.

"Nothing?" he questioned. "Trust me, Sarah. I know that was not nothing. Now tell me what you saw? Was it the demon? Or is someone gonna die? What?"

Sarah snapped back around, "I said it was nothing, okay!" She looked away again, slowly. "I don't want to talk about it."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances with each other. Finally, Dean had pulled up to a cemetery and turned off the engine while Sam stepped out.

"Still coming, Peanut?" Sam asked his niece who was just sitting there, staring at all the headstones.

Sarah nodded and opened her door, shutting it before following her uncle over to her grandmother's headstone. It felt strange coming to a cemetery without having to burn any bones. The last time Sarah had a friendly visit to a grave was two days before her father picked her up. Her grandparents wanted to visit both their children's graves, bringing Sarah along. That was actually the day Sarah first saw Bobby. She had happened to look over and notice an older man, kneeled beside a headstone, placing flowers on the gravesite. Sarah never expected to see him two days later which was why she was surprised to see him that day they all met.

The Holdens had family all over South Dakota but Milbank and Sioux Falls were the main parts where the family was from. Greg was originally from Sioux Falls but moved to Milbank where he met his wife, who was born and raised there. They were disappointed when Emily wanted to go to school all the way in California but since it was a full ride for her, they decided to be proud for her instead. Sarah had wished they could be proud for her, at least once but gave up when John told her he was proud of her, adding another layer to why he was her favorite grandfather. They were surprised when they found out Emily had decided to sleep with someone she just met in the first place, telling her it was against how they had raised her. Sarah only knew all about this from reading Emily's diary.

Sarah sat on her legs on Sam's left after placing a wrapped up flower on the ground front of the headstone as she watched him dig a hole in the ground with a knife, and placed two dog tags of John's inside, before refilling the hole. "What was that?" she asked him, curious.

"They belonged to your grandfather," he explained. "I figured he would want your grandmother to have them. They're ID tags from when he served in the Marines."

She looked at him, surprised. "Grandpa was a Marine?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, he was."

Sarah looked over at her grandmother's headstone. _Mary Winchester1954-1983_ , it read. _In Loving Memory_. She sat there, staring at it for a moment. "Uncle Sam, can I ask you something?"

Sam had been sitting there in thought, staring at it, too until Sarah snapped him out of it. "Sure, Peanut," he replied.

"If someone says to not tell anyone a secret, you should listen, right? I mean, it's wrong to tell someone else?"

Sam looked down at his niece, unsure why she was asking a random question like that. "Well, it depends on what the secret is. If the secret is harmful, like if the person told you they were going to go jump in front of a bus or shoot themselves or are hurting themselves that would be a secret to tell someone else so they can get help. Otherwise, it would be dishonest to go sharing a secret after that person felt they could trust you enough to tell you."

Sarah was staring at the ground, by now, thinking about what her uncle was saying. She looked up at him, "What if that person is already dead? Is a secret still meant to be kept even if everyone around is hurting from not knowing it?"

"Is this about your grandfather?" asked Sam.

She looked down once more.

He took her silence as a yes. "You do know what happened to him, don't you, Peanut," he said.

Sarah nodded a little.

"Can you tell me?"

This time, she shook her head.

"Peanut, this is one secret you shouldn't keep," he told her.

Sarah did not speak right away. She sat there thinking about it. She could hear her grandfather in her mind, _Do not tell anyone…got it? This is our se…_ Sarah understood John was trying to say secret and knew her father wouldn't be able to handle the truth of what he did for him but Sarah hated having to keep quiet and lie to both Dean _and_ Sam. But at the same time, she didn't want to let John down, especially after seeing just what it was he was going through. How can she explain that to them?

"Can I have a few minutes alone, Uncle Sam?" she finally asked. "I mean, when you're done visiting with Grandma."

Sam nodded and after another five minutes, left his niece to her own thoughts. Once Sam was out of earshot, Sarah looked back at her grandmother's headstone. "I know you don't know anything about me, Grandma and that you can't hear or answer me, but…I don't know what I should do. Grandpa trusted me to keep the fact he made a deal, a secret. I know that's what he did. Dad came back from the verge of death. Grandpa suddenly died, and now the Colt's gone and the demon was involved. Sounds like a deal to me. But what I don't understand is why didn't Grandpa get ten years like he's supposed to? Why did he suddenly drop dead the very same day? It doesn't make any sense, Grandma, and I've tried to rationalize it in my head a thousand times. The demon cheated him is all I can come up with."

Sarah looked back over her shoulder where her father was talking to an older guy. He then walked over to where Sam was waiting for him by the Impala while he held up something in his hand. Returning to her grandmother's headstone, Sarah continued, "Dad's not taking it at all. He's pretty shaken up about all this. Grandpa was his hero like Dad's mine though." Sarah started picking at the grass. "I don't know. Should I tell him? Or let them figure it out on their own. If they figure it out for themselves then it won't be considered me telling them, right? So I would be honoring Grandpa's dying wish. But, Dad'll be pretty pissed if I don't tell him."

"Peanut," Sam called from the Impala, "we gotta go!"

She looked over her left shoulder and stood up, brushing the grass off her jeans. "I love you, Grandma." Sarah then turned and walked away. Even though the two of them never actually met each other, Mary's spirit had saved her, too when Mary was protecting her sons. That in Sarah's book, made her grandmother have a place in her heart. In fact, when Sarah rode with John back when they were heading to Salvation, Iowa, she asked about Mary, asking the usual kid questions. What she was like and if Mary would had liked her. Sarah wished that car ride had never ended. She wished she had more moments like that.

Dean had discovered a possibility of another hunt when he noticed some dead plants and grass around a recently deceased girl's grave and wanted to check it out. They headed over to the local college and talked to the girl's father who was a professor there. They didn't get that much information from him but Dean was still convinced there was something going on.

After checking into a hotel, Dean looked through his father's journal. "I'm telling you, there's something going on here," he was saying as he skimmed through the pages. "We just haven't found it yet."

Sam was washing his face in the bathroom. He scoffed, "Dean, so far you got a patch of dead grass and nothing."

He looked up from the journal, "Well something turned that grave into unholy ground."

Sam finished drying his face with a towel and turned around to face his brother. "There's no reason for it to be unholy ground. Angela Mason was a nice girl who died in a car crash. That's not really vengeful spirit material. You heard her father."

Sarah was listening from the foot of one of the beds. She threw herself back, still tossing the idea of telling her father and uncle the truth around in her head.

"Yeah, well, maybe Daddy doesn't know everything there is to know about his little angel, huh," Dean replied, walking out of the bathroom doorway.

Sam followed after him, tossing the towel he was using inside the bathroom. "You know what. We never should've bothered that poor man," he said.

Dean looked up at Sam.

Sam shrugged, "We shouldn't even be here anymore."

"So what, Sam?" asked Dean. "We just bail? Without even figuring out what's going on?"

Sarah sat up, looking between them. "Not taking any sides here but we've only talked to one person. Friends usually know more about a person than parents do." She shrugged, "Let's go see if we can find any of them."

Dean looked down at her, "My point exactly, baby girl."

Sam shifted on his feet, looking downward with just his eyes. "I think I know what's going on," he finally said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow at her uncle. "Two seconds ago you didn't think there was a hunt," she told him.

"Not about that. I mean with your dad."

Sarah looked at her father then back at Sam.

"It's the only reason I went along with you this far," Sam said.

"What are you talking about?" Dean questioned his brother.

"This is about Mom's grave."

Dean scoffed, looking back down at the bed, pulling out one of Sarah's shirts he found in his duffel bag. He tossed it at her, "What is your shirt doing in my bag for?"

Sarah almost fell back as she caught it on her head, catching herself in mid-air. "Could be yours," she grinned at him, jokingly after pulling it off.

"Yeah, because I wear a Pokéman shirt," he smiled, sarcastically, in return.

"For the twelve time its pronounced Pokémon. Poe-key-mon," she corrected her father.

Dean tries to stay in tune with his daughter's TV shows but now and then, found it hard remembering how it was pronounced. It didn't mean he was doing it on purpose. The only Pokémon he actually had down was Pikachu but Sarah knew he was making an effort to try. Her mother and her parents were one of those who thought Pokémon was an evil show that worshiped the devil. Till this day, Dean still can't see how.

"That's what I meant. Hey, how about in between jobs, we watch another episode together on your PSP," he suggested.

Sarah smiled up at him, "Yeah, sure."

"Then it's a date," Dean grinned.

Sam was rolling his eyes as his brother and niece were talking. He knew Dean was trying to distract from the truth of why they were there. "Dean," he finally said, annoyed. "I know what you're doing."

"No you don't, Sam," Dean replied, looking down at his bag again, going through it.

"You wouldn't step within one hundred yards of Mom's grave."

Dean glanced up at the ceiling then back down.

"Look, maybe you're imagining a hunt where there isn't one so you don't have to think about Mom. Or Dad," Sam told him.

He tossed one of his shirts back in his bag and turned half his body to look at Sam.

Sam sighed but didn't say anything. No one did for a few seconds until he finally asked, "You wanna take another swing? Go ahead, if it'll make you feel better."

Dean shook his head, "I don't need this crap," and went over to grab the keys to the Impala and his jacket.

"Dad?" asked Sarah.

He walked back over to the bed to hold the back of her head, bending over as he told her, "I'm gonna go have a drink alone. Stay here with Sam, okay," and kissed the front of her head near the top.

Sarah nodded before Dean turned back around and stormed from the motel room.


	54. Chapter 54: CSP with DT (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 54

Sarah tossed and turned, trying to feel around for her father as she slept. The same vision from the day before flashed through her mind. It was pure torture just watching. It was even worse when she started seeing her grandfather. John's screams rang through her mind until she shot awake, into a sitting position, breathing fast and hard as sweat soaked her face.

Sam was standing over her. He had woken up to his niece crying in her sleep. "You okay, Peanut?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed to face her.

Sarah took a deep breath, wiping her face and neck on her right arm.

"Were you having a vision?"

She glanced up at her uncle out of the corner of her eye, "I, uh." Sarah looked away. "No, well, sort of. I… Never mind. Just forget it. Is Dad back yet?"

"No, he isn't." Sam looked over at the front door and returned to his niece. "Listen, Peanut, you can't keep shouldering this thing alone. What's going on? First, you're all closed up where you don't talk to anyone and now these nightmares that break you into a sweat? Talk to me, Peanut. What's going on?"

Sarah shook her head, staring down at the bed.

Sam sighed. "Look, I know you want to be just like your dad and all…"

"This has nothing to do with trying to be like Dad. First of all, Grandpa told me not to tell anyone. Not you, not Dad. No one. Second, these nightmares I'm having would probably scare Dad and hardly anything scares him. I can't tell mine and Grandpa's secret and I can't tell you about these nightmares. Okay?" she shot up at him before rushing to the bathroom.

Sam watched as she ran into the bathroom, coming back out long enough to grab her duffel bag.

"Forgot my stuff," she said and went back into the bathroom.

Sam looked down towards the floor then over to the far wall. He really wanted to know this so-called secret between his father and niece. He wanted to know why his brother had woken up and minutes later, killed his father. And what were these nightmares anyway. If it was something Sarah thought would scare her father, Sam really wanted to know more than anything now. But of course, Sarah was a Winchester.

He sat there for a few minutes before standing up long enough to pick up the remote and flip through the channels for something to watch. He landed on some pay-per-view erotic channel. Sam couldn't help feel drawn in as he watched whatever erotic channels showed, forgetting his niece was in the bathroom.

Hearing the bathroom doorknob click and turn before opening made Sam snap back to reality and quickly turned it off. Sarah walked out, carrying her duffel bag, dressed in jeans and a sleeveless shirt with some of the _Mario Bros._ characters on the front. Her short hair was wet and brushed back.

Sarah stopped when she noticed her uncle sitting there and the TV off when she could have sworn she just heard it. She looked between him and the TV a couple times before walking in between, and muttered an "Awkward." She wasn't sure what it was her uncle was watching but could guess it was something he didn't want anyone else to know, probably one of those soap opera shows her grandmother liked so much.

Sarah dropped her duffel bag onto her bed and pulled out a folded pair of white socks. She sat down, unfolding them and lifted her right foot towards her, noticing out of the corner of her right eye, her uncle watching her. "What?" she asked.

Sam looked away. "Nothing," he told her. When Sarah had both socks on and had flipped onto her stomach to look underneath the bed for her shoes, Sam asked, "Are you sure you don't want to tell me? At least about the nightmares."

After seeing that her shoes weren't there she sat up onto her legs and looked around the whole floor of the room. "I can't tell you about the nightmares without giving away Grandpa's secret," she explained, not looking at him.

"Are you having nightmares about your grandfather dying?"

Sarah leaned forward on her hands in the opposite direction to look on the other side of the bed. Spotting her tennis shoes, she crawled off and went over to grab them and sat down on the edge of the bed as Dean walked in.

"Where the hell were you?" Sam asked of his brother.

Dean walked right passed him, "I was working my imaginary case," he replied and kissed the side his daughter's head as she was trying to tie the shoelaces that were unraveling at the ends. Dean noticed and sat down next to her, grabbing her foot to lay it across his lap.

"Yeah? And?" Sam asked, looking over at his brother's back.

"Oh, well, you were right," he said, taking out a pocket knife and flipped it open. "I didn't find much." Dean cut off the puff ball that the shoelace had formed from being unraveled,  
"Yeah, except Angela's boyfriend died last night, slit his own throat. But, you know, that's normal." Next, he took out his lighter from his other pocket and flicked it on to burn the end of the shoelace. Before doing the same to the other end, he added, "Uh, let's see. What else? Oh, he was seeing Angela everywhere before he died," and shrugged, repeating the process, "But I'm sure that's just me transferring my own feelings."

"Doesn't sound like it to me," said Sarah. "But isn't it kind of usual sometimes to see a loved one everywhere right after losing them?" She quickly added, "Not trying to disagree from you, Dad."

"You're fine, baby girl," he told her, flicking the lighter on again. "But no, he was really seeing her everywhere."

Sam was about to speak but Sarah beat him to it. "Did you check out his house yet?" she asked.

"Sure did. Dead plants just like the cemetery. Hell, dead goldfish too." Dean finished the shoelace and asked about her other shoe, letting her foot go.

When Sarah reached down to pick up her other shoe, Sam seized the moment to speak. "Okay, I get it. I'm sorry, Dean. Maybe there is something going on here."

Dean twisted around, fast to look back at him, "Maybe?" he questioned. "Sam, I know how to do my job, despite what you might think." Dean looked away and grabbed his daughter's shoe from her, not meaning to use force but Sarah flinched a tad bit from it. He pulled her into a one-handed hug and kissed the top of her head.

Sam asked, "So unholy ground?"

"Maybe," Dean shrugged as Sarah tied her shoe. "Still not getting that powerful angry-spirit vibe from Angela." Only one end had unraveled while the other end still had the aglet attached to it. Dean cut the end off and burned it together. "When I get the chance, I'll hustle pool and see about earning some extra cash to get ya some stronger shoes. Tennis shoes probably aren't the best choice for a hunt."

Sarah wasn't paying attention to her father. She was deep in thought thinking about the Angela girl. She snapped out of it when her father snapped his fingers near her, trying to get her attention. "What?" she asked and Dean had to repeat himself. "What's wrong with these?"

Dean stared down at his daughter with an _are-you-kidding_ -me look and held her shoe on his hand where a couple of his fingers stuck out through holes. Removing it, he gave it back to her to remove his own shoes before standing up to remove his overshirt. "Now excuse me while I go wash my hands," he announced and headed for the bathroom.

Once her father was gone, Sarah leaned on her right hand to pull her duffel bag over to her and began rummaging through her things until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out one of her books and began skimming through the pages.

"By the way, I've been reading this." Dean came out from the bathroom and went over to the dresser the TV was sitting on, where he had placed his jacket, and picked up a grey, leather-bound book, showing it to Sam and Sarah. Sam stared at it while Sarah ignored him, unintentionally.

"You stole the girl's diary?" Sam questioned his brother.

"Yeah, Sam," he replied, opening it up and looked through it again. "And if anything, the girl's a little too nice."

"So, what you wanna do?" asked Sam.

Dean looked up long enough to say, "Keep digging, talk to more of her friends."

"You get any names?"

"You kidding me," he looked up suddenly and shut the book to hold it up. "I have her bestest friend in the whole wide world." Dean then tossed it at him as he headed back to the bathroom to take a shower.

While Sam skimmed through the diary with guilt, he happened to notice his niece with her nose in a book still. He could see the look in her eye she gets when she's researching and knew something was up. He tried to get her attention but it was hopeless when her mind was occupied.

After about fifteen minutes when Dean came out of the bathroom, dressed in different clothes and drying his hair, Sarah announced, "I got it!"

"Got what, Peanut?" Sam asked.

Sarah looked up between the men. "The dead plants, boyfriend seeing her everywhere, and on top of that, her father just happens to teach a class on ancient Greek? Sounds more than a coincidence to me and I bet if we dig her up, we'll find these symbols." She turned the book around to show them a picture of divination symbols. "I think her father decided to bring her back to life because he couldn't bear to live without her."

Sam had to smile, shaking his head at the diary he was holding. He looked up at the ceiling then at his niece. "Is there anything you don't have a book on?"

She shrugged, "I don't know but be thankful I have lore on this stuff."

"Well then, how about tonight we pay Angela a visit and see if we can't find these symbols," Dean grinned.

"Can we get lunch though?" Sarah asked. "I'm starving."

"Sure, kiddo," he told her.

While on the way to grab a bite to eat, they went to talk to Angela's best friend to learn more information that could help them figure everything out.

Later, that evening, the Winchesters headed back to the cemetery to dig up Angela. Once they reached the coffin, Dean let Sam open it to find the coffin empty.

Sarah was shining her flashlight on the bottom of the lid at the same symbols that were in her book. "I told you so," she said and opened it up to the page she had marked.

Sam and Dean looked between the book and the symbols on the coffin lid. "Well, I'll be," Dean said. "Looks like you cracked this case, baby girl."

She grinned, "You two would probably be lost without me." Dean grabbed her into a headlock and rubbed her head with his fist. Sarah pushed on her father, trying to break away from him. "Dad! Stop it!"

Dean eventually let her go and lifted her out of the hole before pushing himself out. The three of them filled it back up. Back at the motel, after doing some more research, Dean and Sarah sat up in bed and watched a couple episodes of _Pokémon_ like Dean had suggested the night before.

The next morning, Dean wanted to confront Angela's father about what they had found out. He banged on the front door which Sam told him to take it easy.

Angela's father answered the door. "You're Angie's friends, right?"

"Dr. Mason," Sam began before Dean interrupted him.

"We need to talk," Dean said in a serious tone.

Angela's father let the Winchesters in, closing the door behind them. Both Sam and Sarah thanked him while Dean just walked on by.

Sarah was holding her book under her left arm when Dean reached down and took it from her. "You teach ancient Greek." He opened it up to the same page as the symbols and showed it to Dr. Mason, "Tell me, what are these?"

Dr. Mason looked at the picture then at Dean, "I don't understand," he said. "You said this had something to do with Angela?"

"It does," said Dean and shrugged. "Please, just humor me."

"Like it says right here, they're part of an ancient Greek divination ritual," Dr. Mason explained.

He nodded, "Used for necromancy, right?"

"That's right," Dr. Mason nodded in return.

"You see, before we came over here, we read that book, backwards and forward," Dean began to explain. "Apparently, they use rituals like this one for communicating with the dead. Even bringing corpses back to life, full on zombie action."

He nodded, "Yeah," and shrugged. "I mean, according to the legends." Dr. Mason closed the book and handed it back to them. Sarah reached up for it and he lowered it so she could reach, thanking him. "Now, what's all this about?"

"I think you know," Dean snapped at him.

"Dean," Sam warned him.

Dean ignored his brother, "Look, I get it," he told Dr. Mason. "Okay? There are people that I would give anything to see again. But what gives you the right?"

Sarah could tell her father was working up into a rage and held her hand up to take ahold of his, "Dad, take it easy. We don't want to scare him."

Dean ignored his daughter, too. "What's dead should stay dead," he said, angrily.

"What?" Dr. Mason asked, confused about what he was talking about.

"Stop it!" Sam told his brother.

"What you brought back isn't even your daughter anymore," Dean continued. "These things are vicious. They're violent. They're so nasty they rot the ground around them. I mean, come on, haven't you seen _Pet Semetary_?"

"You're insane," said Dr. Mason and walked passed them over to the phone.

Sarah was still trying to calm her father down. Dean pulled his hand away and turned around as Dr. Mason walked passed him.

"Where is she?" Dean demanded of the guy.

Dr. Mason was dialing his phone, "Get out of my house," he ordered them.

Dean rushed over and hung up the phone. "I know you're hiding her somewhere. Where is she?"

Sarah stood there, watching her father. It scared her to death to see him like this. If Dean was acting like this about someone bringing someone back to the dead, what was he going to do if she decided to tell him and Sam, John's secret.

Sam had noticed the plants inside Dr. Mason's house was still alive and managed to get Dean out of the house before something else happened. Dean stormed from the house with Sam and Sarah quickly following behind, trying to keep up.

"What the hell is the matter with you, Dean?" Sam demanded of his brother.

"Back off," he told him.

"That man is innocent. He didn't deserve that."

"Okay, so she's not here," shrugged Dean, "maybe he's keeping her somewhere else."

Sam walked at Dean's side, starting to get fed up with his crap. "Stop it," he said. "That's enough, okay? Enough."

Dean looked right back at him as he walked, "Sam, I know what I'm doing."

Sarah ran and jumped right in front of her father, making him stop in his tracks. "You wouldn't have known about this if it weren't for me," she pointed out.

"Really, Sarah?" he asked of her. "I'm pretty sure I would have figured it out eventually. I've been doing this long before you were even a twinkle in my eye." Dean then walked around her. Sam and Sarah continued to race after him.

"Dean, I don't scare easily but man, you're scaring the crap out of me," Sam told him.

"Me too," Sarah added.

"Don't be over dramatic, you two," he said, looking ahead.

"You're lucky this turned out to be a real case, 'cause if it wasn't you would have found something else to kill," Sam kept going, making Dean, stop walking to face him.

"What…"

"You're on edge," he said. "You're erratic. Except for when you're hunting, then you're just downright scary. You're tailspinning, man. And you _and_ Sarah refuse to talk about it, and you won't let me help you."

Dean shrugged, "I can take care of myself and my kid, thanks." He then turned and walked away again.

Sam just wouldn't give up on him and followed after him. Sarah didn't know what to say at this point. The way her father and uncle were acting, could they really handle this secret? Especially her father, the way he exploded in there and acting like there's nothing wrong when she knew he wasn't taking John's death well. Sarah quickly followed after them.

"No, you can't," Sam told his brother. "And you know what? You're the only one who thinks you have to. You don't have to handle this on your own, Dean. No one can."

"Sam, if you bring up Dad's death one more time, I swear," Dean warned him, not wanting to be reminded of it for the umpteenth time and stopped yet again.

"Stop it, Dean, it's killing you. Please, at least for Sarah's sake."

Dean didn't respond. He just stared back at Sam.

"We already lost Dad," Sam continued. "We lost Mom. I've lost Jessica. And now Sarah and I are gonna lose you too? Then I'll probably lose Sarah since she shadows everything you do."

Sarah perked up when her uncle mentioned that. Everything Sam said was starting to sink in.

Dean just shook his head. "We better get out of here before the cops come," he said. When Sam looked away, not saying anything, Dean added, "I hear you. Okay? Yeah, I'm being an ass. And I'm sorry. But right now we got a freaking zombie running around. We need to figure out how to kill it."

Sam just chuckled as he looked away again.

"Right?" asked Dean.

"Our lives are weird, man," Sam finally said, smiling.

"You're telling me." Dean walked away as he said, "come on."

Sam stood there for a moment, looking downward and caught a look with his niece. His heart was mostly breaking and worrying about her, besides his brother. He swore the two of them were going to be the death of him one day.

Back at the motel, the three of them tried to figure out how to kill Angela.

"We can't just waste it with a headshot?" Dean was pacing back and forth.

"Dude, you're been watching way too many Romero flicks," Sam said.

Sarah was sitting across from her uncle with her knees up towards her, looking through her book.

"So you're telling me there's no lore on how to smoke them?" Dean asked.

"No Dean, I'm telling you there's too much," Sam corrected him. "I mean there's a hundred legends on the walking dead but they all have different methods for killing them."

"My book says the most reliable method is nailing them back into their box or they say using silver works too," Sarah pointed out.

Dean shrugged, "Silver is a start."

"But how will we find Angela?" asked Sam.

"We gotta figure out the person who brought her back," he said.

"Any ideas?"

"I think if it's not her dad, it might be that guy Neil." Dean went over to where he left Angela's diary and grabbed it.

"Neil? He doesn't seem the type to do something like this," Sarah shrugged this time.

"With most of the stuff you do, you don't seem the type either," he reminded her.

"So how'd you come up with that?" Sam asked.

"Well, you got your journal, I got mine." Dean looked through the diary again.

"Dad, did you steal the girl's diary?" Sarah asked, surprised her father would do something like that.

Dean looked up at his daughter again. "Did we not go over this, yesterday?"

Sarah looked over at her uncle then back at her father. "No, I don't think so," she said.

"Sarah had her nose in her book when we were discussing it," Sam explained to his brother.

Dean nodded, understanding. He knew his daughter was just as much a nerd as his brother was and returned to the diary, reading it out loud. "Neil is a real shoulder to cry on. He so understands what I'm going through with Matt," and closed the book. "There's more where that came from. It's got unrequited ducky love all over it."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he brought her back from the dead," Sam pointed out.

"Let's hear what you got, Sammy boy," Sarah told him.

"Hey, that's Uncle Sammy boy to you, Sarah," Dean said and turned to Sam, who didn't like the whole 'Sammy boy' name in the first place, "Did I mention he's Dr. Mason's TA? Has access to all the same books."

"What's a TA?" asked Sarah.

"It stands for teacher's assistance. In college and sometimes high school, you can assist a teacher of your choice for half a credit," Sam explained to her.

"So should we go stake out his house?"

Dean nodded, "That sounds like a good call."

Later, that night, the Winchesters headed over to Neil's house to find him not home. In fact, no one was home. They found the basement locked and the vent unlocked. Thinking Angela might go after her roommate, they headed there next. Dean almost had Angela nipped in the bag but she got away. Her roommate was a little frightened, but alive.

It came down to using the other method of what Sarah had mentioned before. Visiting Neil at the college, they tried to find out where Angela was. Neil finally said after some persuading, that she was at his house. Then Dean noticed the dead plants and didn't buy it and looked over at the closet. So, he tried to get Neil to come with them but Neil refused.

When they knew they weren't getting anywhere with Neil, the three of them left the office and headed for the cemetery to plan their strategy. The three of them re-dug up Angela's grave and lit several white candles all around. When they heard leaves rustling off in the distance, Sam pulled his gun out from behind him and hurried over to check it out. Pretty much he was the bait to lead Angela towards her grave.

Angela tried to plead with him until Sam shot her in the forehead and ran like hell back towards her grave as she chased after him. Sarah was crouched behind a headstone, waiting for her uncle and Angela, holding her gun in both hands.

When Sam ran passed the headstone, Sarah cocked the top, getting ready and before she knew it, Angela ran passed her, too. Sarah jumped out from behind as Angela shoved Sam to the ground and tried to snap his neck until Sarah shot at her from behind, knocking Angela off of him. Angela tucked and rolled, getting back to her feet, facing Sarah as she stood at the edge of her grave.

Sarah shot again, three times before Angela fell back in the open coffin. Dean quickly popped up from another headstone and leaped into the grave and dug the metal stake right into the center of her chest as she screamed. He just shoved it in deeper until Angela was dead once more.

Dean stood up, staring down at her. "What's dead should stay dead," he said.

It took them the rest of the night until just after sunrise to refill Angela's grave and patted it down.

"Rest in peace," Sam said once they were done.

Dean breathed heavily, "For good this time, okay?"

"Amen to that," said Sarah getting a hard look from her father. "Hey, you said you didn't want to hear anything about God. I was just agreeing with you."

Dean rolled his eyes and started walking towards the Impala, grabbing his jacket and shaking it out.

Sam grabbed his jacket as well as he headed for the Impala. "You know the whole fake-ritual thing? Luring Angela into the cemetery? Pretty sharp."

"Thanks," he replied.

"But did we have to use me as bait?"

"I figured you were more her type," Dean shrugged, smiling at his brother. "She had pretty crappy taste in guys."

Sam looked at his brother then looked forward, holding his wrist. "I think she broke my hand."

"Should be drinking milk like me," Sarah smiled up at her uncle. "I tell you that all the time."

Sam laughed, shaking his head. She was so cute and adorable to him, he couldn't even argue with her. "Okay, Peanut, I will start drinking milk with you," he told her.

Dean grinned, "Sucker. I am proud to have my beer and coffee beverages and nothing else."

"Dad, you need calcium, especially a man your age," she teased her father.

"She just call me old?" Dean asked his brother and turned to his daughter. "Did you just call me an old man?"

Sam looked at him, "Yeah. Sure did."

Dean dropped his shovel and jacket and chased after his daughter. Sarah ran away but not fast enough. He scooped up and flipped her up-side down, over his right shoulder, smiling at her.

"I'm old, huh?" he asked of her. "If I'm old, could I do this?"

Sarah hung over her father's shoulder on her back, as he held his arm around her waist. "Dad, put me down," she laughed.

"First you have to say something then I will put you down," he told her with a grin.

She looked at him, "What?"

"'My dad is the handsomest, young guy in all the world.'"

"Seriously?" she asked.

He continued to grin, "You bet."

Sarah threw her head back, groaning.

"Better hurry before all the blood rushes to your head," Dean shrugged.

"Fine," she gave in. "My dad…"

"Louder so Sam over there can hear you," he told her.

Sarah raised her voice loud enough where Sam could hear. "My dad is the handsomest guy in all the world." When she heard her father clear his throat, she said, "I mean, my dad is the handsomest, _young_ guy in all the world."

"That's better," he said and shoved his left hand up and into her stomach, gently to tickle it, making her laugh.

"Dad, stop," she giggled, trying to push his hand away.

Dean shifted his daughter, lower towards the ground.

"No, seriously, Dad," she told him, scared. "No more."

"You think I'll drop you?" he laughed. "Don't you trust me?"

Sarah hung up-side down as her shirt from the day before fell, exposing her stomach. "Dad, you said you would put me down if I said what you wanted me to say," she reminded, looking up at him.

"Okay, you're right, baby girl," he gave in. "I'm sorry." Dean wrapped his left arm around her waist to let go of her legs and flipped her over, but not before giving her, a playful swat on her backside.

She glared up at him which he just smiled.

"I want to remind you how proud I am of you and I'm gonna keep reminding you," he told her before running his left hand through her hair and wrapped his hand around her head to his leg as they started walking over to the Impala. He stopped to look back at his mother's headstone.

"Come on, Dad," Sarah urged her father. "Go say something."

"No," Dean replied after a short moment of silence. He just couldn't. It wouldn't feel the same to him. Dean kissed her head one last time and continued for the Impala where Sam was leaning against it and hit the road once again. Sarah still had a few more days in the front seat left.

Dean drove for a couple hours, thinking about what he had said the night before. Finally, he pulled off to the side of the road and stepped out, walking towards the front of the Impala. Sam and Sarah exchanged looks between each other and stepped out too. Sam told Sarah to get out on her father's side for safety, in case a car drove by.

"Dad, you okay?" Sarah asked, concerned as she shut the car door.

Dean sat down on the hood, his hands in his jacket pockets, staring at the ground. Sam stood on the other side of the hood.

"Dean, what is it?" Sam asked.

Dean looked up as he squinted from the sun then looked down again. "I'm sorry," he finally said.

Sarah walked towards her father, asking, "For what?"

"The way I've been acting."

"But I get why though," she told him.

He shook his head, staring ahead, "No, it shouldn't mean I act like an ass. I…"

Sam looked down for a second and walked around to sit on the hood next to his brother, resting his broken wrist on his leg, looking ahead, letting out a breath of air.

Dean continued to stare at the ground. "And for Dad," he finally said.

Both Sam and Sarah looked over at him.

"I mean, he was your dad too, Sam. And it's my fault he's gone."

"What are you talking about?" Sam shook his head.

"I know you've been thinking it. So have I," he said. "Doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

Sarah had her arms folded on the edge of the hood behind her father as she stared up at him. Did he already know the secret of what John did? Was that what John had whispered to him? Should she just come clean then? If they figure it out then it wasn't like blabbing the secret so everything would be okay.

Dean continued, looking at Sam, "Back at the hospital I made a full recovery. It was a miracle." He paused for a couple seconds. "And five minutes later Dad's dead and the Colt's gone."

"Dean," Sam tried to tell him.

Dean wouldn't have it and stared ahead again. "You can't tell me there isn't a connection there.

Sam looked away.

"I don't know how the demon was involved…I don't know how the whole thing went down, exactly but Dad's dead because of me. And that much I do know."

Sam shook his head at the ground, "We don't know that. Not for sure."

Sarah cringed, biting her lower lip as she stared down at her arms. Hearing her father and uncle talk was making it harder for her.

"Sam…" she heard her father say. "You and Sarah, and Dad…" He swallowed hard. "You're the most important people in my life." Dean forced a small laugh. "And now… I never should have come back, Sam. It wasn't natural. And now look what's come of it." His voice was cracking with each sentence he uttered.

Sarah was trying to contain herself but was finding it hard as her father finally opened up, a little.

"I was dead," Dean continued, fighting back his own tears. "And I should have stayed dead." His lower lip was starting to quiver so he licked his lips to stop it. "You wanted to know how I was feeling. Well, that's it."

Sam looked forward, nodding. He was glad Dean finally talked to him. Now all was left was Sarah. Sam figured at that point, if he could get through to his brother then maybe, just maybe, he could get through to her.

"So tell me."

Sam looked back at his brother.

Dean finally let it go as his eyes glossed over and his voice cracked as a tear fell from his right eye. "What could you possibly say to make that all right?"

That done it. Sarah released everything and balled her eyes out. Sam and Dean looked over at the little girl, thinking it must have been hard for her to hear all that. They didn't know the half of it. "I'm s' s'rry, Granpa!" she cried out, her words muffled by her arms and lifted her tear-stained and snot-filled face. "I saw it. The end of it, anyway," Sarah finally told them.

"Saw what?" Dean sniffed.

"Grandpa and the demon," she replied. "I got there as Grandpa was giving the demon the Colt. He had made a deal with it to save you. I don't know why Grandpa didn't get ten years but I know what I saw. There, okay. I told you what happened. But don't think I am gonna tell you about my nightmares. No way in hell, am I even thinking of saying it. Nothing can make me say what I've seen." Sarah then ran over and climbed into the backseat, slamming the door shut and curled up into a ball, hugging her monkey to her, crying into it.

She had thought telling them would make her feel better but how would it feel to openly break a promise made by your grandfather not to tell someone a secret he didn't want the world to know?


	55. Chapter 55: Simon Said (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 55

"It wasn't healthy for her, Dean," Sam was arguing with his brother.

"Yeah?" Dean replied, switching back and forth between Sam and the road. "And this is? I keep telling you, Sam. When Sarah is good and ready, she will come talk to me. Now thanks to you, my own kid hardly talks to me, she barely eats, and now all she does is listen to her music." Dean was pissed as hell once he found out Sam had been pushing Sarah to talk to them.

"She did tell us on her own," he said.

"Yeah, because she saw me crying. You know how emotional Sarah gets when it comes to me. She sees me in any kind of pain Sarah thinks she has to do something about it."

Sam let out a deep, annoyed breath. "Look, I'm sorry, all right," he finally said, looking at the ceiling of the Impala. Sam then looked over at Dean again. "I was just trying to help her. She was breaking my heart just watching her."

Dean gripped the steering wheel in his left hand. "And you don't think she was breaking mine? She did talk to me after I told you to let her come out on her own. I knew how much Dad's death was affecting her, okay. Yes, we had a big cry about it. But I told her if she wanted to honor Dad's dying wish that was fine by me. But no, you had to go and push her. Well, I hope you're happy, Sam."

Sam let out another breath of air, rubbing his eyes with one hand while his elbow was on the car door. "Nothing about my niece's distress makes me happy, Dean," he said, calmly as he stared at his side mirror through the window.

Dean grew quiet. "Just don't push her about the nightmares, okay?" he asked, calmly as well. "When she's ready, she'll talk. My baby girl usually does." Dean looked up into his rearview mirror at his daughter.

Sarah was leaning against the door on her father's side, with her headphones over her ears as she listened to her music. She softly sang along as she stared out the window as she hugged her monkey to her. Right now her grandfather was living agonizingly torture and she broke her promise she tried desperately not to tell. Not like she actually told her grandfather she would keep it but she made the promise to herself and had been kicking herself ever since.

Why couldn't she have just fought harder to keep her mouth shut? Why couldn't she have held her tongue? But her father was hurting not knowing the truth. He had to know and possibly John would have understood. Or he would have been very disappointed in her.

Sarah shut her eyes at the thought of her grandfather hating her. She didn't even want to think about it. Sarah thought about him in hell, his screams echoing through her mind and could feel her eyes fill up with tears.

It broke his heart for Dean to see his daughter in so much pain as he watched her in the mirror. He wanted to know what was going on in her head, right now but he couldn't push her like he had told Sam. It was best to let Sarah talk when she was good and ready, and not before.

Eventually, Dean pulled into a gas station and parked beside a gas pump. Both men got out. Dean gently knocked on Sarah's window to get her attention.

Sarah rolled the window down, manually and removed her headphones.

"Hungry? Thirsty? Need to take a leak?" he asked of her.

Sarah shook her head and returned her headphones to her ears, rolling the window back up.

Dean leaned against the Impala as the gas pumped into the gas tank, thinking about how his father had made a deal with the very thing they had been trying to hunt down and kill for twenty-three years. He kept asking himself why it had happened. He shouldn't have come back. Yes, Dean would have wanted to come back for his daughter's sake but for his own father to make that deal and take his own life, it just wasn't fair or natural to Dean. Of course, knowing Sam, he probably would have taken over and made Sarah stop hunting. Then John would argue that since Sarah was already involved, she should keep it up. Then there would have been a heated argument in which Sarah would probably get involved too and there would be no one there to break it up. Except for it being unnatural and unfair, maybe it was for the best Dean was alive instead.

Suddenly, Dean was snapped out of his thoughts to see Sarah clutching her head in pain. He jumped up, fast and opened her door, kneeling beside the car, pushing her headphones to around her neck. "Baby girl? What's wrong? Is it another vision?" he asked, trying to remain calm as he held onto her waist. Dean touched the side of her head as Sarah whimpered out in pain, pushing her head back against the seat. "It's okay, baby girl. I'm right here. You've gotten through this before. You're a strong kid. Hold on, okay."

Tears ran down both sides of her face as visions of a man shooting another man, then himself played in her mind. Once it was over, Sarah was able to take her vision back, clearly as she tried to catch her breath. Sarah looked at her father, noticing he was there like always. "It's happening again…someone's… Someone is gonna die."

Dean stared at her for a moment before he lifted her up into his arms. That's when he remembered Sam and hurried to the men's restroom to find him hunched over the sink in the same state as Sarah.

"I don't know, man," Dean said as he drove down the highway. The radio was on as an announcer spoke. "Why don't we chill out, think about this?"

Sam switched off the radio, looking at his brother. "What's there to think about?" he asked of him.

"I just don't think going to the Roadhouse is the smartest idea," said Dean.

"Dean, it's another premonition," Sam argued, "I know it. This is gonna happen and Ash can tell us where."

"Yeah, man…"

"Plus, it could have a connection with the demon. Our visions always do."

Dean looked at him out of the corner of his eye, "That's my point. There will be hunters there. I don't know if-if going in and announcing you're some supernatural freak with a, uh, demonic connection is the best thing, okay?"

Sarah was hanging over the back of the front seat like she used to do. "So I probably shouldn't mention I tried to practice my mind thing around Miss Ellen and Miss Jo when I was staying with them, then?" she asked, biting her lower lip.

He looked at her, quickly, "You what?! Why?"

Sarah started sucking on it next. "I figured if I could get it under control like that Max guy, maybe it could help with the demon."

"Sarah Lynn Winchester! Don't _ever_ try that again _especially_ around hunters. If anyone finds out you or Sam has these abilities they might decide to hunt you down no matter if you're just a kid or not. Do you understand me?"

Sarah nodded, "Yes, sir."

"You're lucky I don't decide to pull this car over," he added.

Sarah then retreated back into the backseat and tended to the war battle she was having with her toys, not saying anything. She didn't even make sound effects for them as Sarah held her head against the seat.

"So Ellen and Jo know then?" Dean asked her, after a while.

"No, I don't think so. They didn't see me use it on the glass I was using. Miss Ellen just assumed I had thrown it, I think. I apologized though and cleaned it up for her."

"I hope you worked it off, too," he said.

"No, Miss Ellen wasn't mad either. She said she had a ton of glasses that it wouldn't be noticed," Sarah explained.

Dean sighed. "Like I said, don't do it again."

"Yes, sir," she repeated.

Eventually, Dean pulled up to the Roadhouse and parked. Sarah was the first one out of the car and ran inside where Jo was standing there as she counted some money she had in her hand.

Jo looked up when she noticed the little girl run in, "Hey Sarah. You guys back again?" she greeted with a smile.

"Hey Jo," Sarah returned the greeting, politely. "Where's your mom?"

Jo shook her head in the direction of the kitchen, "She's in the back."

"Thanks." Sarah then hurried passed the young woman towards the kitchen door. Ellen was coming out of it, carrying two beers in each hand. Sarah hugged the older woman around the legs, surprising Ellen.

"Whoa," said Ellen, almost falling over and dropping the beer. "Well, hey there, Sarah."

The little girl looked up at her, "Hi, Miss Ellen," she smiled.

"What brings you all here?"

"Uncle Sam wants to talk to Ash about something that I can't say," Sarah told her. "Need help with those?"

"Sure, sweetie." Ellen handed Sarah the two beers that was in her right hand and took one from her other hand, telling Sarah to follow her.

While Sam and Dean spoke to Ash, Sarah hung around Ellen, following her and helping out when she needed it, talking her ear off about random stuff. Ellen was surprised in this sudden change but unbeknown to her, Sarah was just trying to shut away her issues she didn't want to think about. Ellen also didn't know just how much Sarah really liked her.

Jo turned on some music to listen to on the jukebox while she cleaned up some empty tables. Sarah was telling Ellen about something that happened to her in one of her video games until she heard it come on and looked over at her father, giving him a _do-we-have-to-listen-to-this_ look. Dean gave a _be-nice_ look right back and started talking to Jo about the music.

"So Sarah," Ellen finally said, refilling the salt container from one of the tables, "feelin' any better? Been thinking about you since you left."

"Yeah," she replied. "Dad and I talked about it."

"That's good…to hear." Ellen happened to look over, puzzled as to why Dean was looking at her, who smiled and nodded. "Anyway, glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah, you bet." Sarah didn't have the heart to tell her that she really wasn't and felt like crap. She looked away, growing silent.

Ellen looked at the little girl. "You sure you're all right, sweetie?" she asked, concerned.

Sarah nodded and hugged Ellen again as Ellen looked over at Dean as if to ask, "what's going on?" He only shrugged before Sam hurried over to where Dean was sitting, saying they had to go. He stood up, telling Jo he'd see her later and went over to lift his daughter up into his arms. Sarah latched onto his neck.

"If you want, Sarah could stay while you boys check out whatever it is you're looking into," Ellen offered.

Dean made sure he was the one to answer her, "Thanks but I think Sarah should come with us, this time. Her shoulder being all healed up and all." With Sarah and Sam's visions starting up again, he didn't think it was wise to leave Sarah behind.

Back on the road, Dean couldn't shake that song for some reason and started singing it out loud to himself. Both Sam and Sarah slowly looked over at him, exchanging looks between themselves.

Sarah asked her father, "Seriously?"

"I can't get the song out of my head," he replied, staring ahead.

"Want me to unplug my headphones and play one of your songs then?"

"Sure, knock yourself out," he told her.

Sarah removed her headphones from her PSP and scrolled through the list of songs before coming to one of her father's favorites.

"What you got, Sam?" Dean asked his brother as the music played and Sarah settled into a ball. He noticed her too. "Don't zone out, baby girl. This could be a hunt."

Sam began to read off what Ash had found, "Andrew Gallagher. Born in '83, like me. Lost his mother in a nursery fire exactly six months later, also like me."

"You think the demon killed his mom?"

"Sure looks like it," said Sam.

"How did you even know to look for this guy?"

"Every premonition Sarah and I had aren't about the demon, they're about the kids the demon visited," Sam explained. "Like Max Miller, remember him?"

Dean grinned, looking at Sam from the corner of his eye, "Yeah, but Max Miller was a pasty little psycho."

"The point is, he was killing people, and we were having the same type of visions about him. Now it could be happening all over again with this Gallagher guy."

"How do we find him?" Dean asked, staring fully ahead now as he drove.

"Don't know," he admitted. "No current address, no current employment. Still owes money on all his bills. Phone, credit, utilities."

"Collection-agency flags?"

"None in the system," Sam told him.

Dean looked between the road and Sam, "They just let him take a walk?"

Sam didn't answer right away. "Seems like it. There's a work address from his last W2, about a year ago. We'll start there."

Dean nodded and looked up at the rearview mirror at his daughter who had fallen asleep. He let her sleep until they arrived in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Sam very carefully pulled her PSP from her grasp and turned it off, slipping it into his pocket for now before lifting her, gently into his arms and grabbed her monkey. Once Dean had their room key, Sam carried his niece inside while Dean carried their bags and laid Sarah down on the bed farthest from the door, removing her shoes first before her jacket.

Sam sat back onto the other bed, removing his own shoes. "Hey, Dean."

Dean replied, "What?" as he removed his jacket before sitting on the edge of the bed Sarah was sleeping on, his back to his brother. Dean removed his boots next.

"What do you think Sarah dreams about?" Sam asked.

Dean looked back at his brother, confused as hell why his brother would be asking that question. "Sunshine and unicorns. How the hell should I know what Sarah dreams about," he said and stood up long enough to toss back the covers.

"No, I mean these nightmares she's been having. I think they must have something to do with Dad."

"What makes you say that?" asked Dean, removing his overshirt and tossed it over onto the floor and looked over at his brother.

"The other day when it was just me and her, I asked if she could just tell me about the nightmares and she told me she couldn't tell me about the nightmares without giving away the se…cret. Wait…" Sam and Dean stared at each other for a few minutes before Sam said, "If Dad made a deal with the demon to save you then that must mean…"

"Dad's in hell, literally, and Sarah's having nightmares about it," Dean finished in realization.

"Do you think they're just scary nightmares, or do you think Sarah is really having visions and can see what hell looks like?"

Dean looked down at his daughter, worry all over his face. "I don't know," he admitted. "But it's scaring the crap out of me."

Sam shrugged, "Sarah did say her nightmares were terrifying enough to scare you since she thinks you're not afraid of anything. Well, besides planes." He had to smile at that last part, getting a glare from his brother. "Seriously though, this kid is starting to scare _me_. Her psychic abilities awakening way before her twenty-second birthday, the demon talks to her, personally and telling her, she's his favorite."

"I think that's the one that scares me the most," Dean admitted.

"Same here," he agreed. "And not only that, but Sarah was able to throw the demon across the room when she saw it attack you. Dean, I think you may be the fuel to her ability."

He stared at his brother like he was nuts, "Fuel?"

"Think about it, every time her ability came out, it always was because you were in danger or someone said something about you that wasn't true. Like that preacher's wife back in Nebraska."

"Makes sense, I am her father," Dean shrugged.

"And who she idolizes," Sam added. "Dean, you need to be more careful before it gets worse."

"Yeah, why don't I climb into a plastic bubble suit that protects me from natural and supernatural stuff," he said, sarcastically. "We're hunters, Sam. We fight things that want to cause us harm. Would be kind of hard not to get hurt," and shrugged, "Besides, Sarah said she was able to break a glass back at the Roadhouse and I wasn't even there so how would she have known if I had been hurt or not."

Sam shrugged, "She does have visions, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but not like that. They usually involve the demon or the kids the demon visited, like you said," Dean pointed out.

Sam stood up long enough to throw back the covers on his own bed and sat down in front of the pillows. "What I don't get is," he said as he removed his own jacket and overshirt, "if Sarah is the demon's favorite then why is it letting her roam around, freely? Why not take just her? In fact, didn't Sarah say, the demon was the one who led her other grandfather to find Dad's number in the first place, to find you? I mean, why let Sarah go with you anyway?"

Dean leaned back against his pillow. "I honestly have no idea and I don't even know whether to thank the demon or curse it out for letting Sarah know about this stuff."

Sam stared down at the bed in front of him for a moment before he asked, "Dean?"

Dean held his hands, folded behind his head with his eyes closed, "Hm?"

"What would you have done if you had met Sarah and she had no clue about hunting or what's really out there in the shadows?"

He opened his eyes but did not answer right away. He stared at the far wall, ahead of him.

"Dean?" Sam looked over at his brother, still waiting for a response.

Dean took a deep breath before he finally answered. "The day Sarah and I first met, her grandfather told me while I was waiting on her to pack, that if I hadn't of claimed her he and his wife was gonna carry out the plan Sarah's mother had planned before she died," he explained.

"And what was that?"

Dean closed his eyes again, finding it hard to open them.

"Where were they gonna send her, Dean?" Sam urged him, gently.

Dean laid there for a minute and then turned onto his side to cover his daughter's ears in case she had woken up as he was telling Sam the truth. He then told Sam, "They were going to check her into a mental hospital for children."

Sam stared at his brother in disbelief. "A mental hospital?" he questioned. "But why? Because she was reading about monsters and urban legends?"

"What kid do you know that reads about that stuff?" Dean removed his hands from her. "Plus, she was having visions that started before she met us and Sarah's been seeing the demon since she was five. They even tried putting her on meds which according to her psychologist had no effect on her."

"Do you think it was because of the demon or fact she has psychic abilities?"

Dean shrugged, leaning on his right elbow.

Sam looked away, close to tears. He heard his brother tell him to hit the lights as Dean, lied further down, wrapping his left arm around Sarah. Sam looked back at him, "Hey Dean. Do you think…?" He paused in midsentence.

"Do I think what?" he asked, his eyes closed again, lying close to her.

"Do you think Sarah could sleep with me tonight?"

Dean opened his eyes, lifting his head. "Why?" he asked, confused again.

"I just want my niece to sleep with me, tonight," Sam shrugged. "Besides, I sleep lighter than you do so if something happens, Sarah will be fine with me."

Dean hesitated upon answering. He didn't think he would be able to sleep without his daughter near him, protected his own arms. He barely slept when he and Sam went on that hunt a couple months ago when Sarah's shoulder was healing. He did agree but told Sam that if he couldn't sleep through the night, Sarah would move back over to his bed.

"Dude, she's not a teddy bear," Sam told him. "Sarah's a human being, Dean. I'm sure you will be fine." And he stood up to gently lift his niece up and place her over in his bed, covering her up with the comforter before lying back down himself. Sarah didn't stir at all. She did move towards her uncle in her sleep.

Sam wrapped his right arm around her, protectively like he seen Dean do a million times and kissed her forehead. "Love you, Peanut," he told her, softly and fell asleep.

Dean sat there, watching the two of them. The two, most important people in his life and were his responsibility, not anyone else's. But Dean couldn't help but remember what his father had told him about Sam _and_ Sarah, especially Sarah. He did know why his daughter was the demon's favorite. Dean just didn't want to admit it. Getting up, he turned out the light and lied back in bed, staring up at the ceiling as his father's words echoed through his mind as a tear drifted from his right eye.


	56. Chapter 56: Simon Said (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 56

Sometime in the middle of the night, Sarah had yet another vision of hell. It had been almost a week since she had one. She began to toss and turn, whimpering in her sleep until she shot up, awake, breathing hard like always. She looked around as her uncle woke up beside her.

"You okay, Peanut?" he asked, sitting up, concerned for her.

Sarah looked up at him through the dark. "Where's my dad?"

"He's right in the other bed, sleeping." Sam tried to wrap his niece into a hug but Sarah rejected his offer and climbed out of bed to head over to her father.

Sarah then lifted the comforter and lied down next to him, snuggling up against her father. Dean's arm automatically locked around his daughter while he slept soundly and soon Sarah fell back to sleep.

Sam watched, sadly. He knew his niece loved him very much but he just wasn't her father and Sam couldn't compete with Dean in that department. Finally, he laid his head back down on the pillow and closed his eyes. He desperately wished he could have the same exact relationship with his niece that she had with her father. Sure, it didn't bother him before but it seemed like ever since John died, Sam wanted it now.

Sam turned over onto his stomach, hugging the pillow to him and soon, sleep overcame him again. The next morning, he woke up to find both Dean and Sarah still sleeping. Letting them sleep a little longer, Sam stood up from the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower and got dressed in his usual business attire he wore for gathering information.

When he finally came out, dressed, Sam woke his brother and niece. Dean was the first to stir. He lifted his head to squint at the alarm clock on the nightstand. _7:46 AM_ , it read. "What?" Dean groaned at his brother, annoyed.

"We need to get going, don't we?" Sam reminded him.

Dean moaned again as he threw his head back onto his pillow, noticing his daughter lying beside him. "When did Sarah move over here?" he asked.

Sam was sitting on his bed, putting his dress shoes on. "Uh, sometime around one, I think. Had another nightmare again, I'm guessing about hell."

"You don't know the half of it," they heard Sarah's voice from the pillow she was using. The men didn't know the kid had woken up. She sat up, stretching before heading to the bathroom before Dean got to it first. "By the way, if you're going to talk about me, make sure I'm not in the room. I was drifting in and out of sleep last night and could hear you two," Sarah called back before shutting the door.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

"I bet it was your big mouth," Dean was the first to speak.

"Mine," Sam questioned, "are you sure it wasn't yours?"

"Uh, pretty sure I was talking quietly."

Sam nodded. "Right," he said, sarcastically, "because I talk loud."

"Well, it sure as hell wasn't me."

After Dean and Sarah were dressed, they headed over to a coffee shop and talked to a couple people who knew Andrew Gallagher. One of them was a young woman named Tracy. She told them where to look for him and headed for Orchard Street where there was a van with a barbarian queen riding a polar bear painted on the side.

"Wow, that is…"

"I know, Peanut," Sam finished for his niece who had paused. "It's weird."

"I was gonna say awesome," Sarah told him, unable to remove her eyes from the sight.

"I hear that, Sarah," Dean agreed. "I'm starting to like this dude. That van is sweet." He looked over at Sam who was now staring back at him. "What's wrong?"

Sam shook his head, "Nothing."

"Sam, you look like you're sucking on a lemon.

"What's wrong with sucking on a lemon?" Sarah asked. "I like'em.

"You're also a weird kid," he added. "What's going on, Sam?"

"This Andrew Gallagher," Sam finally said. "He's the second guy like this we found, Dean. Demon came to them when they were kids, now they're killing people."

"We don't know what Andrew Gallagher is," said Dean, "could be innocent."

Sam had his left arm along the back of the seat. "Our visions haven't been wrong yet."

Dean just looked at his brother. "What's your point?"

Sam hesitated for a second before he responded, "The point is, Sarah and I, we're one of them."

"No, you're not," he shook his head, slightly as he grinned.

"Dean, the demon said he had plans for us and children like us."

Dean questioned, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, maybe this is his plan," Sam told him. "Maybe we're all a bunch of psychic freaks."

"Speak for yourself," Sarah told her uncle, defensively, pushing between the front seat and the edge of the backseat with one foot, leaning on her arms.

He looked over at her, "I mean it, Sarah. What if we're supposed to be…?"

Dean was about to fill in the blank until Sarah beat him to it. "I've been called a freak, pretty much since I started kindergarten. I don't need to hear it from you, too."

"I said, I'm one too," Sam pointed out to her.

"I don't care, Uncle Sam," she argued. "Call me a freak again and…" She caught a look from her father out of the corner of her eye that told her not to finish that threat and closed her mouth, sitting back on the seat as she folded her arms, tight, looking away.

"So what, you think you're a bunch of killers?" Dean was finally able to ask Sam.

Sam shrugged, "Yeah."

"So the demon wants you out there, killing with your minds, is that it?"

Sam raised his eyebrows once, looking ahead.

"Give me a break," said Dean. "You're not a murderer, Sam, and neither is Sarah. None of you have it in your bones."

He looked at Dean, "No?"

Dean looked ahead, this time.

"Last I checked we kill all kinds of things."

"But those things are asking for it," Dean shrugged at his brother. "There's a difference."

Sam didn't respond after that and Dean looked away, thinking about it. The truth was Dean was scared to death. If it was really true, he didn't even want to think about either Sam or Sarah turning into killers like Max Miller or possibly this Andrew Gallagher.

Sam interrupted his thoughts when Andrew Gallagher walked out of someone's house, waving good-bye to a woman who was standing in a window on the second floor. The Winchesters watched as he walked down the opposite sidewalk and take someone's coffee from them, willingly.

"That is so gross," Sarah stated as she watched while lying over the seat again and her uncle's arm, making Sam pull it out from under her. "That guy could be sick and he wouldn't know it."

They continued to watch as Andrew greeted the man from Sam and Sarah's vision.

"That's him," Sarah pointed out at the man. "He was in my vision."

"You and Sam keep on him," Dean told his daughter. "I'll stick with Andy. Go."

Both Sam and Sarah quickly got out of the Impala and hurried after the man, playing it cool. When they got across the street, Dean drove off, following after Andrew.

Sarah walked with her hands in her jacket pockets with her head down but glanced up with her eyes to see where the man was walking. Soon, he stopped to answer his cell phone. Sam looked around as Sarah kept a watchful eye until a city bus drove by.

Sam grabbed his niece and quickly ran across the street to the same gun store the man had gone to in the vision, looking around at the place.

"What do we do now?" Sarah asked in almost a whisper.

Sam shushed her and pulled the fire alarm, quickly slipping out.

Sarah followed after her uncle. "What is it with you and pulling the fire alarm?" she asked when they were outside again, still keeping her voice down.

"It was the best thing I could come up with," he shrugged as the man stopped and walked away from the gun store. Sam was relieved until he saw the Impala go by and it wasn't Dean behind the wheel.

Sarah noticed too. She would have figured a lot of people drove Chevy Impalas if it weren't for the fact that the driver was Andrew Gallagher and knew that he drove a van. "What the…"

Sam's phone rang. "Dean, Andy's got the Impala," he said into the phone.

"I know," he replied. "He just sort of asked me for it and I let him take it."

Sarah heard her father through her uncle's phone. "You did what?! Dad! You promised that car to me when I turn eighteen!" she yelled up towards it.

Dean heard her in the background. "He full on Obi-Wan'd me," he told Sam. "It's mind control, man."

Sam looked around until he looked over to see the man crossing the street right as a bus was driving by. Acting on reflex, Sam quickly wrapped his arm around his niece's head, covering her eyes even though Sarah has already seen worse. He couldn't say anything after that.

Dean knew something was wrong and headed back there as fast he could. Once Sarah realized what had happened, her little heart broke again. They tried the best they could to save this man. She thought things were fine now, that the man was safe.

Sarah cried against her uncle's leg as the paramedics came. Sam stayed back so his niece didn't have to see it up close. He went to lift her up when Dean hurried around the corner and Sarah ran over to him. Sam watched as his brother lifted her up into his arms and comforted her.

"It's okay, baby girl. Calm down," he heard Dean tell her when he saw the paramedics covering the man. "You tried all you could. You kept him from the gun store at least."

"But he still died," Sarah cried into his shoulder.

"I know. We can't save'em all but we can try. That's all we can do, baby girl." Dean rubbed her back as Sam continued to watch them.

Sam longed to be the one holding his niece, assuring her everything was okay. Nope, now it was all Dean and nobody else. Sam was still her uncle. He still loved her just as much as Dean did. Why couldn't Sarah just see that?

Finally, Dean walked over with Sarah still in his arms and asked if Sam was all right. To Dean, Sam looked like he was broken up over the accident too. That was the majority of it. It just wasn't all of it.

When the accident had blown over, the Winchesters went in search of the Impala, finding it parked near the coffee shop they had went to that morning.

"Thank God," Dean stated when he saw it as Sarah sprinted over to it, hugging the side. He hurried over to the Impala as well and apologized to it like it was a person, leaning on the doors over Sarah. "At least he left the keys in it."

"Yeah," Sam scoffed, "real Samaritan, this guy."

Dean walked over to his brother. "Well, it looks like he can't work his mojo by twitching his nose. He's gotta use verbal commands."

Sam was looking away. "Doctor had just gotten off his cell phone when he stepped in front of that bus." He took a really deep breath through his nose before letting it out. "Andy must have called or something."

Dean looked down as Sarah walked up next to him. "I don't know, maybe."

"Beg your pardon?" Sam asked him.

"I just don't know if he's our guy, Sam."

"Who else could it be, Dad?" Sarah asked him. "He's the only one we met so far with the power to control people."

"Dean, you had O.J. convicted before he got out of his white Bronco and you have doubts about this?"

"He doesn't seem like the stone-cold-killer type, that's all," he told them. "And O.J. was guilty."

Sarah asked, confused, "Who are you talking about?"

"Just a man tried for murder," Dean quickly gave the gest of it.

"More importantly," Sam said, not wanting the subject changed, "How are we gonna track Andrew Gallagher down?"

Dean thought on it for a few seconds before he said with a smile, "Not a problem."

The Winchesters checked out the back of Andrew's van, finding nothing but hardcore readings of Kant and some other philosophy authors, as well as a long crack pipe. Dean was mostly intrigued by the tiger on the inside of the van wall.

Catching a bite to eat at a mini-mart, Sam went over everything they found out on the man who was killed while Dean munched on a microwave cheeseburger. "Blech," he stated, wading up the foil and tossed it over his shoulder. "You know, one day, I'd love to just sit down and eat something I didn't have to microwave at a mini-mart," he said as he chewed the last of the burger.

Sarah was in the backseat, munching on a bag of hot Cheetos. She watched as the wrapper her father threw back there, landing on the floor in front of her. "Dude, this is pretty much my bedroom you're throwing your trash into, you know."

"I'm sorry but whose car did you say this belonged to?" Dean asked over his shoulder at her, without actually looking back. "'Cause last I checked, this was still my car, Miss I-leave-my-toys-all-over-the-backseat."

Sarah just glared at her father as Sam finally spoke, reading something, "What I don't get is the motive. I mean, the doctor was squeaky-clean. Why would Andy waste him?"

"Maybe Andy just didn't like him," Sarah shrugged who had looked over at her uncle when he started talking. "People are crazy like that, sometimes. Like this movie I saw once where…"

"Tell us later, Sarah," Dean told her. "Do you really think it could be Andy?"

"Dude, enough," Sam told him.

"What?"

"The doctor was mind-controlled in front of a bus," he reminded him. "Andy just happens to have the power of mind-control. You do the math."

"I don't think the guy has it in him, that's all," Dean admitted.

"Is this gonna be Gordon all over again?" Sarah asked him, annoyed a little.

"'Cause you both aren't right about this."

"About Andy?" asked Sam.

"Hey." Andrew hurried up to Sam's window, getting all three's attention. "You think I haven't seen you three? Why are you following me?"

"Well, we're lawyers," Sam told him. "You see, a relative of yours…"

"Yeah, with a kid in the backseat? Tell the truth," Andrew told him not buying it.

He shrugged, "That's what I'm…"

"We hunt demons," Dean blurted out of nowhere.

Sam and Sarah looked over at him, shocked that Dean had said that.

"What?" Andrew asked of him while Sam said, "Dean," quietly.

Dean continued, "Demons, spirits. Things your worst nightmares wouldn't touch." Sam was looking between him and Andrew. "Sam here is my brother and that's Sarah, my daughter."

"Dean, shut up," Sam finally told him.

"I'm trying," he told Sam before turning back to Andrew. "They're psychic like you…" Sarah jumped up and covered her father's mouth before he could say anything else. Andrew tried to make her remove her hand but it wasn't having any effect on her as it did on Dean. So he told Dean to force her hand away and continue. "They're not really like you. You see, they think you're a murderer and Sam's afraid they might be one, because you're all part of something that's terrible. I hope to hell, he's wrong, but I'm starting to get scared he might be right."

Andrew was looking a little skittish, hearing Dean say all that to him. "Okay, you know what? Just leave me alone."

"Okay," Dean agreed against his will and looked away, ashamed of what he had just blurted out, letting go of his daughter's wrists he had been holding.

"All right?" he said and walked away.

Sam and Sarah was looking at Dean as he grunted to himself, in disbelief before they hurried from the car and after Andrew, making him back up away from them.

"Look, I said leave me alone," he told them.

Sam and Sarah continued walking towards Andrew as he backed up.

"All right? Get out of here. Just start driving and never stop."

Sam just shook his head at him. "Doesn't seem to work on us, Andy," he said.

Andrew questioned, "What?"

"You can make people do things, can't you? You can tell them what to think." Sam looked back to see Dean walking towards them and held his hand out for Dean to stay back.

"Look, that's crazy," Andrew told him, holding his own hands up.

"It all started a year ago, right?" Sarah asked of him. "Right after your birthday."

"Little stuff at first," Sam added. "Then you got better at controlling it."

Andrew was raising his hands towards his head as Sam and Sarah was asking him and lowered them. "How do you know all this?"

"Cause the same thing happened to us," Sarah replied. "We had family die in a fire, too and psychic powers."

"You see, we're all connected," said Sam, "The three of us."

Andrew held his head in his arms wandering around in a circle. "You know what, just get out of here," he told them once more.

"Still with that, dude?" Sarah asked him as Sam followed after Andrew.

"Why did you tell the doctor to walk in front of a bus?" he asked Andrew.

"What?" Andrew looked like he had no clue what Sam was talking about.

Then it hit again. Sam took it a little better at first but Sarah stepped back, clutching her forehead as visions of a woman setting herself on fire at a gas pump flashed through their mind.

"Why did you kill him?" Sam continued interrogating Andrew.

"I didn't," he shrugged.

Another wave hit both Sam and Sarah, playing the whole thing. Sarah was the first to drop to her knees as Dean bolted to her side. "Baby girl? Sam? What is it?" he asked them both as Sam dropped too. Sarah fell against her father in pain as he held her in his right arm and reached over to touch Sam's shoulder in his left.

"Look, I didn't do anything to any of them," Andrew tried to say.

Dean just glanced at him and focused on his brother and daughter. When the vision was over, Sam told him what they saw. When they had stood back up, Dean lifted Sarah up as a fire truck raced by, blaring its sirens. Sam told Dean to go check it out. Dean passed Sarah to Sam before he hurried back to the Impala.


	57. Chapter 57: Simon Said (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 57

Dean called Sam as soon as he had gotten there. The vision had happened right as the woman was burning herself alive, which didn't help calm Sarah's nerves. The Winchesters didn't know what to make of it or who was doing it. It couldn't have been Andrew because he was right there with them the whole time. Dean told Sam he was going to dig around and find out more about what happened and hung up.

While they waited for Dean, Sam, Sarah, and Andrew sat there and talked. "You get… You see premonitions of people about to die?" he was asking them.

Sam and Sarah nodded before Sam looked away.

"That's impossible."

"So is mind control," Sarah pointed out as Sam scoffed.

Andrew looked away then looked at them again. "Death visions?" he questioned.

"Yeah," said Sam.

"Dude, that sucks. I mean, when I got my mind thing? It was like a gift, you know? It was like winning the lotto."

"Well, congratulations," Sarah told him, sarcastically. "I got visions and the ability to move people or objects but only if I see my dad in danger, and you don't even want to know the third thing." She stood up and walked a few feet away, with her hands in her jacket pockets. So her father and uncle had figured out her other secret. The same one she did not want to even talk about. Well, just because they knew about it now did not mean she was going to tell them. Sarah couldn't put into words what she was seeing when she had those nightmares.

After a few minutes, Dean returned with information on the woman, whose name was Holly Beckett who was forty-one years old and was single. Andrew had no idea who that was but Dean stated he had called Ash if he could find anything on her. Turns out she had given birth the same night Andrew was born when she was only eighteen.

With Andrew's help, they got in to the county's records department and learned that Holly Beckett had given birth to twins and that the doctor, who had stepped in front of the bus, had overseen the adoption. The most shocking part was, to Andrew, was who his long-lost brother was.

Andrew sat in the backseat with Sarah as the four of them headed for the coffee shop.

"All right, Andy," Sam told him. "Tell us everything you know about this guy."

Andrew shrugged, "Well…I mean, not much. Webber shows up one day, like eight months ago acting like he's my best friend in the whole world. Kind of weird, like trying too hard, you know."

"Must have known you guys were twins," said Dean. "Why did he change his name? Why not tell the truth?"

Sam had started rubbing at his eyes first, feeling another vision come on, and then shortly after, Sarah started feeling it too. Sarah leaned back into the seat, her foot pushing against Dean's side of the front seat. This one was even more painful than the other ones.

Dean noticed in the rear-view mirror as Sam started grunting in pain, himself. Sarah was literally in tears. Dean could feel her pushing on the seat as she slid down, and immediately pulled over. At the moment, all Dean was focused on was his daughter and opened her door. It didn't mean he didn't look over at Sam, now and then.

Dean touched the top of her head as Sarah cried out, watching as Tracy from the coffee shop walked over to the edge of a bridge, wearing nothing but a pink slit gown and hesitantly jumped to her death. When the vision was over, both Sam and Sarah were panting hard. Dean had to get out the ibuprofen, breaking one in half for Sarah while Sam took a whole one.

When Sarah could get a word out, she stated she wanted to sit this confrontation out. Dean was torn on what to do because it meant that she would be waiting in the Impala by herself but Sarah told him it was okay. Dean got her, her gun from the trunk and once they had a plan laid out, the men, including Andrew, hurried to save Tracy.

Sarah lied back across the seat, looking up at the ceiling. She rubbed at her head, roughly. Three painful visions in the last few days had really taken its toll on her this time. Suddenly, she jumped when she heard the demon greet her from the front seat.

She stood up, staring at him. "What are you doing here?" Sarah asked him, bitterly.

The demon leaned his left arm over the back of the seat, sitting with his back to the door. "We go through this every time, Sarah. I like to check up on you, remember?" he reminded her. "See you met more of my special children."

Sarah stared at the demon, confused. "Your children?"

He nodded, "That's right. You, your uncle, and all those other children… You're all mine."

"If you think I am calling you Dad, think again," she glared at him, coldly.

The demon smirked, looking away, "Oh, Sarah." He looked back at her. "You are so cute and naïve."

Sarah just fumed at him, not saying a word.

"You're still mad at me about dear ol'grandpappy, ain't ya?" he grinned.

"What do you think? Why am I suddenly having these visions of hell again? Why is it always of my grandpa now?"

The demon shrugged, "I thought you would like to see him again. I thought you missed him."

Sarah clenched her fists at her sides, on the seat. "You sick bastard," she blurted out, which she would be thankful her father wasn't in earshot, later.

"And by the way, that new friend of yours, Ellen, is it? I know what you really think of her," the demon told her, pretending like she hadn't said anything.

She asked, "What are you talking about?"

"There's nothing you can't hide from me, Sarah. I know she's what you wanted in your own mother. The way you follow her around, the excitement you get when you see her. You want so badly for one, don't you? To you, Ellen's that very image, isn't she?"

Sarah looked away, still clenching her fists. It was true. Sarah hated to admit the demon was telling the truth but he was. Since that time she stayed at the Roadhouse and saw how Ellen tried to help her, Sarah saw what Emily never showed towards her, compassion, concern, and affection when Sarah hugged her and Ellen never pushed her away. Sarah couldn't tell anyone though, not even Dean. She wasn't sure what anyone would think especially after Sam stated Dean couldn't fill the hole with just anyone.

Sarah wasn't trying to fill that hole her grandfather left in her heart. It just happened and it hurt to know that nothing would be done about it. To Sarah, all she had room for now, was God, her father, uncle, and what little memory she had of her grandfather. She couldn't let anyone else in and wanted to fight it at all costs. She was still a girl though, slowly becoming a woman and knew her father would always love and care for her, but not even he could fill the shoes that only a mother could fill.

The demon cut into her thoughts, leaning towards the back of the seat, towards her, "What makes you think she'll give a damn once she learns what you can really do?" After that, the demon was gone.

A tear slowly ran down her right cheek. Sarah quickly wiped it away and stepped out of the Impala, walking over to climb up onto the trunk and sat down, folding her legs and looked up at the clear, night sky. Looking around her surroundings, she made sure she was alone before praying out loud.

"Please, God. You have to help me," she prayed. "I can't go through this pain anymore. These visions, seeing Grandpa in hell, why can't You make it stop? In Sunday school, they say good triumphs over evil. I see good people dying and evil winning. What does all this prove? Huh? Why let this demon roam free, killing moms and giving psychic powers to infants that come out later? And why did mine come out sooner? What's so special about me? Tell me!" Sarah could feel the hot tears pouring down her face as she prayed for answers. She knew about hardships that God takes everyone through. She knew everything has a purpose, but what she didn't understand was why give what an adult could barely handle, to a kid? She wanted answers but did not want to have to wait.

 _All in the Father's time_ , Sarah could remember her grandparents' words in her mind. But Sarah was a kid after all and what kid could sit still and be patient?

A gunshot broke her thoughts as it echoed through the quiet of the night. Sarah looked around behind her where the noise had come from, slowly reaching behind her to wrap her hand around the handle of her gun, praying to herself that it wasn't her father or uncle who was shot. Her fears were relieved several minutes later when Dean returned.

Sarah jumped off the trunk and met him halfway. "What happened, Dad?" she asked.

"Andrew shot his brother," Dean assured her.

Sarah blew a sigh of relief that it wasn't Sam either and remembered Tracy. "What about the girl?

"She's safe, baby girl. Everyone's fine," he said, holding her right shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, got some rest," she lied. Sarah wasn't sure about telling her father the demon had been in the Impala with her. At this point, she wasn't sure how he would react to the demon popping in to "check" on her.

The next morning, the cops and the ambulance showed up. Andrew got everyone off the hook before walking over to the Winchesters. Sarah could barely make out what the men were saying. Her mind was still on last night and the demon's visit. She didn't even sleep at all, last night when her father suggested she'd crash in the backseat.

Dean had to nudge her along with his hand when they started to leave before they stopped to look back at Andrew who asked what he was supposed to do. He told Andrew to be good or they had to come back and take him down, and started walking again.

Sarah could barely make out Sam say, "Looks like I was right."

"About what?" she heard her father respond.

"About Andy. He's a killer after all."

"No, he's a hero," Dean said. "He saved his girlfriend's life. Saved my life."

Sarah's head shot straight up when she heard Dean needed saving but didn't say anything.

"Bottom line, last night, he wasted somebody," Sam told his brother.

Dean looked ahead, wrapping his arm around Sarah's head, who had rested her head against him, "Yeah, but he's not a foaming-at-the-mouth psycho killer. He was… He was pushed into that."

Sam stared at him, "Webber was pushed too, in his own way. Max Miller was pushed. Hell, I was pushed by Jessica's death. I bet if something would to happen to you, Sarah would be pushed too."

Dean stopped walking to look at his brother. "What's your point, Sam?" he asked, brushing his thumb along Sarah's hair.

"Right circumstances, everyone is capable of murder. Everyone. You know, maybe that's what the demon is doing, pushing us, finding ways to break us."

Sarah looked up at her uncle. It made sense to her. Why she was having visions, and seeing hell.

"Sam, we don't know what the demon wants, okay?" Dean removed his hand from his daughter's head and slapped his brother's arm, playfully, "Quit worrying about it," he told him before walking over to the Impala.

Sarah followed as Sam walked around to his side.

"You know, I heard you before Dean," said Sam, "when Andy made you tell the truth. You're just as scared about this as I am."

"That was mind control," Dean told him, defensively. "It's like being roofied, man. It doesn't count."

Sam questioned, "What?"

"No, I uh…I'm calling do-over."

"What are you, seven?" Sam shook his head.

"Doesn't matter," Dean told him. "Look, we gotta keep doing what we're doing, find that evil son of a bitch and kill it." At that point, his cell phone rang, making Dean look down to take it out of his pocket.

"Yeah, I guess," Sam said feeling defeated with his brother.

When Sarah heard it was Ellen, she started biting her lower lip. She wasn't feeling up to going back to the Roadhouse right after the chat she had with the demon but what choice did she have. Sarah opened her door and climbed into the backseat. During the drive there, she couldn't help but continue to think about what the demon had told her. If her father had gotten that mad over her practicing her abilities at the Roadhouse around other hunters, how would Ellen, Jo, and Ash react to it? Sarah found it hard to picture Ellen treating her the same way her other family treated her. On the other hand, Sarah barely knew them.

Sarah put her headphones over her ears and turned on her PSP, going into her music and scrolled down the list of songs before stopping on one in particular. Pressing play, she couldn't help mouth the words to an old _Rugrats_ movie song, leaning her head back and replayed it every time it ended until she fell asleep, holding onto her monkey.

When she woke up, she was lying in one of the beds in the spare bedroom of the Roadhouse. Throwing back the covers, she threw her shoes back on and wandered out to where Dean and Sam were talking to Ellen who was standing on the other side of the bar. She swallowed hard, feeling like her feet were stuck to the floor as she mentioned Andrew.

Sam snapped his niece out of her thoughts, raising her anxiety level. "There are people out there. Like Andy Gallagher. Like me…Even Sarah," he told her.

Sarah was biting down on her lip as she watched for a reaction from Ellen.

"And um…" Sam shook his head. "We all have some kind of ability."

Ellen shook her head as well, "Ability?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Psychic ability."

Sarah saw Dean, look away as he shook his head but Ellen wasn't saying anything which made things harder on her.

"Sarah and I, we have, um, visions." He paused for a second. "Premonitions. Sarah can move things with her mind which you have experienced before." Ellen still didn't respond but had noticed Sarah was standing there, listening, out of the corner of her eye as Sam continued. "I don't know, it's different for everybody. The demon said he had plans for people like us."

Ellen unglued her focus from Sarah to look back at Sam. "What kind of plans?" she asked.

He shrugged, "We don't really know that for sure."

"These people out there, these psychics," said Ellen. "They dangerous?"

"No," Dean finally spoke up, shifting on his stool. "Not all of them."

Sam looked between his brother and Ellen, "But some are. Some are very dangerous."

"Okay, how many are we looking at?" she asked.

"We've been able to track a clear pattern so far," Dean told her, looking away before looking at her. "They all had house fires of the kid's six-month birthday."

"That's not true," Sam said.

Dean looked at his brother, "What?"

"Webber, or Anson Reems, or whatever his name is. I looked at his files, and there was no house fire. There's nothing out of the ordinary."

"Which breaks pattern," said Ellen. "So if there's anyone like him, there'd be nothing in the system. No way to track them all down." She shook her head.

Dean stared at the bar in front of him, "So who knows how many are really out there?"

No one said anything for a moment until Ellen called back to Jo who had walked up and was listening quietly to them, "Jo, honey."

Jo was standing there with her arms folded, lightly, "Yeah?"

"Better break out the whiskey instead," she told her.


	58. Chapter 58: Parental Love

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 58

Early, before the Winchesters decided to hit the road for another hunt, while Sarah was tying her shoes, Dean came into the room they were staying in and called her name. She looked up and he tossed a baseball glove to her.

"It's been a while since we tossed the ball around and you've been looking like you could use it," he said with a grin, his own glove under his arm as he tossed the ball between his hands.

Sarah stared at it. The last time she tossed the ball around was during her week at Bobby's. "Sure," she finally agreed and stood up to walk over to Dean. Dean smiled at her and walked outside to the parking lot where they stood at either end. Sarah shoved her glove on her left hand while Dean did the same and tossed the ball to her. Sarah reached out to the left a little to catch it and threw it back.

For an hour, they tossed the ball back and forth not saying a word. That was usually how Dean and Sarah did it. Barely a word gets uttered except for the occasional "What was kind of throw (or catch) was that?" or "You are definitely getting that" or Dean giving her some pointers he remembered his own father or Bobby giving him.

They didn't know it but they had an audience watching through a window, inside the Roadhouse. Sam, Ellen, and Jo stood there, watching as father and daughter bonded. None of them said a word until Ash walked over curious.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Is there a rumble going on out there?"

Sam shook his head. "Not unless you count arguing over whose gonna go fetch a bad throw."

Ash shrugged them off and walked away.

After the hour was up, Dean and Sarah returned inside to grab their stuff and took it out to the Impala.

"Los Angeles, California," Dean said as he shut the trunk closed.

"What's in L.A.?" Sam asked as the three of them walked over to get into the car.

Sarah walked slowly behind her father, still not in the mood to hunt again. Secretly, she wanted to sit this one out but wasn't saying anything. Sarah figured she probably should or risk getting hurt or possibly killed because of some stupid mistake she could make that would have been avoided and the boys have lost enough as it was, already.

"Young girl's been kidnapped by an evil cult," Dean explained.

Sam responded, "Yeah? Girl got a name?"

Dean fiddled with his keys in his hands, looking down. "Katie Holmes," he said, looking up.

Sam snickered, "That's funny. And for you, so bitchy."

There was a loud crashing sound that came from inside the Roadhouse and they could hear Ellen and Jo arguing between each other. "Of course, on the other hand, catfight," Dean shrugged, pointing over his shoulder and the three of them headed inside to check it out.

"Dad, I don't think it's okay to walk in when someone is having a conversation," Sarah told her father.

"It's fine, baby girl," he assured her, touching the top of her head before heading inside.

Ellen and Jo were arguing about Jo leaving to go check out a hunt she had found until Jo noticed the Winchesters were standing there and Ellen turned around as well. "Guys, bad time," Ellen told them.

"Yes, ma'am," said Sam.

"It was Dad's idea," Sarah ratted her father out who rolled his eyes and turned to her.

"Remind me not to rob a bank with you," he said.

"Why would you rob a bank in the first place?" she asked him.

Dean sighed before turning to leave the Roadhouse, "Never mind."

Jo stopped them, "Wait. I wanna know what they think about this."

The Winchesters stopped to turn back around just as a tourist family walked in of a husband, wife, and twin boys around the age of three.

"I don't care what they think," Ellen snapped back, surprising Sarah. This was a whole new sight she hasn't seen yet of Ellen and up to this point Sarah still wasn't sure what Ellen thought of this secret of hers and Sam's.

"Are you guys open?" the father had asked as they looked around at the empty place.

Jo screamed, "No," while Ellen screamed, "Yes."

Everything got quiet as the husband and wife exchanged confused looks. "We'll just check out the Arby's down the road," the husband pointed behind him with his thumb before the family turned to leave.

Sarah watched the family the whole time with sadness in her eyes. That was what she wanted more than anything. A mother and a father, going on real vacations, having family fun time that usually most kids hate when their parents dragged them on. It was great having a father and an uncle, going on hunts, saving people but sometimes, it would be great to have that too.

There was more awkward silence until the phone rang. Ellen and Jo looked back at it, together and exchanged looks before Jo motioned for her mother to answer it. Ellen walked over and answered it while Jo turned back around to hold up a vanilla folder to the Winchesters.

"Three weeks ago, a young girl disappears from a Philadelphia apartment," she told them.

Dean looked at it.

"Take it, it won't bite."

"No, but your mom might," he replied, nodding towards Ellen.

Jo gave him a look that said, "Just take it" and Dean grabbed it out of her hand, forcibly. "And this girl wasn't the first," she continued. "Over the past eighty years, six women have vanished. All from the same building, all young blonds."

Dean flipped through the articles and maps, slowly as he listened.

"Only happens every decade or two, so cops never eyeball the pattern. So we're either dealing with one very old serial killer or…"

"Who put this together?" he asked, impressed by how organized and detailed the folder contents were. "Ash?"

"I did it myself," she told him, proudly.

Dean was speechless and looked back down at the folder to continue skimming through it, "Hm."

"I have to admit," Sam spoke up, "we hit the road for a lot less."

Ellen walked up again, at that point, "Good. You like the case so much, you take it."

"Mom," Jo tried to argue again.

"Joanna Beth," Ellen scolded, "this family has lost enough. I won't lose you too." She looked over at Dean, who looked down at his own daughter and squeezed the back of her neck. With being a parent himself, Dean could understand where Ellen was coming from. "I just won't."

The room was quiet again before Sam and Dean turned to leave. Sarah stood there, staring at the floor with her hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket.

"Come on, Sarah," Dean called back once he reached the door, his hand on it.

Sarah did not look up.

"What's wrong, Peanut?" Sam asked, concerned why she was just standing there, not saying anything.

"I, uh…" Sarah finally looked up. "My head's been hurting all morning…"

Dean motioned for her with his head, "I'll give you another ibuprofen and you can sleep on the way there. Come on, let's go."

She looked at her father. "Can I…?" Sarah paused for a moment before she continued. "Can I sit this hunt out? I promise, just one more hunt."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Those visions I had on the last hunt took a lot out of me and I don't think I can focus well yet." Though that was the truth, it just wasn't the whole truth. Sarah wanted to talk something out with Ellen, something she knew she had to get off her chest and she had a lot on her plate to deal with as it was. One less thing dealt with would lift a lot of weight off her shoulders.

Ellen spoke up for the kid, "You know she's always welcome here."

Dean didn't want to but gave in anyway. If Sarah couldn't focus, he wasn't about to let her get hurt. "Fine, but remember what I told you, no practicing your mind thing around hunters. If I hear from Ellen, or Jo, or even Ash that you tried at all…."

Sarah nodded. "I know, Dad," she said, masking her annoyance.

He made to turn and head out the door, "Come get your stuff then out of the trunk. Thanks, Ellen."

"Any time," Ellen replied.

Sarah followed her father and uncle outside and grabbed her duffel bag from the trunk and her toys from the backseat, including her monkey and PSP. Sam hugged and kissed her first then Dean kneeled down to her level and pulled Sarah into a tight hug.

"We'll be back as soon as we can, okay?" he told her.

Sarah nodded from his right shoulder and gave her father a kiss on the cheek and Dean did the same. After the long good-byes, Sam and Dean got into the Impala and drove off for Philadelphia. 

Once Sam and Dean were gone, Sarah headed inside and tossed her stuff onto the bed, she and Dean had shared the night before. Heading back down the hall, she saw Jo's door open a crack and could hear a lot of moving around. She walked over and pushed on the door as she knocked on it.

Jo jumped, looking back at the little girl. "Oh, it's just you, Sarah," she said, relieved and returned to shoving some clothes into a backpack. "This isn't a good time."

Sarah closed the door behind her and walked over to sit on Jo's bed, beside the young woman, "Are you going somewhere, Jo?" Jo had told Sarah she could drop the formality, that just Jo was fine.

"No," was all she said as Jo continued to shove everything in.

Sarah folded her arms across her chest and stared up at her. "You're going after the thing my dad and uncle went after, aren't you?"

Jo ignored the little girl. Sarah never liked being ignored either. She slammed her left hand down on the backpack, preventing Jo from continuing.

"You are, aren't you," the little girl repeated, staring at Jo.

"What is it to you, Sarah?" Jo asked. "You're just a kid. You wouldn't understand."

"I understand your mom doesn't want you to go," Sarah told her.

"And I suppose you do everything your dad tells you," Jo crossed her arms too.

"Yes," she replied. "I may complain to myself but I do it because I know my dad says things for my own good."

Jo looked away at the floor for a moment then glanced up at her with just her eyes. "What if it was for your mom?"

"Dad knows better than Mom ever did," Sarah stated and just sat there, staring up at her.

"You…you don't miss your mom at all?" Jo asked, looking over at the kid fully now.

Sarah shrugged. "Not really…but…"

"What?"

She looked away, removing her arm from Jo's backpack. "Nothing, just something I've been thinking about." Sarah looked back. "You're lucky, you know."

Jo stared back at her, confused, "About what?"

"You have a mom that cares about you, that isn't afraid of you. That would probably hold you if you were scared of the tree branch shadow reflected off your wall late at night. Right?"

Jo smiled down at her backpack, stuffing hygiene stuff in there. The next question made her remove her smile.

"What happened to your dad? Did you ever have one?"

Jo did not answer right away. "I was…I was still in pigtails when my dad died," she finally told her.

"And that means…what?" Sarah shrugged, an eyebrow raised.

"I was about four or five, but I remember my dad coming home from a hunt like he was Steve McQueen or something," she forced a smile.

"No idea who that is, but okay," Sarah said, wanting her to continue.

"He would lift me up into his arms…and I'd breathe in that old leather jacket of his. And my mom who was sour and pissed from the minute he left, she started smiling again. We were…we were a family." Jo returned to packing as Sarah stared down at the floor in front of her. "What about you? You must have some happy memory of your mom."

Sarah thought about it for a couple minutes. "I was six. I had gotten a gold star on a test we had taken that day in kindergarten. Gold stars meant you got every problem right and only one other had gotten one besides me. My mom picked me up from school and I showed it to her. To this day I swear I saw her smile. She wanted to be proud. She didn't say anything except good job like it wasn't a big deal. I kind of hoped that would have made her say she was proud to have me as a daughter but if she did, my mom never said anything. She'd complain to her cousin though."

Jo was now zipping her backpack closed, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Has your mom ever told you she was proud, or showed it?" Sarah asked.

"Many times actually, when I was growing up," she admitted with a smile.

"Yeah, that's what I figured." Sarah brought her knees up, hanging her feet off the bedframe and folded her arms on top. "Your mom's the coolest mom I ever met."

"You have a pretty cool dad," Jo slung her backpack on one shoulder.

"Yeah, my dad's the best but…" Sarah stopped in mid-sentence.

Jo sat down next to the kid and put the arm that held onto the backpack strap, around her, "He can't fill what only a mom could?"

Sarah looked at the young woman, surprised she knew what Sarah was feeling. "Yeah, how did you know?"

She rubbed Sarah's opposite upper, right arm. "Because that's how I feel without my dad." She shrugged, "My mom's always there for me just like I'm sure your dad is for you but there's just some times when a girl needs her dad like a girl needs a mom." Jo paused for a moment. "I want to do this hunt for my dad, so I could be close to him. Tell me, what's wrong with that?"

Sarah looked away again at the far wall.

Jo hugged Sarah to her. "My mom really likes you, you know," she pointed out. "Thinks about you a lot. Why don't you go talk to her about how you feel?" With that, Jo stood up. "By the way, if you keep quiet about me leaving I will buy you a pack of those cards you collect. Deal?"

"Make that, two packs," Sarah crossed her arms in front of her.

"Fine," she agreed.

"Then it's a deal. My lips are sealed." Sarah made like she was locking her mouth shut and threw away an imaginary key.

Jo smiled before leaving the room, leaving Sarah to her own thoughts. She sat there for fifteen minutes just thinking about what Jo had said before Sarah stood up and went in search for Ellen.


	59. Chapter 59: Sugar and Vinegar

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 59

Ellen was getting everything ready for the day, wiping down the top of each stool with a wet rag.

"Miss Ellen?" Sarah said as she walked from the back of the Roadhouse, slowly.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Ellen asked, looking up at the kid.

"Do you have a minute?" she asked.

"Sure, what's on your mind?"

Sarah stared at the floor, rubbing the back of her head. She found it hard to get anything out. She didn't even know where to begin either.

"Sarah," Ellen said, starting to get worried. "What's going on? Talk to me, is it about the demon?"

She shook her head at the floor.

"Your abilities?"

Again, Sarah shook her head.

"What is it then?"

Sarah shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, "You still like me, right? Even now that you know what my uncle and I are?"

Ellen started wiping down another stool, "Of course. It's not like you're a monster or anything. You're a sweet kid, Sarah and like I said, I think about you. Wonder why your dad lets you hunt in the first place though."

"I like to hunt," she shrugged, finally looking up at Ellen.

"Doesn't matter, your dad is supposed to keep you out of harm's way, not let you go near it." Ellen wiped another stool off, staring at it.

"It was the demon who taught me what was really out there. He told me about hunting and sparked my interest to start reading about it. It's better to hunt then to be afraid all the time."

Ellen stopped but didn't look up. She leaned on her left hand, holding the rag in the other. Sarah wondered what it was she was thinking about as she stood there, watching Ellen.

"What's the matter?" Sarah finally asked after a few seconds.

Ellen sniffed in and returned to wiping off the stool. "Nothing's wrong, sweetheart."

Sarah wasn't convinced but left it alone anyway. "Anyway, I um…I wanted to say that…It's just…" She stopped, finding it hard to get the rest of it out and went over to one of the arm chairs, throwing herself into one.

Ellen watched her. She tossed the rag onto the bar and walked over to Sarah, sitting in the arm chair next to hers, facing Sarah. "Sweetheart, whatever it is you can tell me."

Sarah had her knees up to her, resting her arms across her stomach as she stared at her legs. "It's never easy to just tell someone what's on my mind," she said. "I never know who is listening and who's not."

"Well, I'm listening," Ellen shrugged. "Start talking."

Sarah looked over at the woman for a few seconds. She sat up on the edge of the chair and stared at the floor again. Not knowing where else to start, Sarah just said, "You're… Miss Ellen, you're everything I wanted my mom to be."

"What do you mean?"

"That night you and Jo came in when I had lost it and you didn't flinch when I hugged you…" she began, looking over at Ellen.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"That's all I ever wanted my mom to do, comfort me when I needed it whether it was because I was scared or upset. You, my dad, Uncle Sam, even Grandpa, you gave me what I wanted."

"And what's that?"

A tear was falling from Sarah's left eye as she looked over at her. "Compassion," she replied. "That's why I like being around you, Miss Ellen. I wish I had a mom like Jo has. Like you."

Ellen sat there, touched and utter surprised. "I didn't know you felt that way, sweetheart," she said when it wore off enough.

"I was scared of getting close on the count of what I can do," she admitted. "And especially after my dad reprimanded me for practicing around you."

"I thought you had just thrown it, that you were hurting over your grandfather's death," she shrugged.

"I was hurting. Still am, actually. I finally told Dad and Uncle Sam, Grandpa's secret when he didn't want me to," said Sarah.

"What was the secret?" she asked.

Sarah looked down at the floor again. "How he had made a deal with the demon to save my dad," she said. It still didn't feel any better saying it out loud again. Sarah wasn't sure why she had told Ellen, she just did.

Ellen sat in thought for a moment and stood up to sit on the edge of the coffee table, reaching out towards Sarah. "Come here," she told her in a soft voice.

Sarah, confused, stood up and allowed Ellen to pull her towards her and had Sarah sit on her right leg. Ellen wrapped her arms around her waist, "Whatever your mom was, that was her lost. Okay? You have a dad and uncle I could tell loves you very much, especially your dad. Why he makes you hunt I don't know but it seems like he is protective of you, at least, from how he doesn't like you out of his sight. As for Jo and I, we fell in love with you since you stayed with us before and I have to admit, every time I'm around you, my motherly instincts go off like crazy."

Sarah looked at her, surprised this time, herself, "Really?"

Ellen nodded. "You remind me a lot of Jo at your age."

"I do?" she asked.

"You bet, you're both stubborn tomboys," Ellen couldn't help laugh.

Sarah smiled at that. "My mom never accepted me being a tomboy." Tears started to fill up in her eyes.

Ellen noticed the tears and wrapped Sarah in a motherly embrace, "Any time you need a mother's shoulder to cry on, my door is always open, Sarah. Always."

Sarah could feel the heavy burden she had been carrying rise off her shoulders, a burden that longed for a mother's support. She now had a father, a mother figure, a more caring grandfather or rather had, and two uncles thrown in, as well as an older sister, possibly. What more could a girl ask for?

The next day, Ellen had noticed Jo was missing and had a suspicion where she was. She asked Sarah but Sarah lied and said she didn't know where Jo was. Not that Sarah enjoyed it, considering Sarah had just opened up to the woman just one day ago. So Ellen called Dean who also said he didn't know where Jo was. It was another day later that Ellen finally got it out of Sarah by holding her down and tickling her, and called Dean back. It was too late though. Jo had gotten kidnapped by the spirit they were hunting. Furious, Ellen said she was taking the first flight out.

Banging on Ash's door, she asked him to watch out for Sarah while she was gone.

"I ain't no babysitter," Ash started, not too thrilled about having to watch a kid, but after a threat and how Sarah was independent, he agreed.

Ellen turned on her heel to head out the door.

Ash looked over at Sarah, who was leaning her left hand against the wall, smirking and had her fist on her side. "Fasten your seatbelt, mullet boy," she told him. "It's gonna be one hell of a ride."

He flinched his head back, un-believed a kid could sound like that and leaned his forearm against the door frame. "You know, my daddy would take a switch to our behinds for speaking that way to an adult," he told her.

Sarah just smiled. "Oh yeah?" she said. "My daddy would break your entire hand if you tried it."

Ash just rolled his eyes and went to shut his door. Sarah moved to stick her foot in the way to block it.

"Need any help with the research?" she offered.

"From a kid, no," he replied, bluntly.

"I heard you having problems with your laptop, maybe I could take a look at it. Technology's been my thing for a couple years now, besides hunting."

Ash raised an eyebrow at the kid. "No thanks, it's fixed."

"Well, can I at least come in and hang out?" she asked.

"No," he said, bluntly again.

"Come on, us smart ones have to stick together. It's like a rule."

"What rule?" he demanded.

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know but I'm sure there is one."

Remembering the hunters out there, Ash went out there to serve drinks. Unfortunately for him, Sarah tagged along. Sarah just wanted to mess with him. It wasn't like when she tagged around with Ellen.

When it was closing time, Ash and Sarah cleaned up the place before Ash returned to his room. As much as Sarah wouldn't want to admit it, she felt tired and retreated to her own room.

The next morning, Sarah woke up to the familiar sound of the Impala's engine pulling up. She threw back the covers and jumped out of bed to run down the hall and outside where everyone was getting out of the car. Sarah rushed right over to her father and jumped into his arms, taking Dean by surprise.

"Does this mean you're back to your old, cheery self?" he asked as Ellen was leading Jo inside, a grin on his face.

Sarah grinned back, "For now."

Dean squeezed his daughter tight. "I missed you, baby girl. With all of your experience, I wish you had other options besides hunting. I never should have brought you into this. I worry about you so much."

Sarah let go of her father's neck to look at him. "I once said that I wanted to take over the family business when I grow up but now…" She trailed off.

"What?" he asked her, urging Sarah to continue.

"Uncle Bobby made me an offer once that I was welcomed to quit hunting and stay at his place and go back to school while you went on hunts. Dad, when this is over and the demon is dead for good, I think I'm gonna take him up on that offer."

Both he and Sam were impressed and shocked by Sarah's decision. It wasn't long though before Jo stormed from the Roadhouse and snapped them out of it. Concerned, Dean set his daughter down to see if Jo was all right. At first, Jo did not want anything to do with him but decided to tell them how it was John that had gotten her own father killed on his last hunt and why John had never told his boys about them. It broke Sarah's heart to hear her grandfather was the one responsible but she knew John probably didn't do it on purpose.

That was a week ago.

Now here Sarah was, sitting in the backseat and it wasn't the Impala. She leaned against the car door with her arms folded, tight as she stared out the window. Mark sat on the other side of the backseat, while Greg and Beth sat up front with Greg driving.

"I am so disappointed in you, right now, Sarah Lynn," Greg was saying, holding the steering wheel in both hands. "First you don't even call us when you check out of the hospital. Now I hear you were involved with your dad, with murder?"

"My dad did not murder that girl," Sarah spat at her grandfather, angrily for the umpteenth time since the night before.

"Then what was he doing there with blood on his hands?"

"We were trying to help her," she said.

Beth twisted around in her seat to look back at the little girl. "Help her with what?" she asked more gentle than her husband.

Sarah returned to looking out her window.

"Answer your grandmother, Sarah Lynn," Greg told her.

"I can't," she stated without any eye contact whatsoever.

"Why not?" he asked, his voice a little too demanding.

"I just can't."

Greg let out a long, frustrated breath of air while watching the road. "Sarah, you are already going to be punished for giving the police a hard time, do you want to make it worse?"

Sarah glared over at her grandfather, "First of all, you're not my dad. Second, for some odd reason I still care about you guys and if you knew the truth it could put you in danger."

Mark had been listening as he looked out his window. He looked over at Sarah. "Is your dad part of a mob? Is that the family business you mentioned back in Nebraska?"

Sarah quickly turned to look at her second cousin. "No my dad is not in the mob," she snapped at him.

"Sarah, I need you to get serious and tell us what really happened. If your dad really didn't murder that girl, then maybe the truth could get him off," Greg told her, trying to keep his cool.

"I am serious," she replied. "I cannot tell any of you!" Sarah wasn't trying to raise her voice but her other family just had that effect on her emotions.

"You just got fifteen more for raising your voice," Greg calmly stated.

"You're not gonna touch me. Dad's the only one who can spank me now," she told him.

"Sarah Lynn, we are still your grandparents and you will show us some respect."

Sarah leaned forward in her seat, "I will show you respect when you start showing me some respect."

Greg just shook his head. "That's enough for now until we get to the hotel. I can't even talk to you anymore without wanting to lose my temper."

Sarah leaned back, her arms folded even tighter, "Good, because I really don't want to talk either."

"You better not act like this when I get you home," Mark spoke up again.

Sarah was staring out the window. "Who says I'm going with you? Next phone I find, I'm calling my uncle Bobby to come get me."

"No you're not, you're coming to live with me," he told her.

"No, I'm not," she argued.

"Mark…just…just stop. I am going to deal with her once we get to the hotel," Greg stepped in the middle before there was another argument in the car. "I can't believe there's not a single nice hotel here."

Sarah muttered, "Yeah, it's not like you have to live in your car and in crappy motel rooms all the time."

Either none of them heard her or they just didn't care because no one responded. The rest of the car ride was in silence which suited Sarah just fine as she thought about the last couple of days.

The Winchesters were grabbing coffee as Dean looked through the newspaper. Sam walked up to their table, carrying the drinks. "There you go, Peanut," he said, setting Sarah's chocolate milk in front of her and set Dean's coffee in front him.

Dean closed the newspaper. "Anthony Giles," he said, laying it down.

"Who's Anthony Giles?" Sarah asked, shaking her chocolate milk before she opened it.

"A Baltimore lawyer," he replied. "Working late at his office. Check it out."

Sarah went to reach for it but Sam grabbed it instead. "Hey, I was gonna read it," she whined to her uncle.

"What difference does it make?" asked Sam.

Dean reached over and snatched the newspaper from his brother and handed it to his daughter, "Here, Baby Girl," he told her.

"Thanks, Dad," Sarah smiled at him, taking it and read the article Dean was reading, out loud. "Do you think it could be a spirit?"

"Could be," he shrugged.

"Should we check it out?"

"I think so, what do you think, Scully? Should we check it out?" Dean turned to Sam.

"I'm not Scully. You're Scully," he told him.

"No, I'm Molder," said Dean. "You're a redheaded woman."

"I don't understand that reference," Sarah shook her head.

"TV show before your time," said Dean.

Sarah continued skimming the newspaper when a concert article caught her eye. It was a concert that was playing at the end of the week for the country singer, Carrie Underwood. Sarah grew excited, "Dad, can you take me to see Carrie Underwood?" she asked, showing him the article.

Dean took the newspaper back to look at the article, "Who?"

"Carrie Underwood," Sarah repeated. "She's the only country singer my mom got me into. I really like her. Can we go if we finish the case in time?"

"Sarah, you know I hate country," he reminded her.

"But it's Carrie Underwood, Dad. She's different than the rest of them. Please?" Sarah tried to give her best puppy-dog look to soften her father up.

Sam shrugged, "I don't mind country. Maybe I can take you, Peanut. Just me and you, and your dad can go off to a bar or something."

Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Okay," she gave in, a little disappointed. She wanted her father to go with her but maybe it won't be so bad with her uncle.

"There," Dean smirked. "Everyone's happy. You both have fun, square-dancing."

"Carrie Underwood doesn't square-dance, Dad," she told him. "She's pop and country mixed." Sarah then pulled out her PSP and went into her music to play one of Carrie Underwood's songs.

"At least you're not into that chick other girls are into these days," Dean shrugged before taking a drink of his coffee. "What's her name? Stella California?"

"You mean Hannah Montana?" Sam questioned his brother.

Dean snapped his fingers towards him, "That's the one."

"Stella California? That doesn't even go together."

"Whatever. Let's go." He stood up and the three of them headed back to where Dean parked.

The Winchesters did invest the case, talking to Tony Giles' wife, Karen Giles first before checking out his office late, the night before. The main thing Sarah remembered and could not shake was the name they had found, _Dana Shulps_. It was really stumping her and Sam could not find anything on it when he and Sarah searched for it online.

Eventually, Dean had gotten bored and left to go check on Karen and ask a few more questions. When he showed up at her house, Karen was already dead and Dean noticed some bruises on her arms. That was when the police had showed up and found Dean over the body. They caught up to Sam and Sarah at the motel they were staying in. Since Sarah was just a kid, they had called Greg and let Sarah go after asking her a few questions. Sarah did everything Dean had taught her to do if she ever got into that situation: tell the truth but lie about it. Of course, being Dean's daughter, she had to throw in some wise cracks which did not sit too well with her grandfather.

Now, here she was with the people she would least like to see. A visit from the demon was better than this and Sarah hated the demon. Before she knew it, Greg was pulling into the parking lot of a hotel and headed for the main office to rent a room.


	60. Chapter 60: The Usual Suspects

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 60

Sarah lied on one of the beds in the hotel room, trying to rub the sting from her backside. It hurt so much she couldn't even lie on her back. She silently cried to herself, wanting her father so badly and prayed Dean would somehow get away or they would find a way to prove his innocence.

Her grandfather was sitting at the small table, talking with his wife and nephew. Finally, he looked over at Sarah and asked, "Ready for our discussion?"

Sarah refused to answer or look back at him.

"If you ignore me, I will give you another spanking, Sarah," he told her.

"I'm listening," she snapped out at him without lifting her head.

"Then you better answer me," he told her and stood up, walking towards where his granddaughter was laying. "First of all, why didn't you call us when you checked out of the hospital?"

She stayed silent, earning a hard swat to her backside which hurt twice as much, watering her eyes.

"Answer me, Sarah Lynn," Greg said, very sternly.

"I had a lot on my mind, okay," she finally responded.

"Lot on your mind, huh," he said, his hands on his sides. "Maybe I should not pay my bills because I have a lot on my mind. Can't do yard work, I have too much on my mind. Run errands? Nope, too much on my mind."

Sarah clenched her fist that held onto one of the pillows. Suddenly, she jumped up onto her knees and glared at her grandfather. "Grandpa died, you moron! My favorite grandpa, I might add. I saw him die, too. It's a lot to cope with."

Beth stood up and went over to her suitcase, pulling out a brand new bar of soap. Greg snatched Sarah off the bed by her arm and kept a firm grip on her.

"You do not talk to us like that, young lady," he scolded her. Greg then held her nose, forcing Sarah to open her mouth so Beth could wash her mouth out with soap. Sarah fought against her grandparents but for an old man in his mid-fifties, Greg was strong. Once they managed to wash Sarah's mouth out, Beth put the soap away and let Greg continue.

"I want to know what is it you have been doing this past year since your father picked you up from our house," he said. "First your eye, then the car crash, and now this? Also, if you drive across the country where does your father gain income? If I even want to know."

Sarah sat up onto her legs to get off her still stinging backside. "I told you, I cannot tell you."

"Then you can sit there until you're ready to talk." Greg then decided to head out to grab an early dinner. "You're lucky the police didn't know about your high IQ, Sarah or you wouldn't have been able to leave," he said as he threw his jacket back on.

Sarah was left to her own thoughts once more. She continued to think about the case and the name, _Dana Shulps_. "Dana Shulps. Dana Shulps," she kept repeating to herself, quietly.

Mark was flipping through the TV channels, lying on the other bed. "What are you mumbling about over there, kiddo?" he asked, his left arm slumped over his head, against the wall behind him.

She ignored her second cousin. "Dana Shulps." Realization hit her, lifting her upper self. "What if it's not a name? What if it's…?" Sarah jumped off the bed and grabbed a pad of paper from the nightstand in between the bed that had the hotel's logo on it and a pen, writing _Dana Shulps_ at the top and started writing different words, using the same letters.

"What'cha writing there?" Mark asked.

Sarah continued writing, "Anagram."

"A what?" he asked, confused.

"Anagram. Same letters, different words." Sarah thought good and hard about it. When she wrote down Ashland she remembered her father driving through a street nearby with that name. "That's it!" she figured out. Whatever was going on had to do with that street.

"What is it, Sarah?" Mark continued to ask.

Sarah looked up. Her grandfather was gone, her grandmother was in the bathroom, and Mark couldn't walk. She may get into trouble later by her father for leaving a hotel by herself but she had to investigate this Ashland Street and possibly clear her father's name and take the _fair_ punishment later.

Sarah sprinted from the room and down the hall as Mark yelled after her. She was running so fast Sarah bumped into a pair of legs, thankfully belonging to her uncle.

"Peanut?" Sam asked, taken by surprise.

"Uncle Sam!" Sarah threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his legs.

When Sam noticed Mark was calling for Sarah, he grabbed his niece up and quickly unlocked a room he had rented out and slipped in, locking it behind him. Sam set Sarah down, kneeling to her level. "What are you doing here?" he asked of her.

"They called Papa…" Sarah threw herself back on her uncle, squeezing his neck as she started crying. "I hate them, Uncle Sam. I really do. I never want to see them again."

Sam held his niece in his arms, comforting her as he rubbed her back up and down. "Shh shh, it's okay, Peanut. Tell me what happened."

Sarah told Sam everything since the Holdens picked her up. "It hurts so bad I can't sit, Uncle Sammy," she continued to cry, her head on his right shoulder.

Sam had never been so heated in his entire life. He could understand punishing Sarah for talking the way she had but to do it for that long and hard, boiled his blood. Sam had to refrain from running in there and giving those people a piece of his mind. "Can I take a look, Peanut? Just for a second to see the damage, I promise."

Sarah nodded and lifted her head from his shoulder. Sam undid her jeans for her since Sarah's hands were shaking so much, and took a quick peek at her backside. It was a dark red and Sam could see a welt.

"Why don't you go take a bath to help with the soreness while I look into the case, your dad and I figured out what Dana Shulps is," he suggested.

"So did I, it's an anagram," Sarah told him. "It's a street called Ashland, right?"

Sam nodded, "That's what we figure it is. Good job, Peanut," and hugged her one last time, kissing the side of her head.

While Sam researched on his laptop, Sarah relaxed in the bathtub, letting the cool water soothe her stinging backside. She was glad to be, at least, with her uncle instead of with her other family. Sarah still wished her father was there though. As she floated in the water, she heard the door open and soon heard Sam talking to what sounded like the officer who had asked her questions at the station.

Quickly letting the water out, Sarah got out to dry off and tossed her clothes back on. Her backside still stung a little but not as much as it did before. Opening the door, Sarah exited the bathroom to indeed find the officer there.

"How did you get here?" she asked Sarah when the officer saw her. "You were picked up by your…"

"It just so happens my Papa checked into the same hotel my uncle here did," Sarah told her. "What's going on?"

The officer explained what she had seen, a pale, young woman with her throat slashed and a lot of blood. She also explained how it looked like the spirit was trying to tell her something. Sam explained how he had been researching every woman who had either died or gone missing from Ashland Street, walking over to his laptop and sitting down. He handed a stack of photos to the officer and told her to let him know if any of the women looked familiar.

The officer sat down, glancing over at Sam to stare at him on how he had gotten a hold of the photos, and looked through them until she came to the one she recognized.

"Clair Becker?" he read the name. "Twenty-eight years old. Disappeared about eight or nine months ago."

"But I don't even know her," the officer shook her head. "Why would she come after me?"

"Well, before her death, she was arrested twice for dealing heroin," Sam explained to her. "You ever work narcotics?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Pete and I did. Before homicide."

"Did you ever arrest her?" Sarah asked from Sam's opposite side from the officer.

She shook her head this time, "Not that I remember."

Sam was reading Clair Becker's file. "It says she was last seen entering 2911 Ashland Street. Police searched the place, didn't find anything."

"So we gotta check it out ourselves then," Sarah said, leaning on her folded arms, on the table. "Maybe her body is still there."

The officer stared over at the kid, "What?" she questioned.

"We have to salt and burn her bones so she can finally be put to rest," Sarah explained to her.

Sam nodded at the officer, agreeing with his niece.

"Of course we do," the officer replied.

On the way out, Sam checked out in the hallway first to see if Sarah's other family was around. "Which door is theirs, Peanut?" he asked his niece.

Sarah carefully poked her head out the door, holding onto her uncle's leg, looking down the hallway to her right. "That one," she pointed over across the hall, four doors down.

"I don't understand, why are you hiding from them?" the officer asked.

"Long story and I really want to get out of here without them knowing where I am," Sarah told her.

When the coast was clear, they slipped out of the hotel and out to the parking lot. If fate would have it, of course, Mark was on a cigarette break. Sarah jumped behind her uncle.

"Seriously?" she questioned no one in particular. It took some maneuvering but the three of them managed to leave undetected and headed for Ashland Street to investigate where Clair Becker was last seen.

Sam and Sarah walked out in front, both holding flashlights.

The officer walked behind them, also using a flashlight. "So what exactly are we looking for?" she asked.

"I'll let you know when we find it," Sam responded, stopping to scan the room with the flashlight. Sarah did the same too. He noticed a flight of stairs and told Sarah to follow him, walking over to head upstairs.

The officer stayed behind to continue searching the ground level. That is until the spirit appeared to her again and called out for Sam. Sam and Sarah both sped down the stairs as fast as they could.

"Hey. Hey," Sam told her. "I'm here. What is it?"

The officer looked terrified, backing away.

"What happened?" he asked, looking back behind him.

"Claire," she finally said.

Sarah spun around, shining her flashlight all over the place, "Where?"

"There," the officer continued to look ahead.

Sam asked, "Did she attack you?"

"No, no, she was just, like, reaching out for me," she explained. "She was over there by the window." The officer walked over to the far window where the spirit had appeared.

Sam and Sarah exchanged looks between them before following her. Sam helped her move a metal shelf and found the word, Ashland on the window, backwards. That's when Sarah had noticed the reflection of it on the wall from the setting sun, behind them, and nudged Sam to show him. Sam took out the EMF reader and began scanning around the room.

It went off like crazy when Sam got near the wall and looked for a blunt object to break through it. Sarah found one too so she could help but her uncle was the one doing a lot more damage, she weakened it a little for her uncle though. Once Sam broke through, he looked inside with his flashlight and saw something.

As he used his left arm to continue busting the wall down, he questioned why Claire was leading them to her remains. It made Sarah question it as well. Once there was a big enough gap, the three of them pulled out Claire's corpse and set it on the ground. Sam then used a knife to cut the rope holding the cloth together and pulled it back to reveal a dead, rotting corpse with blond hair. They also noticed her wrists were bruised like the officer's, as well as the same necklace that was supposed to be rare, made over on a street called Carson Street that her partner had given her.

Both Sam and Sarah finally figured it all out. Sam stood up, walking away. "Now it makes perfect sense," he said.

"I'm sorry?" the officer questioned him.

"Clair's not a vengeful spirit," Sarah explained. "She a death omen. She warns people who are about to die."

The officer stood up, staring between uncle and niece. "Excuse me?" she demanded.

"Claire's not killing anyone," Sam shook his head. When he saw the confused look still on her face, he explained, "See, sometimes spirits don't want vengeance, they want justice."

"Which is why Claire led us here," Sarah added. "To tell us who had killed her."

There was a short, awkward pause before Sam asked the officer, "Detective, how much do you know about your partner?"

The officer thought on it. "Oh my god," she realized.

Sarah asked, "What?"

She walked past Sam, staring at the floor. "About a year ago, some heroin went missing from lockup. Obviously it was a cop. We never found out who did it. But whoever did it would need someone to fence their product."

Sam shifted on his feet. "Someone like a heroin dealer," he said.

"Heroin, that's a bad drug, right?" Sarah made sure. She had seen movies that involved drugs in them, she just didn't know about it in detail.

"Yeah," Sam replied before turning back to the officer. "Somebody like Claire."

With that thought in mind, the three of them jumped into the officer's car and drove off. The officer called the station and learned her partner had left with Dean. Sarah snapped up when she heard her father had already been taken. Once they figured out where the officer's partner had taken Dean, they headed there, as fast as they could.

Sarah gripped the edge of the door, staring out the window. They had to get there on time, they just had to. She wasn't about to lose her father. In fact, her worry and fear for her father overcame what was left of the sting in her bottom. That was how much Dean meant to her.

Eventually, the three of them pulled up to where the officer's partner was holding Dean at gunpoint. Sarah was the first to jump out and dashed over to jump over her father as if to shield him since he was handcuffed and unarmed.

"Move it, kid," the partner ordered of her, still holding the gun out towards them.

Sarah glared up at the man, "You want to kill my dad you'll have to go through me first."

"Sarah, no. Get out of here," Dean ordered Sarah next.

She never took her eyes off the guy. "Punish me later, Dad. There's no way I'm leaving you to die. Not after the day I've had."

"Fine, kid," the partner told her. "Have it your way."

"Pete, put the gun down!" The officer pulled her gun out on her partner.

He looked over at her, "Diana?"

Dean looked over at her too.

"How'd you find me?"

"I know about Claire," she told him, her gun still out.

Her partner, Pete smirked at her, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"I think you do," Sarah spoke up, still glaring at him. Her arms were held out behind her, towards her father as she sat in his lap. "You tried to use Claire and it backfired on you and you panicked. You would have lost your job, probably gone to jail when it got out so you killed her, then Tony and Karen Giles, too."

Dean quickly shot a look over at Sam who nodded in return.

"Maybe I will kill you first, kid," he told her.

"Put the gun down," the officer, Diane repeated her order.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Pete told his partner.

"How many more people are gonna die over this, Pete?" she asked.

"There's a way out," he replied and looked down at Dean and Sarah. "This Dean kid is a frigging gift. We can pin the whole thing on him. Okay? No trial, nothing, just one more dead scumbag."

"Hey," Dean spoke up, annoyed.

Pete raised his gun at him again, making Dean raise his cuffed hands over his daughter's head to pull her closer to him to protect her. He looked back at his partner, "No one will question it. Diane, please…I still love you."

Diane hesitated but slowly lowered her gun. Sam quickly looked between them, unsure what to do.

"Thank you," Pete told her and nodded. "Thank you." He turned back to Dean and Sarah for the final time to shoot. He never got the chance. Diane shot at him, knocking him back with the gun.

Dean rolled out of the way, shielding Sarah as best he could as Diane walked slowly towards Pete. "Then why don't you buy me another necklace, you ass," she told Pete, angrily before he grabbed her around the legs and pulled her to the ground.

Sam tried to make a run towards his gun but Pete beat him to it, holding it out to him. Sam held his arms up, watching him. Pete pointed over at Dean who was trying to shield Sarah but she was trying to move over to shield him instead.

Pete faced his partner once more, walking towards her. That is, until Claire showed up, behind him. While his back was turned, Diane shot Pete in the back, killing him this time. Everyone was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Dean was released from his cuffs and was able to hug his daughter properly. Leaving the family alone, Diane went over to kneel beside her partner.

Sarah hugged her father around the legs until Dean lifted her up into his arms to hug her, too. "They told me you were picked up by your grandparents," Dean said after a moment.

Sarah hesitated before she admitted, "I ran away. But I didn't have to go far, I ran, literally, into Uncle Sam out in the hallway of the hotel. I'm sorry, Dad."

Dean wasn't pleased to hear his daughter had run away from a motel room for the second time. "I told you never to run away, Sarah. I would have found a way to get you back," he scolded her, sternly.

Sarah was looking downward. "I said I was sorry." Tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I had figured out the _Dana Shulps_ thing, wanting to check it out, and I also did not want to be there any longer. It was horrible."

"Yeah, Dean," Sam spoke up for his niece and shook his head, "Don't punish her this time. I don't think her butt could take anymore."

"What?" Dean felt confused as he looked between his brother and daughter.

Sarah hugged her father's neck.

Sam had trouble swallowing. "Dean, they beat her butt until it was dark red, leaving a welt."

Dean's mouth hung open as his brother's words sunk in. There was a limit Dean had the first and only time he had put Sarah over his knee and it sounded like it was nowhere near what she had gotten earlier that day. Anger crossed over Dean and from the look in his eye, he wanted blood.

When Diane let the Winchesters escape, they headed to the impound lot and grabbed the Impala before Dean drove over to the hotel where the Holdens were still checked in, frantically looking for Sarah. Sam tried to talk him out of it, saying it wasn't worth the effort and once Sarah had figured out what her father was up, she tried too. Dean wouldn't have nothing of it, assuring them he wasn't going to hurt or kill them, as much as he wanted to. Instead, he stormed up to their room, after getting the room number from Sarah. The two of them followed after him to make sure Dean kept his promise.

Dean pounded on the door, hard a couple times before Greg opened the door, who was surprised to see him.

"Dean, what are…?" Greg noticed Sarah standing there, behind him. "Sarah Lynn, where have you been?" he demanded of his granddaughter.

Dean grabbed a hold of the front of the older man's collared shirt, pulling him closer to his face. "If I were you, I'd worry about yourself," and shoved Greg further inside the room, walking towards him.

Mark turned his wheelchair around to fully face them. "What is going on here?" he demanded.

Dean looked between the three of them. "Which one of you beat my little girl?" he demanded in a low, cold voice.

"If you mean, spanked, that was me," Greg admitted, boldly.

Dean took another step towards him. Greg tried to stand his ground.

"There's a difference in giving a spanking and beating a kid," Dean said, keeping his anger at a steady pace, or tried to for Sarah's sake.

Greg nodded once, "I agree."

He looked at him, strangely, "Do you?"

"Yes, yes I do."

"No you don't," Dean shook his head. "When I spanked Sarah, I didn't do it until it left welts on her ass. You, on the other hand, did. And if you ever lay a hand on her again, I might just come back and kill you."

"So you are a murderer," said Mark.

Dean smirked at him, "Don't worry, I won't actually kill him. I might hurt him just a bit but it won't be anything too serious to send him to the hospital."

Greg looked over at his granddaughter, "She knows the consequences of her actions. Did you tell your father, Sarah, why I did what I did?"

Sarah was about to answer until her father did for her. "She did, in fact. Sarah knows to be honest with me."

"Let's hear it then, Sarah."

"I gave the officer and you a hard time," she answered, truthfully.

"I was gonna punish her for running away from you when she knows not to leave a motel room without any of us but after what she got from you, she's punished enough," Dean told him, coldly again.

"What is that teaching her?" Beth asked from the other side of the farthest bed.

"She'll have another punishment," Dean assured her. "I already took her video game away for a week. Sarah just doesn't need another spanking."

Greg tried to head over to the nightstand and took out a Bible, quickly flipping through the pages until he found the verse he wanted and began reading aloud. Dean walked over and smashed his hand down, covering what he was reading.

"Don't sell me the Bible crap," Dean spat at him. "I don't believe in it."

The men stared at each other until Greg pulled the Bible away and placed it back in the drawer. "She's coming back with us," he finally stated.

"Why, so you can place her in a mental institution?"

"No, my nephew there is taking custody of Sarah," Greg explained, calmly.

Sam spoke up, this time, "In order for him to receive custody, Dean would have to surrender his rights as her father."

"Or," Greg looked over at him. "We go to court and gain custody that way. And trust me, Dean, you admitted before to having no permanent home. The odds are in our favor."

He just smirked, "Well, good luck finding us then." With that, Dean turned and stormed from the room. Sam followed but Sarah didn't move.

She stared at each of her grandparents and second cousin. "If you really did care about me, you would leave my dad alone. That's where I belong. Besides, you spent my entire life wanting rid of me anyway."

"That is not true, Sarah," Beth told her, shaking her head.

"Really?" she asked. "Sure does sound like it to me."

Sam returned, standing in the doorway, "Coming, Peanut?"

Sarah gave one last glare before turning around and leaving the room. Sam touched her head and walked with her when she went by, also stealing one last look at the Holdens.


	61. Chapter 61: Croatoan (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 61

The Impala was quiet at first as Dean drove to the closest gas station for gas and refreshments. Sam had stayed back at the motel they were staying in at the moment so it was just Dean and Sarah. Sarah stared out her window as Dean drove with one foot, the other propped up against his own door. His elbow was on the door while he drove with his right hand.

They had finished another hunt not that long ago in a town of people, whose ten years were up from a deal they had made with a crossroads demon, managing to save the last one. It wasn't an easy one either but when did the Winchesters ever had it easy? Particularly when Dean came face to face with the crossroads demon and she offered him a deal to save John but instantly chose his own kid instead, not wanting to leave her behind without him even if Sarah would be eighteen when the deal would be up.

Dean looked over at his daughter. "You okay, Baby Girl?" he asked.

Sarah nodded. "Just thinking about what happened a couple weeks ago," she admitted, staring out the window.

"You mean with your other family?"

She nodded again.

"Don't worry, they'll never find us. I'll make sure of that," he assured her.

Sarah was silent for a moment before she said as she turned her head to look at him, "What about the car crash and when the cops picked us up?"

"What about it?"

"Someone always calls Papa. That's how they find us, because for some reason he's the one to call in an emergency," she said.

Dean ran his left hand along his hair, looking ahead at the road. "I never thought of that," he finally replied. "I don't even know how to remove him either."

"Uncle Sam's pretty smart do you think he would know?" Sarah shrugged.

"Maybe, or one of us could look it up." Dean reached over and turned the dial of the radio a tad bit when he noticed one of the songs he liked was playing. He tapped the steering wheel with his thumb as he sang along, softly to himself.

When the song was over, Sarah asked, "Wasn't that Grandpa's favorite song?"

"Sure was," he said.

The car was silent. Eventually, Dean pulled into a gas station and parked beside a gas pump, turning the car off before stepping out. Sarah followed him, getting out on his side and shut the car door for her father.

Standing at the gas pump, Dean made the selections he needed and unhooked the hose, taking it over to stick it in the gas tank in the back of the Impala and leaned back against the trunk as he slid his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. Sarah did the same on the other side of the hose.

After a minute of silence, Sarah looked up at her father. "I miss Grandpa, Dad," she told him. "Do you think if all of us had made it through, he would have stayed with us? Or would Grandpa have left again to go find the demon?"

Dean stared at the ground for a few seconds before looking over at his daughter and shrugged. "He did admit we were stronger as a family. Maybe he would have stayed with us." Deep down, he was hoping the conversation was leading towards Sarah opening up to him about her hell visions. With Sarah though, he never could tell. Sometimes when he thought she was going to say one thing, Sarah would surprise him and say something completely different. This time, Sarah didn't say a word and soon, the gas was finished pumping. Dean took it out and returned it to the pump while Sarah closed the tank for him.

Sarah followed her father inside, hurrying to keep up beside him. Dean opened the door to the gas station and held it so Sarah could walk in first before following behind her. Dean grabbed a six-pack of beer and some beef jerky before finding Sarah by the soda.

"Dad, can I get that root beer?" she pointed up at the glass bottled root beer on the top shelf of the cooler.

"Are you sure that's root beer?" he asked her, opening the door to look for himself. He picked one up and read the words on the bottle. "I guess it is root beer."

"Yeah, and I can feel like you and Uncle Sam with your beer until I'm old enough to drink with you," she told him.

Dean grinned at her, "Oh really."

Sarah nodded.

He handed her the soda and walked over to the check-out counter, letting the cooler door close on its own. Sarah hurried over to grab a bag of hot Cheetos before running over there, too and set the soda and chips up on the counter so the clerk could ring everything up.

Everything seemed like it was going fine until the ride back to the motel room where another vision hit. The moment it started, Dean pulled off to the side of the road to tend to his daughter, this time holding her while the vision played through her mind. When it was over, Sarah stared up at her father in horror before backing away from him towards her door.

"What is it?" Dean asked, confused and anxious at the same time. "What did you see?"

"You…you're gonna…" she tried to get it out but found it hard to process much less say it.

"I'm gonna what, Sarah?"

Sarah felt a tear fall as she stared at her father. "K-kill someone."

Dean stared back, "Kill someone? You mean a person?"

She nodded.

Dean turned back in his seat to face forward again. "I'm sure I have a good reason, Baby Girl. I wouldn't just waste someone."

Sarah nodded again and faced forward, too. Of course, her father wouldn't kill an innocent person unless they were possessed. He was a good person and only killed when it was necessary.

Dean hurried back to the motel, knowing Sam probably had a vision as well. Once there, the two of them hurried inside and saw Sam sitting on the floor, panting like he just ran the Detroit marathon. Gathering up their stuff, the Winchesters hit the road for Rivergrove, Oregon.

In Rivergrove, the Winchesters talked to a guy Sam and Sarah recognized from their vision and learned where the guy that Dean would shoot lived, heading over to his house. Before they got back in the Impala, Sam noticed a carving on a wooden post, _Croatoan_ and got his brother and niece's attention.

Dean walked over to get a better look. "Croatoan?" he read.

"Yeah," Sam replied, looking back at him while pointing to the word. "Roanoke? Lost Colony? Ring a bell?"

Dean thought on it but nothing was coming to mind and Sarah hadn't made it that far into history yet.

"Dean, did you pay any attention in history class?" Sam asked of him.

"Yeah. The shot heard around the world, how bills become laws," he shrugged.

What her father was describing sounded very familiar to Sarah. "Dad, I don't think you're describing history class. That sounds like _Schoolhouse Rock_ my first grade teacher made us watch every Friday."

Sam rolled his eyes as Dean shrugged again, "Whatever."

"Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America, late 1500s," Sam explained.

It started coming back to him, "Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I do remember that. The only thing they left behind was a single word carved in a tree." Dean looked back at Sam, "Croatoan."

"Yeah," he said. "And I mean, there were theories, Indian raid, disease. But nobody knows what really happened. They were all just gone. I mean, wiped out overnight."

"Uncle Sam, when are we gonna get to the good stuff in history class?" Sarah asked of her uncle with her hands on her sides. "I'm tired of learning about geography maps and I already can site all fifty states and their capitals."

"That's how fourth grade runs things, Peanut. You don't start learning actual history until a fifth grade level," he told her.

"Well, why can't you bump me up to fifth grade? The school did."

"Sarah, can we discuss this later?" Dean asked. "We're kind of in the middle of something, right now."

Sarah crossed her arms across her chest, "Fine," she agreed.

Dean turned back to Sam, "You don't think this is what's really going on here? I mean…"

Sam looked back at the word, "Whatever Sarah and I saw in our head, it sure wasn't good. But what do you think could do that?"

"Well, like I said," Dean shrugged, looking around him. "All your weirdo visions are always tied to the yellow-eyed demon somehow, so…"

"We should get help," Sam suggested, suddenly. "Bobby, Ellen, maybe…"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Dean walked away, pulling out his phone. Sam and Sarah followed him as he looked into his phone. He stopped, turning halfway around. "I don't have a signal."

Sam pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. "I don't either," he said.

Dean looked around and noticed a payphone. He walked over and tried it, but the line was dead. "I'll tell you one thing, if I was gonna massacre a town, that'd be my first step."

Sarah asked, "Now what?"

"Guess we're on our own," he said.

At the guy's house, they knocked on the front door until a young boy looked to be still in high school answered.

"Hi," Dean greeted him, holding up a badge. "Looking for Duane Tanner. He lives here, right?"

The boy nodded, smiling, "He's my brother."

"Can we talk to him?" asked Dean.

"He's not here right now," he said.

"You know where he is?"

"Yeah. He went on a fishing trip up by Roslyn Lake."

Sam asked him, "Your parents home?"

"Yeah, they're inside," the boy nodded behind him.

A man called from inside the house, "Jake, who is it?" Soon, he joined the boy at the door.

"Hi," Dean greeted him. "U.S. marshals, sir. We're looking for your son, Duane."

"Why?" he asked. "He's not in trouble, is he?"

"No, no. We just need to ask him a couple routine questions, that's all."

"When's he due back from his trip?" Sam asked the man.

The man breathed in, thinking, "I'm not sure."

"Well, maybe your wife knows."

The man looked back, over his left shoulder. "You know, I don't know. She's not here, right now."

"Well, your son said she was," said Dean.

The boy, Jake who had been staring at the ground, looked up at that point, "Did I?"

"She's getting groceries," the man smiled. "So when Duane gets back, there's a number where he can get a hold of you?"

"Oh no, we'll just check in with you later," Dean told them and turned around to head down the front steps. When the door was shut, he asked Sam and Sarah, "That was kind of creepy, right? Little too Stepford?"

Sam was looking ahead. "Big time," he said.

Dean hurried to the side of the house with Sam and Sarah following him, eventually crouching over. The men looked through one of the windows and saw the father and son gathered around what they figured to be the boy's mother. Sarah wasn't thrilled she couldn't see what was going on but could hear screams from inside and when Dean took out his gun and cocked it, she too pulled hers out.

Dean kicked the side doors open and the three ran inside. Father and son looked up, surprised before Dean shot the father in the chest and Sarah immediately shot at the boy who tried to escape out the window, hitting him. The moment Sarah realized what she had done she lowered her gun, slowly as she stared at him, sliding down the far wall.

The next fifteen minutes was a blur as Sam and Dean loaded the family into the Impala and drove to the nearest doctor's office. Sarah sat close beside her father as the mother sat next to Sam. The father was stashed in the trunk while the boy lay in the back seat. Sarah hadn't said a word through the whole thing.

"What's wrong, Baby Girl?" Dean asked, grabbing her left knee, playfully.

"I killed…someone, Dad. I shot him and I killed him," she finally spoke.

Dean paid attention to the road but looked at his daughter out of the corner of his eye. "You did what you had to do, Sarah. You saved this woman's life and that's what matters."

Sarah looked up at her father. "The point is, though, Uncle Sam was right. Everyone is capable of murder and I murdered someone. I intentionally capped a bullet inside the kid. Because of me, he won't have a life."

Dean pulled up to the doctor's and parked beside the curb, nodding for Sam to take the mother inside before turning to his daughter, cupping his hand to the side of her head, "Listen to me, Baby Girl," he told her. "You did what you had to do. You're not some cold-blooded murderer. You're a hero. If that kid had gotten away, who knows how many others he may have killed next. You did good, I promise."

"Then why doesn't it feel like I did good?" she sniffed back tears.

"'Cause you're looking at it in a negative way, I guess, or it's because it's your first time having to shoot a person. I don't know and I wish I could tell ya it gets easy…"

Sarah looked away and felt her father kiss her head.

"Come on. Let's get these two inside before people start asking questions."

She nodded and the two of them stepped out right as Sam returned to grab the boy while Dean grabbed the father from the trunk, carrying them inside while Sarah held each door open for them.

"Wait, you said Jake helped him?" the doctor asked the mother while the Winchesters stood back, listening. "Your son, Jake?"

The mother nodded, looking at the floor. "They beat me." She looked at her. "Tied me up."

The nurse stood back, behind where the mother was sitting. "I don't believe it," she said.

The doctor held a hand out to her to be quiet, "Pam," and turned back to the mother. "Beverly, you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?"

"No, of course not," the mother shook her head and her voice cracked. "I don't know why. One minute, they were my husband and my son, and the next they had the devil in them."

Sarah was squeezing her father's fingers in her left hand. Dean looked down at her as she stared over at the mother then looked up at Sam. "We need to talk," he told Sam and walked back out of the room. Sarah followed right behind him, and Sam followed shortly after.

"Those guys were whacked out of their gourds," Dean said as they walked into another room.

"What do you think?" Sam asked. "Multiple demons, mass possession?"

"If it is a possession, there could be more," he shrugged. "God knows, how many. It could be like a frigging Shriner convention."

"Wait, hold on," Sarah spoke up. "I never saw black eyes or black smoke. There was nothing that's shows that demons are involved. Also, our guns…" she paused to shallow a lump in her throat. "Our guns killed them. Demons can't be killed by guns unless it was the Colt."

"What do you think it is, Peanut?" asked Sam as he shrugged.

"I don't know but it's not a demon possession," she replied.

"Well, whatever," said Dean, walking back towards the first room they were in and stopped. "Something turned them into a monster."

At that point, the doctor walked in.

"How's the patient?" Sam asked.

"Terrible," she replied, irritable. "What the hell happened out there?"

Dean looked away, "We don't know."

"Yeah? Well, you just killed my next door neighbor and his son."

Sarah stared at the floor, feeling guilty all over again. She heard her father tell the doctor, "We didn't have a choice."

"Maybe so, but we need the county sheriff," the doctor nodded. "I need the coroner."

Sam spoke up, "Phones are down."

"I know, I tried. Tell me you have a police radio in the car."

"We do. But, it crapped out just like everything else," he explained.

The doctor let out a frustrated breath, "I don't understand what is happening."

"How far is it until the next town?" Dean asked.

"It's about forty miles down to Sidewinder," she replied.

"All right, I'm going down there and see if I can find some help," he told her. "My partners will stick around," Dean slapped Sam on the shoulder, "keep you guys safe."

The doctor watched him leave. "Safe from what?" she asked.

Dean looked back over his shoulder and stopped. "We'll get back to you on that," he answered before leaving.


	62. Chapter 62: Croatoan (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 62

Sam rubbed his left hand across his niece's upper back as she sat on the edge of one of the examining tables he was leaning against. She stared down at the hard, white floor as she thought about what she had done earlier. Sam was staring over at the father's lifeless body.

"Huh," the doctor said, getting their attention.

Sarah asked. "What?"

"Both their lymphocyte percentage is pretty high," she explained, looking through the microscope lenses. "His body was fighting off a viral infection."

"Really," said Sam. "What kind of virus?"

The doctor shook her head, "Can't say for sure."

"Do you think an infection could've made them act like that?"

"None that I've ever heard of," she said. "I mean, some can cause dementia, but not that kind of violence. Besides, I never heard of one that did this to the blood."

"Did what?" Sarah asked.

"There's this weird residue. If I didn't know better, I swear it was sulfur."

Sam and Sarah exchanged looks between them and looked over at the bodies.

"Can I talk to you, privately?" Sarah asked her uncle before jumping down onto her feet and Sam followed her out of the room, into another.

"Who do you think you are, Peanut? Your dad?" Sam smiled down at her when he had shut the door behind him.

"Shut up," Sarah told her uncle. "So, I was wrong about demons being involved."

"Yeah, but I've never even heard of a demonic viral infection that turns people evil," he shrugged.

"Now that I think about it, I think there is something in that hunter's book of mine. Something about an infection that turned people into psycho killers."

Sam shifted on his feet, his hands in his jacket pockets. "What does it say?"

"If someone with the virus bleeds on you, meaning if your blood makes contact with theirs, then in three to four shorts hours you're infected too. It takes a while for it to take affect but when it does, look out," Sarah explained to him.

"So Mrs. Tanner in there is probably infected then," Sam said, looking back over his shoulder through the window on the door.

"If she was exposed than yes," she said.

Sam looked back at his niece. "Is there any cure at all?" he asked, hopeful, not wanting to have to waste Mrs. Tanner.

Sarah shook her head. "You have to wait until it moves on to the next town and usually by that time, everyone in the current town are dead by then." There was a silent pause before she spoke again. "Maybe keeping Mrs. Tanner locked somewhere will work but who knows how long before the virus moves on."

"You're right, but we gotta try," he sighed.

The two of them returned to the other room to speak with Mrs. Tanner, the boy's mother and explained about the virus to her. The doctor asked her if she had any direct contact with her husband or son's blood and requested if she could take a blood sample. At first, everything looked calm and thought Mrs. Tanner was agreeing to it until she freaked out.

When Sarah saw Mrs. Tanner go after Sam with one of the doctor's tools, she instantly reacted and pulled out her gun again, shooting Mrs. Tanner in the head. The second time did not feel better than the first.

"Oh sweet Jesus," Sarah said, staring down at the lifeless body. "Not again. Not again. Not again." She was now backing away.

Sam had reached back to grab a canister when his niece fired. "Peanut, if you had just waited I would have just knocked her out," he told her.

Sarah was starting to breathe, heavily. "I-I-I I panicked. She was going after you and…I want to go back to the salt-barreled shotguns. Dad shouldn't have trusted me yet with a real pistol." She stopped when she bumped into the bed she had been sitting on earlier.

"Dad?" They looked over at the doctor who had a confused look on her face. "I thought you three were marshals."

"Uh…" Sam tried to come up with an excuse to fix what his niece had said. "We are, you see…uh, her…"

The doctor had them caught by now. "Who are you really?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

Defeated, he said, "I'm Sam and this is my niece, Sarah. My brother, Dean is the one out trying to find help. We're really here to help though, I promise. We wouldn't kill someone unless it was absolutely necessary." Sam then walked over and lifted his niece up and comforted her.

"I killed two people. Two people in one day. What is happening to me, Uncle Sammy?" she said from his right shoulder.

Sam set her gun down on the bed, beside him and rubbed her back. "I know, Peanut. I know," he said, quietly.

Soon, they heard the roar of the Impala pull up outside while Sam was talking to the nurse and Sarah ran out to meet her father, almost knocking him off the sidewalk when he stepped up onto it.

"Whoa, Sarah," he said in surprise. "What's going on?"

"I shot Mrs. Tanner, Dad. She attacked the doctor and Uncle Sam, and I shot her in the head." Sarah was shaking from head to foot as she held onto her father's legs and Dean could feel it.

He pulled her arms away and kneeled to her level. "Hey, remember what I said earlier, Sarah. You had no other choice, you had to. It's not like you're going out and randomly killing people, right?" Dean reminded her.

Sarah nodded at him.

"Don't worry, kid," the man from earlier that had told them where Duane lived assured her. "I had to shoot my neighbor, Mr. Rodgers."

She looked over at him, wiping her left eye, "You have a neighbor named Mr. Rodgers?"

The man looked at Dean, "I'm guessing that's your kid."

"Yeah," Dean told him, above a whisper as he smiled. He turned back to his daughter, "I know it's a lot for you, Baby Girl but it'll be okay, I promise. You're a good kid, okay?"

Sarah nodded at him again before they headed back inside where they met up with Sam.

"Did you guys, uh, get to a phone?" he asked them.

Dean replied, "Roadblock," and told the guy with him he was going to talk with his brother and daughter alone. The guy headed inside the room where the doctor was.

"What's going on out there, Dean?" asked Sam.

"Man, I don't know," he shrugged, walking towards him. "I feel like Chuck Heston in _The Omega Man_. The sarge is the only sane person I could find. What are we dealing with? You know?"

Yeah, doc says it's a virus and Sarah told me about a demonic infection that travels through people's blood when they come into direct contact with another infected person," Sam then went on to explain everything Sarah had said and about the traces of sulfur in the blood. "At least that explains why Sarah and I have been having visions."

"Geez, it's like a Biblical plague," Dean said, walking away.

"Yeah, you don't know how right you are, Dean," Sam said, looking inside a window on the door he was standing in front of, making Dean look back. "I've been poring through Dad's journal. Found something about the Roanoke colony."

"And?" he asked.

"Dad always had a theory about Croatoan. He thought it was a demon's name, sometimes known as Dever or sometimes Reshef. A demon of plague and pestilence."

Dean looked down at the floor for a moment before looking back up at his brother. "Well, that's terrific. Why here? Why now?"

Sam shook his head, "I have no idea." He paused for a second. "But, Dean, I mean, who knows how far this thing can spread. We gotta get out of here. We gotta warn people."

"You heard Dad, there's a roadblock. That means no one can get out. Dad, can I go out and get my book from the trunk? Maybe there's more in there, I'm not thinking of."

"Yeah, come on." Dean took his daughter outside to the Impala again and opened the trunk for her. Sarah reached in and pulled her duffel bag closer to her and quickly unzipped it. Rummaging around, she found the book she was searching for and took it out, backing up so Dean could shut the trunk after he grabbed one of his own duffel bags.

Inside, Sarah quickly scanned through the hunter's book until she came to the section on the Croatoan virus and read up on it, sitting back in a corner. That was how she usually read something, curled up in a corner, highly involved into whatever it was she was reading as she wore her headphones over her ears, listening to her music to keep out the outside world so Sarah could concentrate better. Not that, she couldn't without it. It was mostly to warn others not to disturb her unless absolutely necessary.

Sarah sat in another room with the door shut, not even noticing anything as she read through it, frontward and back. Sometime later Sam and Dean had entered the room, talking about Duane who had showed up from his fishing trip, a cut on his leg. When Sarah finally closed her book and turned off her PSP, Sam was yelling through the door.

"What's going on?" she asked him.

"It's our vision, Peanut. Duane's here and your dad wants to kill him before we can know for sure he's got the virus," he told her.

"Was he bleeding at all?"

"Yeah, but Duane said he had tripped."

"Where was he bleeding?" she continued to ask.

"His leg, under his knee." They waited to see if they heard a gunshot but it never came and soon, Dean returned, unlocking the door. "Dean? You didn't…"

"Shut up," he told his brother and looked at Sarah. "Anything?"

"Nothing," Sarah replied as she shrugged. "I mentioned everything to Uncle Sam that's in here already. No hunter has ever found a cure to it. Best bet is to put the person out of their misery before they infect someone else."

"No cure at all?" Sam wanted to make sure. "Are you sure you didn't miss anything?"

Sarah held the book up in her right arm, "The chapter is only two pages long and I've been reading it for what, three hours. Trust me. I think I'd know if I missed something before."

Soon, the Winchesters started working on bombs they could use against the infected that were outside, surrounding the clinic. Dean was explaining to Sarah what to do as they mixed the chemicals together.

The doctor walked in, her hands in her coat pockets. "It's been over four hours," she told them. "Duane's blood is still clean. I don't think he's infected. I'd like to untie him, if that's all right."

Dean looked at Sam then looked down at what he was doing, not saying a word.

"Yeah, sure," Sam told her.

The doctor walked away.

"You know I'm gonna ask you why," Sam told him when she was gone.

Dean examined the bottle he was filling, making sure it was the right amount, "Yeah, I know."

"So why?" he asked. "Why didn't you do it?"

Sarah looked between her father and uncle, listening before stopping at Dean to wait for an answer. All Dean said was, "We need more alcohol."

"I'll get it," Sarah volunteered and jumped off the stool she was sitting on.

Sam asked, "You sure?"

"Yeah," she said and headed into the storage room. When she noticed the bottles on a high shelf, she pulled another stool up to it and climbed on top to stand on and reached up to grab a bottle, putting each one down on the table underneath before climbing back down. When Sarah was on solid ground, she grabbed the two bottles and turned around to see the nurse standing there. She had not noticed the nurse had shut and locked the door.

"I've been wanting to get you alone," the nurse told her.

Sarah asked, confused, "Why?"

Her question was answered when the nurse shoved her back, alerting Sam, Dean, and the sarge. The nurse sat on top of Sarah yanking her shirt up to slice across her stomach, making it bleed and did the same on her palm, touching it to Sarah's cut.

Dean burst through the door and shot at the nurse a couple times in the back until she fell over. Sarah sat up, slowly, and looked at her stomach where it was bleeding. Dean stared in horror and the thought that his little girl was now possibly infected crossed his mind. He took a step towards her until the sarge stopped him.

"She bled on her," he confirmed, nodding down at Sarah. "She's got the virus."

Both Dean and Sarah stared at him before sharing a look between each other. Dean shoved his arm away from him and went over to lift Sarah up to her feet again, leading her out of the room, nodding for the doctor to follow. There was no way his daughter could have this virus. If she was immune to a skinwalker's bite, Sarah had to be immune to this.

Dean lifted Sarah up onto the examination table and let the doctor take a sample of her blood before bandaging it up and gave her an ice pack to hold on it. They waited while the doctor checked it but it was too soon to know.

Dean paced back and forth, rubbing his hand down his mouth and along his hair. Finally, he said, "Doc, check her wound again, would you?" No one said anything. Dean stopped in front of his daughter and looked over at the doctor, "doctor."

The doctor jumped at his voice.

The sarge spoke up, "What'd she need to examine it for? You saw what happened."

Dean glared at him.

The doctor stepped closer to Sarah. "Did her blood actually enter your wound?" she asked the little girl.

"Come on, of course it did," the sarge exclaimed.

"We don't know that for sure," Dean told him, angrily.

"Dad, I'm scared," Sarah admitted. "I did feel her hand on my stomach, I felt her blood." There were tears starting to fill her eyes.

Dean stepped forward and pulled her against his chest.

"We can't take a chance," said Duane.

"No one's shooting my little girl," Dean warned them.

"She's not gonna be your daughter much longer. You said it yourself."

"Nobody's shooting anyone," Dean exclaimed.

Duane stepped forward, "You were gonna shoot me!"

"You don't shut your pie hole, I still might," he pointed at him.

Sarah pushed away from her father and looked up at him, "Dad, they're right."

Dean looked down at her.

"I am infected. It's just like that book I read once from Gram's collection. I want you to do it, Dad, like George had to kill Lenny. Do it before I kill somebody else, please." Sarah sniffed in, hard as tears were now running down both sides of her cheeks. "Please, Dad."

Dean looked at her, "Forget it, Baby Girl. We still got time…"

"Time for what?" asked the sarge.

Dean gave him a death glare.

"Look, I understand she's your daughter and that she's just a kid, I'm sorry. But if you won't do it, I will." The sarge whipped out a pistol, facing Sarah.

"I'm going to say this once," Dean warned him, "You make a move on her, you'll be dead before you hit the ground. You understand me?" He raised his voice, "Do I make myself clear?"

Sam, who had kept quiet as he tried to hold his emotions down at the thought of his only niece having the virus, tried to calm his brother down, "Dean!"

"Then what are we supposed to do?" the sarge demanded of Dean.

Dean looked down at his daughter, who was starting to hiccup from the amount of crying she was doing and took out his keys, tossing them to Sam. "Get the hell out of here, that's what," he told all of them, including Sam. "Go with Sam. You got the explosives. There's an arsenal in there. You two go with them. You got enough firepower to handle anything now."

The sarge asked, "What about you?"

Dean didn't respond.

"Dean, no. No," Sam told him, "I'm not leaving either of you behind."

"Go, Sam. Go to the Roadhouse or meet up with Bobby. I'm staying with my little girl until the very end."

Sarah shook her head, "Dad, no. Go with them. Finish what you started. It's what Grandpa wanted, right?"

Dean looked at her again, "I'm not leaving you behind, Sarah. Not after everything we'd been through."

"Dad, I already killed two people today. I don't want to kill you too. I still have my gun, suicide may be a sin like murder is, but I'll do it anyway to save others. Please, just go."

The sarge and Duane turned and left the room. The doctor followed after them while Sam just stood there.

"Go, Sam," Dean told his brother.

"Dean, I can't leave you." Sam was close to tears by now too.

"You have to, Sam. There's no choice. Go now."

Sam's chest was moving in and out, quickly. Finally, he walked over to his niece and squeezed her close to him before moving on to his brother then exited the room. When he turned back to steal one last, final glance, Dean, shut and locked the door and stared at his brother. He hated having to leave his brother out in the world alone but he had to be a good father and take care of his little girl.

Dean turned and walked away from the door. "Wish we had a deck of cards or a foosball table," he smiled, trying to lighten the moment. He noticed Sarah had pulled out her gun from behind her and walked over to grab it out of her hand. "You're not doing it yourself, Sarah Lynn."

"Then you do it, Dad," she told him.

Dean shook his head, "Not until you're plunging towards me at the very last minute."

"Dad, please. Just do it now and go with Uncle Sam. Go kick that demon's ass for Grandma and Grandpa, and me. You won't ever have to worry about me. You can focus more on hunts and stuff without having to make sure I'm safe. Remember when you were gonna die? You told us to go on without you."

"And did you?" he said, reminding her.

"No," she admitted, realizing that was a bad example.

Dean walked over and sat down on a small filing cabinet, removing his own gun from behind him. "Truth is, Baby Girl, I'm tired."

"Of what? Hunting?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "This life." Dean was staring at the floor with just his eyes, sadly. "This weight on my shoulders. Man, I'm tired of it."

"I don't get it. After you kill me, you're quitting?"

Dean didn't answer. He didn't have the heart to tell her his plan. Sarah had become the majority of his world. Yes, he still had Sam to watch out for but what good would he be, thinking about his little girl all the time, being gone. Life wouldn't be the same. There would be no point. It was a difficult decision, a very difficult decision, but he had to choose his daughter. He just had to. If he could only save one person, it would be Sarah.

"I know Grandpa's gone but Uncle Sam will still be around. You'll have him," Sarah told her father.

"It's not about your grandfather," he said. "I mean, part of it, sure…"

"Then what, Dad?" she asked.

Dean didn't respond. Unknown to any of them, Sam had returned and was listening outside the room. He waited to see if Dean would answer before he stepped in front of the door and knocked. Dean stood up to unlock it.

"You have to see this," Sam told him.

Dean looked back at Sarah who jumped off the table. The three of them hurried outside to see the town completely deserted. All they could hear were crickets chirping.

"It's like a ghost town out here," Sarah stated as she looked around. "Everyone's gone."

"They all just vanished," the doctor added.

Dean looked over and saw the word, _Croatoan_ written on another wooden post.

Inside, the doctor rechecked Sarah's blood. "Well, it's been five hours," she said, looking through the microscope lenses, "and your blood's still clean. I don't understand it but I think you dodged a bullet."

Sarah stared at the doctor, surprised. "It didn't affect me at all?"

She shook her head.

Sarah looked up at her father who was standing on her other side. First skinwalkers, now this? It didn't make any sense.

"When you compare it with the Tanners' samples…" The doctor looked over at another microscope and paused in mid-sentence. "What the hell?"

"What?" Sam asked who was also there.

She looked back at them, "Their blood. There's no trace of the virus. No sulfur, nothing"

Sarah looked over, between her father and uncle. That wasn't what she read in her book. Not everyone was dead yet. How was this possible? Everyone was at a loss for words.

When it was light out, everyone but the doctor packed up to leave. The sarge and Duane packed up the sarge's truck and headed south. The Winchesters headed off in the other direction.

Dean looked up at his daughter through the rear-view mirror as if he was trying to figure her out. "I swear I am gonna lose sleep over this."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked beside him.

"Why here? Why now? Where the hell did everyone go? It's not like they just frigging melted."

"Why was Sarah immune?" he added.

"Yeah, that too," Dean agreed. "It's the skinwalker job all over again."

"You think I could've been immune to the virus as well? I mean, we share everything else."

"Not everything," Sarah spoke up from the backseat. "Remember, we may share the visions of what's to come, there's still other things I have that you don't, Uncle Sam."

"I just want to know why Sarah's so damn important to this demon," said Dean.

Sam and Sarah only shrugged.

"I don't care how warm that beer is now, I need a drink," Dean barely muttered and drove until he found a place they could pull over and rest.

Sarah sat up on the top post of the wooden fence while Dean popped the lid off her root beer, handling it to her before opening his beer, passing the bottle opener to Sam so he could open his own.

The small family stayed for a long time, sipping their drinks as they took in the sights around them. Dean leaned on the fence between where Sam and Sarah sat, "Feel like one of us now, Sarah?"

Sarah took a long drink on her root beer. "Oh yeah," she smiled making Dean smile in return. He wasn't sure why Sarah was immune but was glad he didn't have to kill her this time either.

Sam was still thinking about the night before of what he heard. "So…last night. I heard the two of you talking. You want to tell me the hell you were talking about, Dean?"

Dean looked over at his brother, "What do you mean?"

"What do I mean?" Sam repeated, smiling. "I mean, you said you were tired of the job. And that it wasn't just because of Dad."

"Forget it," he told him, staring out at the lake.

Sam shook his head, "No, I can't. No way."

"Look, man, I thought Sarah and I were gonna die. You can't hold that over me."

"How were you gonna die?" Sarah asked, confused again. "You said you would kill me when I start lunging at you."

"Never mind, Sarah. It's nothing for you to worry about."

It crossed her mind, his plan. "You were gonna kill yourself after you killed me, weren't you?"

"I couldn't live with you dead," he told her. "No way."

Sarah couldn't respond so she looked away.

"Dean, just talk," Sam told his brother.

"And what if I don't?" he asked.

"Then I guess I'll just have to keep asking until you do."

Dean half smiled at his brother then looked back at the lake. He turned around to face the other way. "I don't know, man. I just think we ought to…go to the Grand Canyon." He smiled over at Sam again, bigger this time."

Sam raised an eyebrow, smiling too, "What?"

"Yeah, you know…" Dean shook his head at the ground. "All this driving back and forth across country. You know, I've never been to the Grand Canyon."

"You're not missing much," Sarah told her father and took another drink of her root beer. "Went when I was five, did not impress me, whatsoever. Just a big hole in the ground that goes on for miles."

"Or I could take you fishing, Sarah. You and me. We can push Sam off the dock," Dean had to grin at that. "Or we can find some amusement park and ride the roller coaster until we hurl," he nudged her with his elbow.

"You're not making any sense," said Sam, watching him.

Dean shrugged, looking over at him, "I just think we should take a break from all this. Spend some time giving Sarah some more childhood memories like we did for her birthday. Why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibly? Why can't we live life a little bit?"

"I understand wanting to make memories for Sarah but why are you saying all this?"

Dean stared at the ground for a moment before he stood up and walked towards the Impala, taking a drink of his beer. Sam stood up while Sarah jumped off the fence and both of them followed.

"No, no, no, Dean," said Sam, "you're my brother, all right?"

Dean turned back around.

"So whatever weight you're carrying, let me help a little bit."

Dean looked away for a moment, forcing a smile. "I can't. I promised."

"Promised who?" Sarah asked.

"Your grandfather, just like you did."

"And Sarah finally told us, Dean. To help us and herself." Sam looked back at his niece, "You feel better about it now, right?"

Sarah shook her head at him, "Not in the slightest. I promised him I wouldn't and I did it anyway."

Not getting any help from his niece, he turned back to his brother. "What is it, Dean?"

"Right before Dad died…he told me something. He told me something about you and Sarah."

Sam didn't respond right away. "What?" he finally asked.

Sarah started to get intrigued as well but understood if her father didn't want to break his own promise that was just fine by her.

"Dean, what did he tell you?"

Dean licked his lips, looking away at the ground. After a few minutes, he looked over at Sarah. "Sarah, go wait for us in the car and do not eavesdrop. Listen to your music or something."

"I don't get to hear but Uncle Sam does?" she questioned her father, looking between them.

"Don't argue with me, Sarah Lynn. Just go," he told her.

Reluctantly, she started walking over to the Impala and got inside, turning on her PSP to play one of her games, using her headphones. All she could hear in her ears were guns blasting zombies away.

Dean waited until he knew for sure Sarah couldn't hear before he began. "Dad said that he… He wanted me to watch out for you…take care of you."

"He told you that a million times," Sam said, shaking his head.

"This time was different." He looked down at the ground again. "He said that I had to…save you, you and Sarah." Dean looked up at him.

"Save us from what?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head, "He just said I had to save you. That nothing else mattered. And if I couldn't, I'd…" He had to stop, mid-sentence.

"You'd what, Dean?"

A huge lump appeared his throat as tears filled his eyes. "I…I'd have to kill you."

Sam jerked his head back once he heard his own father's request.

Dean painfully continued, "He said I might have to kill one of you, Sammy." His voice was cracking at the thought of having to kill both his brother and daughter.

"Kill us?" he questioned, almost outraged. Sam tried to find the right words to say to his brother. "What the hell's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," Dean shook his head at the ground.

"I mean, he must've had some reason of saying it, right? Did he know the demon's plan for us? Are we supposed to go dark side or something?" Sam asked, holding his arms out to the side. "What else did he say, Dean?"

"Nothing, I swear," he shook his head at Sam, this time.

"How could you not of told me this?"

"Because it was Dad and he begged me not to, just like he probably begged Sarah," Dean told him.

"Who cares," Sam bellowed at him. "Take some responsibility for yourself, Dean. In fact, Sarah has a right to know about this, too. You had no right to keep this from us."

"You think I wanted this?" Dean asked. "Huh? I wish to God he'd never opened his mouth. That I wouldn't have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day."

Sam just turned and walked away, his back to his brother.

Dean faced the lake again and looked over at Sam's back. "Do not say a word of this to Sarah. You cannot tell her any of this. I don't care how smart she is, she's still just a kid and I don't want her to know any of this."

Sam looked back. "We have to figure out what all this means, Dean. How are we gonna do that with Sarah right there, with us? You won't send her to Bobby's and you heard her, she won't go until this demon is dead."

"I say we just lay low, at least for a while," he replied. "Be safer. Then that way I can make sure…"

Sam just smiled, "What?" he asked, sarcastically. "None of us don't turn evil? That we don't turn into some kind of killer?"

Dean raised his eyebrows, "I never said that."

"You know, you're not careful, you will have to waste me, one day, Dean."

"I never said that!"

Sarah had heard that over her game, making her look out the back window.

"Damn it, Sam. This whole thing is spinning out of control, all right? Sarah's immune to skinwalkers and some weirdo demon virus… You probably are, too."

Sam turned around to face the lake, this time which Dean continued. Sarah tried to focus on her video game but she couldn't help push one side of her headphones away from her ear and listen in on the brothers' conversation.

"…And I don't know what the hell to do anymore. You're pissed at me and I get it. That's fine. I deserve it."

Sam glared over at his brother.

"But we lay low until we figure out our next move, okay?"

"Forget it," Sam told him, coldly and looked back at the lake.

Dean stepped closer to his younger brother, "Sam please, man," and hit him in the arm to look at him. "Hey, please. Just give me some time. Just give me some time to think, okay? I'm begging you. Please, man, please. If not for me then do it for Sarah. Okay?"

Sam tried to look everywhere but Dean until he decided to head back to the Impala, leaving his brother there, alone. Sarah heard footsteps coming and acted like she was scratching an itch, pushing the headphone back over her ear.


	63. Chapter 63: Hunted

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 63

Dean paced back and forth in the motel room, his phone to his ear. "Come on, Sam," he said. "Answer your phone." Once the ringing went to voicemail, Dean hung up and called Ellen. "You sure you didn't hear anything last night, Baby Girl?" he asked when he stopped pacing, and faced her.

Sarah was sitting on one of the beds, watching TV. "No, I was asleep the entire night. You know me, I sleep like a rock."

It rang twice before Ellen picked up. "Harvelle's," she said.

"Hey Ellen, it's Dean. You heard from Sam lately?" Dean asked her.

"No I haven't, sweetie," Ellen replied. "What's going on?"

"Sam took off last night and I can't get a hold of him. Look, if you see or hear from him, can you call me?"

"I sure can," she said. "How's Sarah doing?"

"Hanging in there," he shrugged. "At least I have one that's not a runner." Dean remembered what he and Sarah had talked about the other night, and walked over to sit on the other bed, facing the one Sarah was sitting on. "Hey, you wouldn't happen to know how to remove a person from a kid's emergency contact, would you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sarah's pain-in-the-ass grandfather is still on her emergency contact from when she lived with her other family and every time we have a run-in with a hospital or the police we have them to deal with." Dean then went on to explain what had happened a couple weeks ago in Baltimore.

Ellen was surprised. "No. Seriously?"

"Yup, and now they want Sarah back for some reason," he said.

"But Sarah said they went through a lot of trouble tracking you down in the first place. Why would they want her back now? Do they know you're hunters?" she asked.

"I don't think so but after seeing her eye, hearing about the car crash, and what happened in Baltimore, I think they're just looking out for the kid's safety."

"Well, getting them removed you have to go through Sarah's records. Do you have any of that?"

"What? You mean like her birth certificate?" Dean asked. "I've never laid eyes on any of that stuff."

"I'm sure Ash could get you that stuff. I'll ask him and when you find Sam, come on over here and we'll see about getting these imbeciles off our Sarah's case." Ellen smiled into the phone.

Dean couldn't help but smile too. "Thanks, Ellen."

"Don't mention it, Dean." The two of them hung up.

Dean ran his hands along his hair, his elbows on his knees. He looked over, curious when he kept hearing children screaming on the TV. "What are you watching?" he questioned his daughter.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "This girl from, I'm guessing England or something, is trying to help this mom and dad get control of their children. I mean, look at this. This five-year-old is talking back to his mom like he's the adult. My mom never would have allowed that from me."

He continued to watch until it got on his nerves. "Turn this crap off, Sarah. Isn't there cartoons on or something?" Dean could not stand out-of-control kids, which was why he didn't much care for them before Sarah came along. He stood up and headed over to the bathroom.

Sarah flipped through the channels to find something else to watch. The whole day, Dean spent it, trying to reach Sam but to no avail and checked in with the Roadhouse every few hours. Finally, Dean packed up and just started driving.

"Dad, do you think Uncle Sam left because of Grandpa's secret you told him?" Sarah asked beside him.

Dean focused on the road. "Yeah, probably," he said.

"How come I can't know the secret? I won't run away. I promise," she told him.

"I know you won't, Baby Girl. I just don't want you to know."

She asked, "Why not? I told you mine."

Dean's phone rang from his pocket. "This is different," he said and reached into his pocket to pull it out and answered it. "Hello?"

"It's Ellen," Ellen answered.

"Hey, have you heard from Sam?" Dean asked.

"I have," she replied. "But he made me promise not to tell you where he is."

"Come on, Ellen. Please," he begged her. "Something bad could be going on here and I swore I'd look after that kid."

"Now Dean, they say you can't protect your loved ones forever."

Dean didn't respond.

"Well, I say screw that. What else is family for? He's in Lafayette, Indiana."

Dean thanked her and hung up.

"Did Miss Ellen find him?" Sarah asked, hopeful.

"Yup," was all Dean said.

It was a long drive to Lafayette, Indiana. Dean pulled up to a motel and parked. He looked over at a window to one of the rooms and smiled, "Thank God you're okay."

Sarah was sitting up onto her left foot to see for herself. "You know, for someone who's a nonbeliever, you sure do mention His name a lot," she pointed out to her father.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Shut up," he teased her. When Sam had moved away from the window to reveal a girl with him, Dean smirked. "Oh, you're better than okay. Sam, you sly dog."

"Uncle Sam's got himself a girlfriend now? That's what he's been doing?" Sarah questioned. "I mean, we've been worried sick about him the past week and all this time, Uncle Sam's just been with a girl?" There was a short pause. "I'm gonna kill him."

Dean looked at his daughter but the sound of glass shattering diverted his attention back to Sam's motel room. Sarah happened to catch someone up on a roof, next door with a rifle.

"Dad, up there!" she pointed at the man.

Dean looked for himself and quickly opened his door. "Stay here." He jumped out of the car and hurried up to the roof. Sarah watched, hoping and praying her father would get there in time. Sure enough, Dean reached the roof and kicked the guy. She couldn't tell if the guy was familiar to them or not but they must have known Sam, or the girl possibly.

When she saw the guy stand up, Sarah could have sworn it was Gordon Walker, the vampire hunter they left tied up. Quickly, she bolted from the car, grabbing the keys Dean had left in the ignition and ran over to her uncle's motel room and started pounding on the door.

"Uncle Sam, it's me, Sarah!" she called through the door when there was no response.

Soon, Sam thrust open the door, surprised to see his niece standing there. "Peanut? What are you doing here?" he asked. "Where's your dad?"

"He went up to stop the guy that was shooting at you and hasn't come down since," Sarah explained as she pointed up at the roof.

Sam and the girl with him looked up where the kid was pointing and saw no one there. Sam hurried up there to check things out. By the time the three of them got there, Dean and the mysterious guy was gone.

"Wait," the girl said. "I don't understand. Shouldn't we be talking to the cops?"

"As if," Sarah replied, following behind her. "They wouldn't do anything."

Sam kneeled down where he found a bullet shell. "These are .223 calibers," he said. "Subsonic rounds."

Sarah took it, examining it for herself. "He must have put a suppressor on the rifle then," she added.

The girl had bent over to get a closer look, too, and stood up, shrugging at them, "Dude, who are you people?"

Both Sam and Sarah looked at the girl. "Uh, we watch a lot of action movies," Sarah lied, sort of. She has gotten into them, recently.

Back down in the parking lot, Sam and Sarah tried to figure out what was going on.

"You or your dad never noticed anyone tailing you guys, Peanut?" Sam was asking his niece.

Sarah shook her head, "No, not at all. We just got into town half an hour ago."

"How'd find me anyway?"

"Dad talked to Miss Ellen. She called and told us where you were which by the way you had us worried sick. Do you have any idea how much sleep we lost over this? You are in so much trouble, Uncle Sam…do not know your middle name." Sarah had her arms tightly folded, glaring up at him.

Sam had to laugh, looking away from his niece. "Oh am I," he said.

"Oh, you bet. You think this is funny, Uncle Sammy boy? Just wait 'til we get Dad back. Me and him will come up with a good punishment for you."

"Strict niece you have there, Sam," the girl nudged him. "Hate to be in your shoes, right now."

Sarah turned on her. "And who are you? You better be treating my uncle right."

"Okay, Peanut," Sam finally told her. "That's enough. This is Ava. She has visions like we do. Ava, this is Sarah," he introduced the two of them.

Sarah looked up at her uncle when he said Ava has visions too and looked over at her. "You're one of us? So did one of your relatives die in a fire too?" she asked.

"Uh, no," Ava replied and looked over at Sam.

"Long story," was all he said. "Ava, maybe you should go home."

"What about you?" she asked.

"Sarah and I are gonna go look for my brother." About that time, Sam's cell phone rang. He fished it out of his jeans pocket to answer it. "Hello?"

It was Dean. "Sam?"

"Dean?"

"Yeah, it's me. Sarah with you?"

Sam looked down at his niece. "She's right here, safe and sound."

"Sam, we've been looking for you," Dean told him. "Lafayette's a real funkytown, isn't it?" He paused for a few seconds before he added, "You ditched us, Sammy."

"Yeah, I'm sorry. Sarah already said I was in trouble," he quickly smiled down at Sarah again. "Where are you?"

"I'm at 5637 Monroe Street," Dean told his brother. "Why don't you come meet me here?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam agreed and hung up. Something was wrong and he knew it. In a secret way, Dean had told Sam that he was in trouble with a gun pointed at him. Sam quickly jotted down the address.

"Is Dad okay?" Sarah asked, anxiously.

"Your dad's in trouble, he said the code word," he told her.

Ava questioned, "Code word?"

"Yeah, funkytown." Sam looked at her who then gave a strange look. "He thought of it."

Sarah looked up at Ava. "I know, I thought it needed a better code word too but my dad insisted."

Once Sam persuaded Ava to go on home to her fiancé, he and Sarah headed straight to rescue Dean who was a little tied up at the moment. He was tied to a chair inside a rundown, old house in the middle of nowhere. Gordon was over, going through his duffel bag of weapons.

"Gordy," said Dean. "I know we're not exactly your favorite people. But don't you think this is a little extreme?"

Gordon was examining a couple grenades in each hand. "What, you think this is revenge?"

He shrugged, "Well, we did leave you tied up for three days." Dean laughed to himself. "Which was awesome. Sorry, I shouldn't laugh."

"Yeah," said Gordon, looking forward while his back was to Dean. "I was definitely planning on whupping your ass for that."

Dean nodded, "Mm-hm."

"That's not what this is. This isn't personal. I'm not a killer, Dean. I'm a hunter. And your family is fair game." Gordon snapped a gun cartage into a gun as Dean stared at him. Soon, Gordon picked up a rifle and went over to sit across from him. "See, I was doing an exorcism down in Louisiana," he explained. "Teenaged girl. Seemed routine, some low-level demon. But between all the jabbing and the head-spinning damn thing muttered something. About a coming war. I don't think it meant to. It just kind of slipped out, but it was too late. Piqued my interest. And you can really make a demon talk, if you got the right tools."

"And what happened to the girl it was possessing?" asked Dean.

"She didn't make it," he replied, not looking at him.

Dean shook his head, looking away himself, "Well, you're a son of a bitch."

Gordon finally stared at him and stood up to walk over. He slugged him in the face, making Dean grunt. "That's my mama you're talking about." He held up one finger, "Anyway…This demon tells me they have soldiers to fight in this coming war. Humans, fighting on hell's side," Gordon nodded at Dean, "Do you believe that? I mean, they're psychics, so they're not exactly pure human but still… What kind of worthless scumbag you gotta be to turn against your own race? But you know the biggest kick in the ass? "

Gordon stepped closer to Dean. "This demon said I knew two of them. Our very own Sarah and Sammy Winchester," he smirked, chuckling.

Dean smiled at his lap, "Oh, this is…This is a whole new level of moronic, even for you."

"Yeah," Gordon smiled down at the floor before looking back up. "Come on, Dean. I know about their visions. Sarah's mind thing. I know everything."

"Really?" he smirked in return. "Because a demon told you," Dean laughed. "Yeah, and it wasn't lying."

Gordon was just standing there, stiff. "Hey Dean," he shook his head, "I'm not some reckless yahoo, okay? I did my homework. Made damn sure it was true. Look, you got your Roadhouse connections…I got mine. That's how I found Sammy in the first place and I knew Sarah wouldn't be too far away."

Gordon walked over to another chair and sat in it, facing the front door. "About a month ago, I found another one of these freaks, here in town. He could deep fry a person just by touching them."

Dean looked down at his arms, "Yeah, did he kill anyone?"

"Oh, besides Mr. Tinkles, the cat? No." He glanced over at Dean, "But he was working up to it."

Dean glared over at him.

"They're all gonna be killers, Dean. We gotta take them all out. And that means Sarah and Sammy, too."

"You lay one finger on Sarah, I'll kill you myself," Dean threatened the vicious hunter. "Besides, do you think any one of them are stupid enough to go through that door?"

"No, I don't," Gordon shook his head, ignoring the threat. "Especially since you probably found a way to warn them." He gave a small laugh. "You really think I'm that stupid?"

Dean grinned over at him.

Gordon stood up, walking towards the front door as he stared ahead, "No. The two of them are gonna scope the place first. See me covering the front door." He turned halfway around to look towards the back of the house. So they're gonna take the back. And when they do, they'll hit the trip wire."

Dean slowly raised his head.

"Then," Gordon continued, moving towards his bag and pulled out a grenade. "…boom."

"Neither one of them are gonna fall for a frigging trip wire. I taught Sarah too well for that," Dean said, proudly.

He looked over at Dean then at the wall. "Maybe you're right," and Gordon pulled out a second grenade, walking towards him again. "That's why I'll have a second one. Hey, look. I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to do this, especially to a kid, I really do. But for what it's worth…it'll be quick." Gordon walked away towards the back of the house.

Dean looked away, his heart starting to race as he thought of losing his brother and daughter in an explosion. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let that happen. Dean wasn't about to lose the two of them, the two he needed to protect. However, thinking about losing his little girl brought tears to his eyes that immediately ran down both sides of his face.

When Gordon finished setting up the trap, he walked back to the front of the house.

"Come on, man," Dean tried to plead with him. "I know both of them. Better than anyone. They both have more of a conscious than I do. I mean, Sam feels guilty surfing the internet for porn."

Gordon pulled a chair up, beside him, sitting on it backwards. "Maybe you're right," he said. "But one day, they're gonna be a monster."

"How? Huh? How does a guy like Sam or a kid like Sarah become a monster?"

Gordon looked at Dean, "Think back to that vampire hunt we all did. The lust in Sarah's eyes as she pounded that vampire, the way she went after me. I'm sure there's been other hunts too. In fact, I happen to know that little Sarah is being betted on to be top dog in this coming war."

"What?" Dean stared at the guy like he was crazy. "Sarah is the most caring, compassionate kid I know. Heck, person I know. She wouldn't lead a bunch of soldiers."

"The demon spewed a lot of information just on Sarah alone, and just how big of a role she'll be playing. She's more monster than you ever know."

"You shut your trap," Dean threatened him. "You know nothing of my daughter."

"Trust me, I know enough and eventually, she'll turn. Sarah won't be the innocent, little kid you know and love."

"You don't know that!" he spat, growing angrier.

"I'm surprised at you, Dean. Getting all emotional," Gordon told him.

Dean looked away, angrily.

"I'd heard you were more of a professional than this."

He scoffed at Gordon out of the corner of his eye.

"Look, let's say you're cruising around in that car of yours and, uh, you had little Hitler riding shotgun, right? Back when he was some goofy, crappy artist. But you knew what he was gonna turn into someday. You'd take him out," Gordon snapped his fingers, "No questions. Am I right?"

Dean looked forward, "That's not Sam or Sarah."

"Yes it is." Gordon laid his left arm across Dean's right shoulder. "You just can't see it in Sam yet but Sarah…it's starting with her." He removed his arm and looked away for a second before returning his attention to Dean. "Dean, it's their destiny."

He didn't respond or look at the guy.

"Look," Gordon continued, "I'm sympathetic. Sam's your brother and Sarah's your daughter. You love them both. This has gotta hurt like hell for you." He shook his head at the floor and reached over into his bag to pull out a folded bandana. Gordon stood up. "But here's the thing," he walked behind Dean and wrapped it around his mouth, forcefully, tying it, tight. "It would've wrecked him." Gordon returned to his seat. "But your dad…if it really came right down to it, he'd have the stones to do the right thing here. Are you telling me you're not the man he is?"

Dean slowly glared over at Gordon who stood up again to return his chair back, farther away to watch the front door.

Sam and Sarah quietly walked towards the front of the house. Sam gave one last look at the motel stationary he had written the address on to make sure it was the right place. Sarah didn't stop though, she crept up to the house and carefully stepped on a wooden crate to look through the space between two wood panels of the house, and saw her father tied and gagged over in a chair. She scanned the room and saw it was indeed Gordon Walker who had tried to shoot her uncle and taken her father. Sarah felt her right fist clench, tightly.

Sam walked over, also quiet, and looked for himself. He got his niece's attention and jerked his head for her to follow. The two of them hurried around the house to the back door and Sam saw it was locked. Sarah took a lockpick out from her back pocket and soon she had the door unlocked but was nudged back as Sam went in first.

Once Sam stepped inside, Sam removed one of his shoes and tossed it ahead of them, ducking back outside, while shielding Sarah.

"There's probably two of them," Sarah whispered to him, quietly after the explosion.

Sam nodded, agreeing with her and removed his other shoe to toss that inside, emitting another explosion. They could hear Gordon apologizing to Dean from inside. Both Sam and Sarah hid back until Gordon was there and cocked their guns at him from behind.

"Drop the gun," Sam ordered him.

Gordon looked back to his left at Sam from the corner of his eye. "Shouldn't take your shoes off around here. You might get tetanus."

"He said to put it down, Gordon," Sarah told him.

He slowly placed his rifle down on the floor, and slowly rose back up. "You wouldn't shoot me, would you? Because Dean thinks you both are some kind of saint."

"Yeah," Sam scoffed, "I wouldn't be too sure." He looked over at Sarah, "Go take care of your dad, I got Gordon."

Sarah nodded and started backing away, keeping her gun pointed at Gordon until she was out of the room. She then hurried over to where her father was still tied and gagged. She saw tears on his face as Sarah quickly started to untie his right wrist. "It's okay, Dad. Uncle Sammy's taking care of Gordon. We're both just fine, I promise." Once she had Dean's right wrist untied, she moved around to untie the other one before Dean removed the gag from his mouth.

Dean dropped to his knees and pulled his daughter into a hug, squeezing her tight.

Sarah tried to hug him in return but was finding it hard to breathe. "Dad…you're…you're squeezing me too tight."

He quickly let go and stood up just as Sam was coming into the room, bloodied up. Dean hurried over to him and gave him an once-over before heading into the back room. Sam stopped him.

"I let him live once," Dean said. "I'm not making the same mistake twice."

"Trust me," Sam assured him. "Gordon's taken care of. Come on." He reached out for his brother and pulled him along as the three of them headed out the front door.

The moment they were outside and halfway down the path, Gordon appeared and started shooting at them. The Winchesters ducked and took off at a run, eventually jumping into a ditch.

"You call this 'taken care of?'" Dean questioned his brother.

The Winchesters stayed in the ditch until several police cars pulled up, surrounding Gordon and arrested him on the spot, also searching his car.

Sarah smirked behind her, at Dean, "Anonymous tip, Uncle Sam's idea."

Sam smiled at him, too.

"You're a fine, upstanding citizen, Sam," Dean said, watching as the police read Gordon his rights.

When it was all clear, the Winchesters headed for the Impala and got in, except for Dean. Sarah fell right to sleep once she climbed into the back seat and her head hit her monkey, using it as a pillow. Sam took the front seat and tried to call Ava, which he wasn't having much luck getting a hold of her. Dean called the Roadhouse, pissed off.

"Gordon Walker was hunting Sam and Sarah?" Ellen was asking in surprise.

"Yeah, he almost killed all of us because somebody over there can't keep their frigging mouth shut," Dean spat at her.

Ellen rolled her eyes, "And you honestly think it was me? Or Ash, or Jo? No way."

"Who else knows about them, huh?" he demanded, looking back over his shoulder at Sam who was staring at his own phone. Dean turned back, facing forward. "You must've been talking to somebody."

"You can say a lot of things about us, but we aren't disloyal, and we aren't stupid," she shook her head at the ground. "We haven't breathed a word of this."

"Gordon said he had Roadhouse connections, Ellen."

"And this Roadhouse is full of other hunters," Ellen looked around the wall at the many hunters that were drinking and talking to each other. One was even disassembling a gun. "They're all smart. They're good trackers, each of them with their own patterns and connections. Hell, I could name twelve of them right now that are capable of putting this together." She sighed. "I am sorry about what happened, Dean. I love Sarah like she was my own. But I can't control these people. Or what they choose to believe."

Back on the road, Sam was still trying to reach Ava. "Hey Ava, it's Sam again, um," he said, leaving another voice message. "Call me when you get this. Just wanna make sure you got home okay. All right, bye." Sam hung up the phone.

Dean asked as he focused on the road, "Everything all right?"

"Yeah, I hope so," he replied.

"Well, Gordon should be reaching for the soap the next few years at least," Dean smirked.

Sam agreed, "Yeah. If they pin Scott Carey's murder on him. And if he doesn't bust out."

Dean stayed silent for a second before he threatened, "Dude, if you ever take off like that again…"

"What?" asked Sam and smirked. "You'll kill me?"

"That's so not funny," Dean mumbled but Sam could still understand him.

Sam chuckled at that. "All right," he finally said. "All right, so where to next then?"

"One word. Amsterdam," Dean told him.

Sam looked away, holding his left hand up, "Dean."

"Come on, man," he said, "I hear the coffee shops don't even serve coffee."

"I'm not gonna just ditch the job."

"Screw the job."

Sam stared at his brother.

"Screw it. I'm sick of the job anyway," Dean admitted. "We don't get paid, we don't get thanked. Only thing we get's bad luck."

"Well, come on, dude," he said. "You're a hunter. It's what you were meant to do."

"I wasn't meant to do anything but be Sarah's dad. I don't believe in that destiny crap." Dean stared forward as he drove with his left hand.

"You mean you don't believe in my destiny, or Sarah's," Sam corrected him.

Dean looked over at Sam and looked forward again. He shrugged, "Well, whatever."

"Look, Dean. I tried running before. I mean, I ran all the way to California, and look what happened. Shoot, Sarah grew up away from hunting and it still found her. You can't run from this. And you can't protect either of us."

Dean glared over at him this time, for a couple seconds. "I can try," he said, facing the road.

Sam watched him and looked down at his lap, also for a couple seconds. "Thanks for that," he told him.

Dean raised his eyebrows, giving a small shrug but didn't say anything.

Sam looked back down at his lap, licking his lips, "Look, Dean, I'm gonna keep hunting. I mean, whatever's coming, I'm taking it head-on. So if you really want to watch my back, then I guess you'll have to stick around."

"Bitch," Dean simply stated.

"Jerk," Sam simply replied.

"Dorks." Sam and Dean looked back over their shoulders as Sarah was leaning on her folded arms across the back of the front seat. They had thought the kid was still asleep.

The brothers smirked, "Brat."

There was a silent pause before Sam took his phone out again and redialed Ava's phone number.

Dean was surprised. "You're calling that Ava girl again? Are you sweet on her or something?" he smirked.

Sam put the phone to his ear, "She's engaged, Dean."

Dean shrugged, "So? What's the point of saving the world if you can't get a little nookie once in a while?"

The phone rang several times before Sam hung up and stared at it.

"What is it, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked, concerned for her uncle.

"Just a feeling," he said and asked Dean, "How far is it to Peoria?"

"Which Peoria?" Sarah asked, being a smartass. "There are a few Peoria's in the U.S."

Sam ignored her and repeated the question. Dean looked at Sam, still surprised and drove all the way to Peoria, Illinois where Ava lived with her fiancé. They knocked at first but there was no answer. Heading inside with flashlights, they searched the place until they found Ava's fiancé lying in bed in a bloody mess, his throat slashed. Dean found sulfur over on the sill of an open window, and not long after that, Sam found Ava's engagement ring on the floor, at the foot of the bed.

Sarah tried to comfort her uncle by rubbing his back when Sam muttered, "Ava."


	64. Chapter 64: Research and Pokemon

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 64

The Winchesters stayed in Peoria, Illinois for about a month, looking into Ava's disappearance. The boys anyway. Sarah helped the first week then when she couldn't find anything she just gave up and left it to her father and uncle, watching TV, or playing her PSP or with her action figures. When Dean took a break from researching in the evening, Sarah finally talked him into a _Pokémon_ card battle since it had been a while, setting it up at the small table. Sarah shuffled her deck and dealt half of it to each of them so it was fair.

"I choose this guy, he seems tough enough," he smirked, placing a card of a black Doberman-like dog called Houndoom, with metal horns sticking out of its head like a ram's and an arrowhead-pointed tail.

Sarah fell back against her chair, "Aw man, you finally beat my Metang, Dad."

"Looks like I'm making a comeback," he shrugged.

Sarah sat up, sitting on the edge of the chair, to draw a card from the top of her facedown deck and looked at it. A wide grin spread across her face and looked at her father. "Not for long," she told him and placed it in the center of the table where her Metang card used to be. This card was of an orange, dragon-like Pokémon called Charizard, with horns sticking out of the back of its head and a flame on the end of its tail. The stats on the card showed it was a lot stronger than Dean's card and had to be discarded.

Dean shook his head. "How is it, every time we play you always get that card?" he questioned.

Sarah just shrugged, "I'm just lucky, I guess."

"Lucky my ass," he teased her and nodded once at her, "you're cheating, ain't ya? Next time, I'm shuffling and dealing."

Sarah just laughed at him.

Sam couldn't help snicker a little, to himself either. "Losing at a child's card game again, are we?" he told his brother.

Dean glared over at him. "Shut up," he said, using his crooked smile. Dean turned back to his daughter to continue the game. Later on in the game, he did get lucky too, and played a card that was even stronger and, believe it or not, Dean ended up winning for the first time. "How does it feel to lose to your dad?" he nodded at Sarah.

Being a good sport, Sarah held her right hand out to him and the two of them shook hands. "That was the best game I ever played, Dad. I don't even care I lost."

"Good, I'm glad," he told her, "because you know what happens to kids who lose to their dads?"

"No, what?" she asked, shaking her head not knowing where Dean was going with this.

Dean stood up from his seat and went around the table to grab his daughter up into his arms and carried her over to the bed to hold her down and tickle her. "They get attacked," he said as he tickled her all over, pinning her down where she couldn't escape.

Sarah laughed out loud, "Dad, stop it." She tried to protect herself with her arms but Dean managed to work his way around them, getting her sides, stomach, and back. After a few minutes, Dean stopped to let her catch her breath, sitting back onto the bed. Sarah crawled away before he could start up again but decided to tackle him onto his back, pinning her right knee into his torso.

"Gotcha, Dad," she told him, grinning down at her father.

Dean grinned in return. "You think so, huh?" Suddenly, he sat up and flipped Sarah back onto her back again. "Looks like I got you."

Sarah shoved his right arm away that was leaning on her torso, fast. Dean wasn't putting all his weight on it, though. He didn't want to crush her. She then rolled out from under him and jumped on his back, digging her knee into it, this time.

"Man, Baby Girl, you are getting good at this," he admitted, starting to feel the pain in his lower back. "Get off, dude."

Sarah removed her knee but not her whole body. Instead, she lied down on him, hugging his neck. "Dad, did I ever tell you you're the best dad in the whole world?" she asked.

Dean looked at her and smiled. He lifted himself onto his left elbow to reach over and kiss the side of her forehead, holding it towards him. "Every day," he replied.

Sarah mimicked his smile before resting her head against his.

A camera phone shutter sound interrupted them, ruining the moment.

Dean looked over at his brother, "Dude, come on," he said, annoyed.

Sam laughed, holding his phone in his hand. "I thought it was cute and look, the picture turned out great." He stood up to walk over to the bed and showed Dean the picture. Dean wouldn't admit it but he really did love the picture of him and his little girl.

The Winchesters hadn't made it to the Roadhouse yet either to look up Sarah's records but Dean kept in contact over the phone and before they knew it, Ash managed to fix the problem. Now if there was ever a medical emergency, or run-in with police, or whatever it may be, Bobby or Ellen would be notified instead of Greg Holden. Sarah would have loved to see the look of her grandfather's face if he ever found out.

Ash wasn't sure why he was looking into some kid's personal records when it had nothing to do with the demon or anything supernatural. Deep down, past his tough, hardcore macho self, Ash sort of liked Sarah, he just wouldn't admit it. The kid was all right.

Now, Dean was out on a coffee run and to continue looking into Ava's disappearance while Sam and Sarah stayed back in the motel. Sam sat at his computer as he talked to Ellen on the phone. Sarah was hanging halfway off one of the beds, upside down as she played a _Dragonball Z_ fighting game.

Sam glanced at his niece when he hung up. "Sarah, all the blood is going to rush right to your head if you stay like that," he told her.

Sarah finished up the fight, ending up the victor before she looked over at her uncle. "Isn't that a good thing? I thought blood to your head makes you think better."

"Yes, but too much blood could be damaging."

Dean walked in with the coffee, closing the door behind him. "What the hell are you two talking about?" he asked. Dean walked over and set the carton, holding the coffee, on the table.

"Trying to persuade Peanut over there not to hang upside down," Sam sighed.

Dean grabbed a clear, plastic cup with a straw and clear lid by the top and handed it to Sarah. "Sit up," he told her, a little stern. "Sam's right, all the blood's gonna run to your head and make you pass out."

Sarah sat up, moving around to sit on the edge. She took the drink from him, "What's this?"

"I asked if they had anything with no coffee a kid could drink so I wouldn't have to make a second stop to get you something, and they said this is popular with kids," he explained. "They said it's called Vanilla Bean or something like that."

Sarah sipped the cold, white, chunky drink through the straw. "Needs chocolate," she stated afterwards.

Dean rolled his eyes, "You're welcome," he said and turned to his brother.

"Thank you, Dad," Sarah told him, smiling up at him and set the drink over on the nightstand before continuing her game.

"What did Ellen say?" Dean asked Sam.

"She's got nothing," Sam said. "Me, I've been checking every database I can think of: federal, state, and local. No one's heard anything about Ava. She just disappeared into thin air, you know. What about you?"

Dean walked over to hand Sam his coffee, "No, same as before. Sorry, man."

Sam took the coffee, staring down at it. "Yeah," he murmured. He spoke in a normal tone again. "Ellen did have one thing."

"Hm," Dean acknowledged.

"Uh, a hotel in Cornwall, Connecticut," he explained. "Two freak accidents in the past three weeks." Sam took a sip of his coffee, turning in his seat to fully face Dean.

"Yeah, what does that have to do with Ava?" Dean asked, walking over to toss his lid on the nightstand by Sarah's drink.

"It's a job. I mean, a lady drowned in the bathtub. Then a few days ago, guy falls down the stairs, head turns a complete one-eighty. Which isn't exactly normal, you know?"

Dean was removing his jacket, listening.

"Look, I don't know, Dean, it might be nothing, but I told Ellen we'd think about checking it out."

"You did?" he asked, looking at the floor before sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah," Sam replied.

Dean just stared at Sam, not saying a word.

"You seem surprised," he told him.

"Well, yeah, it's just, you know," Dean shrugged. "…not the patented Sam Winchester way, is it?"

Sam shrugged too, shifting in his seat. "What way is that?"

"Just figured after Ava there'd be, uh, you know, more angst and droopy music and staring out the rainy windows." Dean paused, staring over at his brother who wasn't saying anything. He felt an awkward tension between them. "Yeah, I'll shut up now," and moved around to lean up against the headboard of the bed.

Not taking her eyes off her game, Sarah sat up onto her legs and lied across her father's legs, resting her chin just above his left knee that was crossed over the other.

"Look, I'm the one who told her to go back home," Sam stood up from his seat, looking ahead as he walked across the room. "Now her fiancé is dead and some demon's taken her off to God knows where. You know? We've been looking for a month now…" He sat down on the other bed, facing Dean. "…And we got nothing. So I'm not giving up on her but I'm not gonna let other people die either. We gotta save as many people as we can."

Dean thought on that for a second. "Wow," he said, "that attitude is just way too healthy for me and I am officially uncomfortable now, thank you."

Sam scoffed at the floor, shaking his head with a big grin on his face.

"All right, call Ellen, tell her we'll do it," Dean gave in, staring ahead at the far wall.

Sam stood up and went back over to where his computer was, picking up his phone.

Dean lifted his knee, trying to get Sarah's attention. Sarah sat up onto her legs but did not look up from her game. "Sarah."

No answer.

"Sarah, I know you can hear me. Let's go. Get packing," he told her.

She didn't move.

"Do I need to spank some ass?"

Sarah won the fight she was fighting. "Dad, I won ten fights in a row," she told him, proudly.

"I have been trying to get your attention for the last minute, Sarah Lynn. Turn the video game off and start packing. We're leaving in ten minutes," Dean told her for the last time.

"Sorry, Dad, I didn't hear you," she apologized to her father.

Dean turned to his brother, who just got off the phone with Ellen again. "Sam, could you hear me from over there?" he asked.

Sam was sitting down, shutting down everything on his computer. "Sure could."

Dean looked back at his daughter. "Sam is farther away than you are, Sarah, and he could hear me. For ignoring me, no video game for the rest of the week."

"But that's not fair, Dad," Sarah complained.

"Then learn not to zone out the real world when you're playing your video game."

"But…" she tried again.

He shrugged, "I'm not arguing with you on this, okay. End of story." Dean held his hand out for Sarah to place her PSP in, which she did, reluctantly and made to crawl off the bed. Dean set his coffee down on the nightstand and reached forward to pull her onto his lap. "Look at me. I'm not trying to be the bad guy here, but when I am talking to you I expect you to listen. What if we were on a hunt and I gave you an important order or told you something was important? If you were spaced out in your own world like you were with your video game, you could be hurt, or worse killed. That's why it's important you keep your ears open. Okay?"

Sarah nodded. "I'll try harder, Dad. I promise," she said.

He kissed her forehead. "I know you have it in you, Baby Girl. I know you're not perfect but you can do this." Dean gently pushed her off his legs. "Now go get packed up so we can go kick some supernatural ass."

Sarah slid off her father and the bed, and hurried over to gather up her _Pokémon_ cards she had left on the table from the other night, first, receiving a playful swat from him. Once the Impala was packed and ready to go, the Winchesters hit the road. It took at least fifteen hours, not including stopping to eat and when Sarah had to use the bathroom every four hours.

For the majority of the car ride, Sarah spent it playing with her army men and _Pokémon_ figurines.

Sam looked back and watched a few times until he finally said, "You know, when I was a kid it was just army men fighting army men. Now it's army men fighting animals with magical powers."

Sarah looked up at her uncle, sitting on her left leg, sideways in the seat. "Pokémon don't have magic, Uncle Sam. They're called attack moves like Arcanine here," she picked up an orange dog-like Pokémon with black stripes and tan tufts of fur, and held it out to her uncle, "can use fire attacks like flamethrower."

Sam took the figurine, examining it. "How does it use a flamethrower?" Sam pays no attention when his niece watches the cartoon.

"No, dude," Dean stepped in. "It breathes fire from its mouth like a dragon does. It doesn't use a frigging flamethrower." He was getting better as he watched the cartoon to the point where Dean was becoming a fan himself.

"Sarah, I think you're creating a monster with this Pokéman thing," Sam told her, handing the figurine back.

Sarah gave an annoyed sigh and was going to correct her uncle like she used to have to do with her father until Dean corrected Sam for her.

"Sorry. _Pokémon_." Sam rolled his eyes and faced forward, letting Sarah return to her game.


	65. Chapter 65: Playthings

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 65

Dean pulled up to a large, old fashioned, two-story mansion and parked. Sarah gathered up her toys into her duffel bag and got out with the boys.

"Dude, this is sweet," said Dean as he shut his door. "We never get to work jobs like this."

"Like what?" asked Sarah, slinging her duffel bag over her head and adjusting it behind her.

"Old school hunted houses, you know?" he replied. "Fog, secret passageways, sissy British accents. Might even run into Fred and Daphne while we're inside." The three of them walked up the front walk towards the front door. Dean chuckled to himself, "Mm, Daphne, love her."

"And there goes another cartoon you just ruined for me. Now, it's gonna feel awkward when I watch _Scooby-Doo_. Thanks for that, Dad," Sarah told him, annoyed.

They climbed the front steps when Sam stopped and noticed a black urn sitting on the side, next to the steps.

"Hey, wait a sec," he told Dean and Sarah who stopped to look back at him. Sam stepped closer to the urn. "I'm not so sure 'haunted' is the problem."

Dean came back down the steps to look for himself. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"You see this pattern here?" Sam pointed at an engraved design near the rim of the urn. "That's a quincunx. It's a five-spot."

"A what?" asked Sarah, confused.

"It's used for Hoodoo spell work?" Dean asked.

"Right," replied Sam. "You never read up on Hoodoo rituals?"

"Very vague," she told him. "I know a crocodile was using it to control chickens."

Sam and Dean both gave the kid a look like Sarah was finally going crazy. Sarah looked between them. "It's in a video game I played once at Mark's house. Sheesh."

The Winchesters headed inside the mansion and up to the front desk as a young woman walked in from another room.

"May I help you?" she asked them.

"Hi," Dean greeted her. "Yeah, I'd like a room for a couple of nights."

Suddenly, a little girl about Sarah's age ran in, almost running into Sam who backed out of the way in time.

"Hey!" the woman told the little girl who kept on running. Even though there was only one, Sarah could hear two girls as she watched the one run into the other room. "Sorry about that."

Sam shook his head, "No problem, I'm used to kids," he said, holding onto one backpack strap with two hands.

"Well, congratulations," she said, writing, "You could be some of our final guests."

Dean looked over at Sam, "Sounds vaguely ominous."

"No, I'm sorry. I mean we're closing at the end of the month," she told them, looking between Sam and Dean. She switched over to Dean again, "Let me guess. You guys are here, antiquing?"

"No, that was my Gram who liked antiquing," said Sarah.

Dean quickly wrapped his hand around her mouth, holding Sarah against his leg. "She's embarrassed, you know kids," he lied to the woman, smiling at her. "How'd know?"

She smiled at them in return, "You just look the type. So a king-sized bed? Or would you like two for your daughter?"

"What?" Sam quickly asked as Dean stared at her, releasing Sarah who had been trying to pry his hand from her mouth. "No. Uh, no. No. We're… Two singles. We're just brothers. Sarah here is my niece."

"Yeah," Dean added, quietly.

The woman looked embarrassed. "Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry." She forced a small smile before looking back down to finish writing.

Finally, Dean asked her, "What did you mean that we looked the type?"

The woman tried to answer but Sam changed the subject. "You know, um, speaking of antiques…you have a really interesting urn on the front porch. Where'd you get that?"

She shook her head, "You know, I have no idea. It's been there forever." The woman handed Dean back his credit card. "Here you go, Mr. Mahoggoff," and rang the bell for the concierge and reached back to grab the room key, also handing it to Dean. "You'll be staying in Room 237," she explained.

"Okay," Dean murmured and smiled at her.

A balding, elderly man the same height as Dean walked up behind the Winchesters.

"Sherwin, could you show this family to their room?" the woman asked him.

The older man, Sherwin looked between Sam and Dean, mostly. "Let me guess. Antiquers?"

Sarah smacked her hand to her forehead before they followed Sherwin upstairs to their room as Sherwin talked about the place.

"Two different vice presidents laid their heads on our pillows," he said.

"What, no presidents?" Sarah shrugged.

Dean gave his daughter a gentle smack up-side the head. She glared up at him, holding the spot. No one said a word as Sherwin continued. Dean checked out the room while Sam looked through some papers. Sarah was the first to try out the bed, finding out just how soft it was. It took her a while to get situated on it and just when she did, Dean had to sit down on the other side, making them both collide into each other. Sarah wasn't too happy about it either.

"All right," said Sam, "Victim number one. Joan Edison, forty-three years old, a realtor. Handling the sale of the hotel and victim number two was Larry Williams. Moving some stuff out to Goodwill."

"Well, there's a connection," Dean spoke up. "They're both shutting the place down."

"So someone is trying to keep the hotel open?" asked Sarah.

"Looks like it and they're using hoodoo to fight back," said Sam.

"Who do you think is our witch doctor?" Dean asked. "That Susan lady?"

"Nah, it doesn't seem likely. I mean, she's the one selling."

"That old man seemed like he didn't want to leave, maybe it's him," Sarah pointed out.

Sam scrunched his face, "I don't know."

"Well, who then? That kid?"

"Of course, the most troubling question is, why do they assume we're gay?" Dean questioned, looking down at the floor.

"Well, you are kind of butch, probably thinking you're overcompensating for something," Sam told him.

"Like what?" Sarah asked innocently.

No one responded to that.

The room was silent until Sam suggested to Sarah, "Peanut, why don't you go see if that kid wants to play."

She looked over him, then over at her father, and then back to Sam. "Aren't we on a job?"

"Yeah, but you could find out a little more about the hotel from her."

Sarah struggled off the bed from the hole she was basically sitting in. "Fine but if she has me come to an imaginary tea party, you will so owe me."

"What is wrong with having a tea party?" he asked, rolling his eyes. "That is normal for little girls."

"Since when am I a normal little girl, Uncle Sam?"

Sam couldn't help laugh, "Just go, Peanut." Truth was he wanted his niece to interact with other kids her age and how many chances were they going to get?

Sarah grabbed two of her favorite _Pokémon_ figurines from her duffel bag and stuffed them into each of her shorts pockets. She then left the room in search of the little girl. On the way, Sarah looked at the décor that was scattered throughout the hotel.

At some point, as Sarah walked down a long hallway, she wasn't watching where she was going and bumped into a small table. It shook the table, making a long vase tip over. Luckily, Sarah caught it in time before it fell and went to turn it upright to set it on the table. The symbol that was on the urn outside was also on the inside of the vase and Sarah noticed it.

A voice startled her from behind. "What are you doing?"

Sarah turned around on the spot, which wasn't really easy considering the vase was a little heavy for her. "Oh, I was walking and I accidently bumped into the table. I was just placing this back." She then placed the vase back onto the table and moved closer to the other little girl, holding her hand out for the girl to shake. "I'm Sarah, by the way. What's yours?"

The little girl just stood there, watching her. "I'm Tyler. Want to play dolls with me?"

Sarah was smiling on the outside but inside, she was groaning. _Great! This is Kimmy all over again._ Sarah's other family was full of distant cousins ranging in several different age groups, from infancy to middle aged and older. One of them was a girl two years younger than Sarah who constantly wanted her to play with dolls, have tea parties, and play dress up. To Sarah, Kimmy was the most annoying kid she had ever met who followed her everywhere.

"Don't you have a Wii or something?" Sarah asked her.

Tyler shook her head. "Video games are stupid."

Sarah tried her best to hold her tongue. _Come on, Sarah. Everyone's entitled to their own opinions._ "Well then," she smiled, "show me these dolls of yours."

Tyler brightened up at those words and had Sarah follow her to an _Employees Only_ room where Sam and Dean were talking to Susan. She headed straight for a couple dolls.

Sarah glared over at her uncle and mouthed, _you definitely owe me._

Sam just smiled at his niece.

Sarah tried to focus on the dolls Tyler was introducing her to but was also listening to the adults talking until Sam told Tyler about one of the dolls from the large dollhouse who's head was twisted around and offered to fix it for her.

"I didn't break it," Tyler replied from where she and Sarah were sitting on the floor. "I found it like that. Grandma would get mad if I broke them."

"Tyler," Susan said, "She wouldn't get mad."

Dean spoke up, "Grandma?"

Tyler looked over him. "Grandma Rose. These are all her toys."

"Oh, really?" he nodded, looking over at the dolls on the shelf. Where is Grandma Rose now?"

"Up in her room."

"You know, I'd…" Sam gave a small laugh, "I'd really like to talk to Rose about her incredible doll…"

Susan turned on him, fast, interrupting him, "No."

The Winchesters looked over at her.

She smiled, "I mean…I'm afraid that's impossible. My mother's been very sick and she's not taking any visitors."

The Winchesters exchanged looks between each other.

For the rest of the day, Sarah played with Tyler. She tried getting information out of her but Tyler was an average, little eight-year-old girl. Tyler really didn't know much so there wasn't much to talk about besides normal little girl stuff that really didn't interest Sarah at all. Though she wouldn't admit it, Sarah did enjoy being around another kid her age and they did compromised on their games a few times.

When Tyler showed Sarah the dollhouse, Sarah went and collected her own toys and lined them along the "yard" and on the roof as if they were the dolls' protectors. Sarah even caught herself laugh a few times. Of course, there comes a time when the fun comes to an end.

During their tea party, Sarah had brought her monkey to, trying to enjoy it, she happened to look over at the doll house. In one of the rooms, a doll who Sarah could have sworn been sitting on the little doll bed a second ago, was hanging from the ceiling by a piece of thick, black string.

"Oh God," Sarah blurted out.

Tyler looked up from pouring imaginary tea. "What?" she asked and looked behind her where Sarah was staring at. Tyler looked back at her. "Did you do that?"

Sarah shook her head and jumped up to her feet. Quickly, she gathered all her toys and stuffed them in her pockets, thankful she had decided to wear shorts regardless of the cold, rainy weather outside. "Thanks for letting me play with you, Tyler. It was fun." Sarah smiled down at her, "I don't get to play with other kids much but uh, I just remembered, my dad and uncle wanted me back in our room by now. So, uh, see ya later." Sarah grabbed her monkey and ran out the room and down the hall towards the room her family was staying in.

Sarah flung the door open, making Sam look up from his computer. "There's been another one!"

"What?" Sam stood up just as they heard a woman's scream from another room.

Sarah turned back to her uncle, "Where's Dad?"

"He went to go do some research on the grandmother."

At that point, the sound of the Impala was heard, pulling up outside. Sarah turned and hurried from the room, sliding down the banister to save time, and ran out to meet her father. She then told him what she seen.

Fifteen minutes later, an ambulance pulled up to the hotel and loaded a man inside. Susan explained to the two of them, he was one of the buyers who were going to demolish the place.

"It wasn't Tyler, she was "pouring" tea when it happened," Sarah was explaining once Susan had gone back inside. She used quotations with her fingers when she said _pouring_.

"I couldn't find anything on Granny, but I have a hunch it could be her," said Dean. "You get anything from Tyler?"

"Besides different kinds of dolls, no. The kid's clueless."

Dean turned to head inside, "Come on. Let's see what Sam found out."

Sarah followed her father up to their room to find Sam three sheets to the wind.

"Dude, what are you thinking?" Dean asked of his brother. We're working a case."

Sam was staring at the floor, miserably, "That guy who hung himself." He rolled his head, slowly. "I couldn't save him."

"What are you talking about? You didn't know. You couldn't have done anything?"

"That's an excuse, Dean," Sam looked up at his brother. "I should've found a way to save him."

"Uncle Sam, are you okay?" Sarah asked, starting to worry about him.

"I should've saved Ava too," he added, still looking at Dean.

"Well, you can't save everyone, even you said that," Dean said, walking across the room. "Right, Baby Girl?"

Sarah agreed. "You can try your best but some things are out of your control."

Sam slammed his fist down on the table beside his chair, making Sarah jump a little in surprise. "No, you two," he exclaimed, "you don't understand. The more people I save, the more I can change."

Sarah asked, "Change what?"

"My destiny," he replied.

"What destiny?"

Dean quickly jumped in before Sam blabbed the secret to Sarah. "All right, time for bed." He reached down to pull Sam up and led him over to one of the beds. "Come on, Sasquatch. Come on."

Sarah moved out of the brothers' way, watching them.

"I need you to watch out for me," Sam told Dean.

Dean struggled with his brother, "Yeah, I always do."

"No, no, no! You have to watch out for me. All right?"

The brothers stopped, facing each other.

"And if I ever turn into something I'm not…" Sam shook his head.

"Sam, shut up," Dean told him, knowing where his brother was going with this.

Sam kept going anyway, "You have to kill me."

"Sam, I said, shut up."

"Dean," he grabbed a hold of him, "Dad told you to do it. To both of us. You have to."

Sarah's eyes widened but didn't say anything. She thought if whatever Sam was talking about, must have been the secret. But Sarah couldn't believe her grandfather would say something like that. She did remember him saying, killing the demon was more important than anything else but that?

"Yeah? Well, Dad's an ass," Dean blurted out, interrupting Sarah's thoughts. "He never should've said anything. You don't do that. You don't lay that kind of crap on your kids."

Sam had given him a disbelief look. "No, he was right to say it," he argued. "Who knows what I or Sarah might become? Even now, everyone around me dies."

"Well, I'm not dying, and neither is Sarah, and neither are you, okay? Come on, sit down." Dean continued to push his brother towards the beds and pushed him down on one of them.

Sam continued to plead with him, "No, Dean, you're the only one who can do it. Promise."

"Don't ask that of me."

"Dean, please." Sam huffed up at his brother, "You have to promise me."

Dean didn't answer right away as Sam sat there, staring up at him with those sad, puppy dog eyes he'd seen many times with Sarah. Finally he agreed, "I promise." He wished Sarah hadn't been in earshot of that but now it looked like she knew as he looked over at her.

Sam got his attention back, breathing in and out, "Thanks," and grabbed Dean's head between his hands. "Thank you."

Dean shoved his head away and forced his brother to lie down where Sam turned over onto his stomach, hugging the pillow to him. Dean sat down on the other bed and ran his hand along his hair, hating this stupid burden even more and cursing his father in his head for ever bringing it up.

Deep down, Sarah wanted to ask if that was the secret just to make sure, but saw how messed up her father was at the moment. Instead, she went over and wrapped her arms around his neck. Dean pulled her closer to him and held her in his arms. Eventually, he lifted her up and moved closer to the headboard, holding Sarah on his lap.

The two of them sat there in silence, not saying a word. At some point, Sarah started singing the _Dumbo_ song but somewhere halfway through, she fell asleep and shortly after, Dean did too.


	66. Chapter 66: Destiny

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 66

Early, the next morning, Dean and Sarah were the first ones to wake up. Letting Sam sleep, they took a walk around the hotel with Dean having to explain what a hangover was before running into Sherwin who gave them a tour, telling them about the family estate. It turns out Rose had a nanny growing up that wore the symbol that was on the urn and vase as a necklace.

Once they had enough information, the two of them returned to the room to find Sam awake and keeled over the toilet, in the bathroom, groaning and puking his guts out.

Sarah called into the bathroom, "You all right in there, Uncle Sam?"

"Yeah, I'm…" Another round hit. "I'm fine, Peanut."

Dean laughed, "I guess mixing whiskey and Jager wasn't such a gangbuster idea, was it?" as he removed his jacket and slung it over the foot of his and Sarah's bed. "I'll bet you don't remember a thing from last night, do ya?"

Sam moaned, his forehead resting on his right arm, on the toilet bowl. "I can still taste the tequila."

Dean nodded. "You know, there's a really good hangover remedy. It's uh… It's a greasy pork sandwich served up in a dirty ashtray."

He moaned again, wanting to throw up some more, "Oh, I hate you."

"I know you do," Dean smiled out the window, his back to him.

"I got a better one, Dad," Sarah said, jumping onto the foot of the bed, on her knees as she held the bed railing right in front of him.

"Let's hear it," he smiled down at her.

"Old, smelly gym socks that's never been washed, soaked in cat urine and placed inside a greasy cheeseburger that you didn't know was in there and you take a bite of it." Sarah made sure to say it loud enough so her uncle could hear.

Oh God!" Sam basically threw what was left of his stomach contents into the toilet. "Peanut, I hate you too," he moaned as Dean held his hand out to her for a high five.

Dean changed the subject once Sam was done with that round, "Hey, it turns out, when Grandma Rose was a tyke she had a Creole nanny who wore a Hoodoo necklace. Ugh," he had walked over to lean against the bathroom door frame and turned his head at the awful smell.

Sam slowly lifted his head. "So do you think she taught Rose Hoodoo?"

"Yes we do," he said, looking at the floor.

Sam nodded a little and placed his hand on the toilet seat to lift himself up onto his feet. "All right," he walked over to his brother to lean against the other side of the door frame, "I think it's time we talk to Rose then."

Dean made a sour, disgusted face as he got a whiff of Sam's fowl-smelling breath. "You need to brush your teeth first," he told him before walking away, grossed out.

The Winchesters snuck upstairs to Rose's room only to find the woman had had a stroke. Not only that but they were also caught by Susan and forced to leave early before they could even solve the case. The three of them decided on grabbing a bite to eat while they tried to figure out what it was they were dealing with.

Sam came up with Rose using Hoodoo for protection, not to hurt anyone, from some kind of spirit and when she had the stroke the spirit was able to return. After they finished eating, they returned to the hotel just in time for Sam to rescue Susan from being hit by her car and led her inside who was scared out of her mind. Sam then asked her when her mother had had the stroke and found out it was just before the killings started.

In the meantime, Sarah was looking around the room, a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Where's Tyler?" As soon as she said that, an old type of vision struck through her mind that she hadn't had since the one of Lucas Barr.

This time, Sarah saw Tyler who was hanging onto a fence railing above a pool and suddenly get pushed in by another girl older than they were. Dean moved around his brother to kneel beside her.

"Sarah?" he questioned, worry all over her face.

Sam stood there, confused. He didn't feel anything come on. No vision, no pain, nothing. Why was only Sarah having a vision?

Soon, Sarah was able to snap out of it, down on her knees, panting. "Tyler's in trouble!" she quickly stated.

Susan stood up, fast, "What?" she gasped before they all took off at a run, heading for the pool area. The four of them were stopped at a locked, glass door. Dean and Sam started banging on it.

Sarah moved closer to the glass beside the door, peeking through it. There, beside Tyler on the other side of the railing was the girl she had seen. Suddenly, the older girl pushed Tyler off, making her fall in the pool. The moment Dean and Susan took off for another entrance, Sarah moved over to start banging on the door, her emotions rising up inside of her until they were at record height and somehow the glass around her completely shattered into a million pieces.

Sam didn't hesitate to ask questions. He stepped through and leaped over the railing, diving into the pool in time to save Tyler. Sarah stood there, staring at her hands, which were bleeding all over with several shards sticking in them. What the hell was this power inside her and why did it only come out when her emotions filled up? It scared her to death as she slowly started to back away.

On the other hand, Tyler was saved. Susan was saved. Rose didn't make it though, the ambulance guessing another stroke, but at least Susan and Tyler was able to leave.

While Sam dried off and changed, Dean applied first-aid to Sarah's hands, picking out each shard first, not saying a word. He had asked about it but didn't push her when Sarah wouldn't respond, and Sam didn't know how to explain what happened. One of the paramedics checked her hands over too, to make sure she didn't need stitches or a tetanus shot.

When Dean pulled away from the hotel, Sarah leaned against the door on his side, staring out the window, trying to figure this whole mess out. Her grandfather knew something about her and her uncle, and Sarah wished he had shared it with them. He must have known about the visions, John was just good too good of an actor or something. Whatever it was, Sarah wanted to find out and was actually looking forward to the next time the demon popped in for another visit.

The next hunt was against a shapeshifter that was robbing jewelry stores and banks. Sarah sat this one out, wanting to spend some time with Bobby. She spent most of her time, outside where Bobby found her working on one of the cars he had out there as a radio played classic rock songs. He was impressed and blown away when one of the cars he thought would never run again, started running.

At night, Sarah prayed. She prayed for answers and help, not to turn into something that her father had to kill. She had to stay strong though and not give in to whatever this was. She tried to call out to the demon but nothing happened, making sure to stay out of earshot. By the time, Sam and Dean returned to pick her up Sarah was ready for any hunt.

Sarah sat on the foot of the bed, her uncle's computer open next to her as she flipped through the TV channels. She had been researching the deaths that had been happening around Providence, Rhode Island. Since Sam was not back yet from talking to a girl who was sent to a mental hospital, she had just decided to watch some TV. Sarah rolled her eyes when she glanced back at her father who had his earphones in and continued using the vibrating unit on the bed.

When she stopped on a church channel of a pastor preaching, she immediately skipped over it. Sarah hated TV pastors since all they wanted was money, sprouting nonsense. It wasn't easy for her find a pastor she could trust to preach the word of God after what happened before in Nebraska.

Once she found something decent to watch, Sam had finally returned. Sarah flipped the TV off and tossed the remote over her shoulder. "What did you find out?" she asked.

Sam tried to get his brother's attention so he could tell both of them but failed.

"He can't hear you," Sarah told him and walked over to pounce on her father, knocking the wind out of him.

Dean ripped his earphones from his ears, lifting his head to look at her. "Sarah, what the hell?" he exclaimed.

Sarah slid down to stand beside the bed. "Uncle Sam's back."

"What's up with you lately?" Sam asked of his niece, standing at the foot of the bed. "You've been acting…"

"Like a jackass," Dean finished for his brother.

"I was going to say very mean, and that was uncalled for, Dean."

"Well, it's the truth though." The vibrations turned off. "Aw, man. Hey, any of you got any quarters?"

Sam just waved his hand at him and turned around to head inside the bathroom, "you're enjoying that way too much, Dean."

Dean stood up and walked over to lean his hand on the door frame of the bathroom. "So did you get in to see that crazy hooker?"

"Yeah," Sam replied, turning off the water after he washed his hands. He turned around to face his brother as Sarah wandered up, holding onto the door frame as well. "Gloria Sytnik. And I'm not so sure she is crazy."

Dean shrugged his hand that was on the frame, "But she serious believes she was touched by an angel?"

"Yeah," he nodded, drying his hands now. "Blinding light, feelings of spiritual ecstasy, the works. I mean, she's living in a locked ward and she's totally at peace."

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Sounds completely sane. What about the dude she stabbed?"

"Uh, Carl Gulley. Said she killed him because he was evil?"

"And let me guess, she said it was God's will, am I right?" Sarah finally spoke up, sarcastically.

"Yeah," Sam replied. "What? I thought you believed in this stuff."

"Yes, I do believe in God and angels, but not phony crap people spew out about, 'oh, an angel spoke to me. They want me to do this.'" Sarah crossed her arms across her chest. "Why would an angel send a message to someone from God, asking them to do something when it clearly states in the Bible, not to do it? Hm?" An eyebrow was raised at her uncle. "I've been doing research on the community and I came to a church that had lost its priest about two months ago. Sometime before the killings started. I don't know about you but I would take a guess here and say we're dealing with a spirit."

"What's the name of the church?" Dean asked, nodding down at his daughter.

"Our Lady of the Angels."

Dean rolled his eyes, "'Course that would be the name. Okay, why don't we go check this place out?"

"So you're interested in joining the parish?" the head priest was asking as he and the Winchesters walked through the church.

"Yeah. We just don't feel right unless we hit church every Sunday," Dean lied.

"Where'd you say you lived before?"

"Uh," Sam started to say until Dean said, "Premont, Texas."

"Yup," Sam agreed.

Sarah stayed quiet through the introductions. She'd lie if she had to but lying in a church just didn't feel right at all.

"Really, that's a nice town," the priest said, "St. Theresa's Parish. You must know the priest there."

"Sure, yeah," Dean smiled. "No, it's, uh, Father O'Malley."

"Hmm, I know a Father Shaughnessy."

"Shaughnessy, exactly," he nodded, "What did I say?"

"You know, we're just happy to be here now, Father," Sam told the priest.

"And we're happy to have you. We could use some young blood around here."

"Hmm," said Dean. "Hey, listen. I gotta ask, and no offense, but the neighborhood…?"

"It's gone to seed a little, there's no denying it," the priest explained. "But that's why what the church does here is so important. You can expect a miracle, but in the meantime, you work your butt off."

"That's what my papa says a lot. He worked up until the day he retired," said Sarah.

"That's a good man, right there, your papa," he said.

She had to stifle a laugh. "Being a hard-working man doesn't just make you a good man though."

"That is true."

Dean changed the subject, "We heard about the murders."

"Yes," the priest nodded, "The victims were parishioners of mine I've known for years."

"And the killers said that an angel made them do that?" Sam asked.

"Yes," the priest replied, sadly. "Misguided souls. To think that God's messenger would appear and incite people to murder."

"Thank you," Sarah said as if she heard the best words she's ever heard. "That's exactly what I said."

"Yes, it's tragic."

She agreed.

"So you don't believe in those angels yarns, huh," Dean shrugged, receiving a kick in the leg from Sarah who was standing in front of him.

"Oh no, I absolutely believe. Kind of goes with the job description," the priest pointed at his neck.

Dean went silent, feeling an awkward tension.

Sam broke it and pointed over to a painting of an archangel, "Father, that's Michael, right?"

The rest of them looked over at it.

The priest nodded, "That's right, the archangel Michael with the flaming sword." They all walked closer to it. "A fighter of demons. And a holy force against evil."

"So they're not really the hallmark-card version that everybody thinks?" Sam shrugged, his hands dug into his pockets. "They're fierce, right? Vigilant?"

"Well, I like to think of them as loving than wrathful," he said, looking between Sam and the painting. "But, yes, a lot of scripture paints angels as God's warriors. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, glory of the Lord shown down upon them," he nodded, "and they were terrified."

"Luke 2:9," Sarah smiled, proudly with her hands shoved into her jacket pockets.

"That's right," he returned the smile.

Sam and Dean just stared at the floor, as Dean nodded.

The priest walked them outside to the bottom of the front steps as Sam thanked him.

Dean pointed over to a memorial of flowers and candles, "Hey Father, what's all that for?"

"Oh, that's for Father Gregory," the priest explained. "He was a priest here."

"Yeah, we heard about his death. We're so sorry for your lost," Sarah replied.

He nodded, "Passed away right on these steps. He's interred in the church's crypt."

"Shot over car keys, right?"

"That's right." The priest looked over at the memorial. "He was a good friend. I didn't even have time to administer his last rites. But, like I said, it's a tough neighborhood," he looked back at the Winchesters. "Ever since he died, I've been praying my heart out."

Sam asked, "For what?"

"For deliverance," he said. "From the violence and the bloodshed around here. We could use a little divine intervention, I suppose."

Sam and Dean looked at each other. Sam looked over at the memorial while Dean looked at the priest, "Well, Padre," he smiled, "thanks. We'll see you again." Dean shook his hand and got another kick in the leg. Once the priest had gone back inside, he turned on Sarah, "What was that for?"

"The way you were talking to Father Reynolds," she told him.

He shrugged, "It's Spanish for father."

Sarah just rolled her eyes, looking away.

"This new attitude of yours has gotta stop. I don't know what's going on with you but if it won't, you and I will be chit-chatting back at the motel. You understand me?"

"Yes, sir," she replied, quietly but where he could still hear.

Dean walked over and picked up the picture of Father Gregory. "Well, Sarah, looks like you were right," he said, looking at it. "Devoted priest dies a violent death. That is vengeful spirit right there. And he knew all the other stiffs, because they all went to church here."

Sarah agreed but Sam was looking everywhere but his brother and niece.

"In fact, I'm willing to bet, because he was their priest he knew things about them that no one else knew."

Sam looked down at Dean, "Then again…Father Reynolds started praying for God's help two months ago, right?"

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other before looking back at Sam.

"About the time all this started happening?"

"Right and Father Gregory latched onto Father Reynolds' emotions and knew he couldn't let go until everything was set right. So he started telling people he felt would listen to him," Sarah explained.

"Why can't you back me up on this, Peanut?" Sam asked her.

Sarah was about to answer when Dean asked, "Come on, Sam. What's your deal?"

He shook his head at his brother, "What do you mean?"

"Look, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a skeptic but since when are you all Mr. _700 Club_?"

Sam looked away at that, smirking.

"Seriously, from the get-go, you've been willing to buy this angel crap, even after what Sarah said. I mean, what's next, you're gonna start praying with her every day?" Dean turned and set the picture back in its place.

"I do."

Both Dean and Sarah looked up at him.

Dean asked, "What?"

"I do pray every day," he said. "I have for a long time."

Dean couldn't believe what his brother just admitted. "Things you learn about a guy…" he looked away. "Huh."

"But why didn't you tell me?" Sarah asked her uncle. "I mean, I've been praying for you _and_ Dad. It's no fun when you're alone on something like that."

Sam looked down at his niece. "I'm sorry, Peanut. I never really thought about it like that. You call yourself a Christian, I don't really consider myself anything," he shrugged.

Sarah shrugged as well, "A person can call themselves whatever but there's only one God."

He nodded.

Dean was rubbing the back of his head, feeling uncomfortable. "Okay, let's go check out Father Gregory's grave."


	67. Chapter 67: Houses of the Holy

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 67

The Winchesters headed back inside the church where Sam was held back by a shaking statue. By the time Dean and Sarah got back to him, Sam was on the ground. Dean hurried to his side, followed by Sarah, making sure he was okay before Dean helped him into another room. Sam sat down on the front pew where Dean offered him a drink.

Sam declined the offer.

"Seriously, Dad?" Sarah asked, annoyed. This hunt was really putting her on edge.

"What?" Dean shrugged after screwing the lid back on once he had taken a swig.

Sarah just folded her arms, focusing on her uncle. "It is not an angel. It's Father Gregory's spirit," she repeated for the third or fourth time.

"Sarah, you didn't see it. It just…it appeared before me," Sam told her.

"Yeah, usually spirits appear because you know, they're spirits."

"No, it wasn't like that at all. This feeling washed over me, you know, like…like peace. Like grace."

Sarah covered her eyes in one hand as she walked away.

"Okay, ecstasy boy," Dean joked, "Maybe we'll get you some glow sticks and a nice Dr. Seuss hat?"

"Dean, I'm serious," said Sam. "It spoke to me. It knew who I was."

He shook his head, walking over to sit on the other side of the pew, "It's just a spirit, Sam. Okay? And it's not the first one to be able to read people's minds." When he was sitting, Dean said, "Okay, let me guess, you were personally chosen to smite some sinner. You just gotta wait for some divine Bat Signal, is that it?"

"Yeah, actually," Sam nodded at him.

Sarah was now rubbing her eyes with her back to the brothers. She would have loved for Father Gregory to have been an angel instead but after all she's learned and memorized from constantly having to write Bible verses her grandfather made her copy over and over when she used to misbehave, she honestly knew in her heart he was just an avenging spirit.

Dean raised his eyebrows, smiling at Sam, "Great. I don't suppose you asked what this alleged bad guy did."

"Actually I did, Dean," replied Sam. "And the angel told me. He hasn't done anything…yet. But he will.

"Oh, this is… I don't believe this," Dean chuckled to himself, standing up.

"Dean, the angel hasn't been wrong yet," he raised his voice to Dean. "Someone is gonna do something awful and I can stop it."

Dean looked over his shoulder, "You know, you're supposed to be bad too, Sam. Maybe…maybe I should just stop you right now."

"Dean, I don't understand. Why can't you even consider the possibility?"

"What, that this is an angel?"

"Yes!" Sam exclaimed. "Maybe we're hunting an angel here and we should stop. Maybe this is God's will."

Sarah lifted her head, suddenly and looked back at her uncle. "Have you paid no attention to me _or_ Father Reynolds?" she demanded of her uncle. "God said, thou shall not murder, Uncle Sam. He meant that for a reason. God wouldn't send an angel down to give that task to someone. Okay? And if by some chance this is an angel, which I'm not saying it is, then it's a fallen angel."

Dean couldn't take any more talk of God and angels. "Okay you guys. All right," he said as he went back over to the pew, "you know what? I get it." He sat down again. "You've both got faith. Hey, good for you. I'm sure it makes things easier." Dean leaned back, placing his right arm across the back of the pew. "I'll tell you who else had faith like that: Mom."

Sam and Sarah looked over at him, surprised. Sarah calmed her nerves a little as they listened.

"She used to tell me when she tucked me in that angels were watching over us. In fact that was the last thing she ever said to me."

Sarah shrugged, "Why is that so hard to believe?"

He looked over at her, "Because she was wrong." Dean shook his head, "There wasn't anything protecting her. There's no higher power, there's no God."

Sam looked down at the floor while Sarah just stood there. She could feel her cheeks glowing hot and her eyes gloss over as her lower lip quivered.

Dean shrugged, "I'm sorry to rain on your parade, Baby Girl, but look around. There's just chaos and violence. Random, predictable evil that comes out of nowhere and rips you to shreds."

"God doesn't like it any more than we do. In fact He takes a bad situation and brings something good from it," Sarah sniffed.

"But why doesn't He just stop it? Hm? Why let all this evil happen?" Dean shrugged. "I'll tell ya why, He's not real. You and Sam can believe what you like but leave me out of it. Okay? Show me some proof and maybe then I will consider it."

A tear floated down, gently. Sarah wiped it away and suddenly removed her own leather jacket, balling it up before she threw it at her father. She then bolted from the room to wait in the foyer for them.

Sarah sat down on a bench and leaned forward on her knees. "God, please. Help me. All this You put on me…the demon stuff that I still have no clue on, the visions, Dad. I love that man with all my heart. And it hurts to know he doesn't believe in You. Please, show him a sign You're there, God. Anything will do. Please." She rubbed her face along her hands and just sat there until her father and uncle came in.

"Come on, Baby Girl," Dean told her, gently. "We're leaving."

Sarah stood up and started walking towards the main doors, not looking up at him.

"Hey, wait. I know you're mad at me and all, but it's getting dark and it's cold out there," he held her jacket up that once belonged to him when he was around her age. Bobby had a box of clothes stashed away that the boys had left behind by mistake the last time John had ever dropped them off and Sarah instantly wanted it since it looked almost like the one Dean had now. Now Sarah wasn't sure she wanted to be like her father anymore.

"No thanks, I'll be fine," she told him, bitterly.

"Come on, Sarah. I don't want you catching pneumonia," he kept trying.

Sam walked over to them and removed his own jacket, holding it behind his niece. "Here, Peanut."

Sarah looked back over her shoulder at the jacket and looked up at him before sliding each arm through. Sam kneeled down in front of her to roll up the sleeves. Compared to Sam, it looked like Sarah was wearing a trench coat or something.

Dean, feeling a bit hurt from the rejection, folded her jacket over his right arm as the three of them went out to the Impala which he made sure to stay close to Sarah since he didn't trust the neighborhood at all. The Winchesters headed to a convenient store to pick up a few items.

When Sarah heard they were going to hold a séance over Father Gregory's grave, she was appalled. "Are you nuts?" she asked before they went in the store, and took a deep in, blowing it out. "Fine, Dad. You don't want to believe then so be it. But can you at least show a little respect? That is God's house who the rest of us love."

Dean just shrugged, holding his hands out to her, "Look Sarah, I'm done with this conversation. Okay? I am just trying to prove to Sam that we are dealing with a spirit here. I don't care who's house it, whether it's God's or Martha Stewart's house." He then grabbed the door and shoved it open before going inside.

Sarah followed when her uncle told her too. They grabbed the stuff and got out, which Sarah called dibs on the _Spongebob Squarepants_ placemat when they were through with it as she walked over to the Impala. Dean unlocked her door for her once he had his unlocked so Sarah could climb in.

As Sam was walking towards the Impala, he noticed a bright light ahead of him along with a man holding a bag of groceries. "Dean, that's it," he said.

Dean looked over at him, over the roof of the car, "What?"

Sam pointed at the man, "That's the sign."

Dean looked over at it as Sarah stood up onto her knees and looked out the back window. Sarah could see the blinding light which only meant they were dealing with a spirit and told her uncle through the window she rolled down.

Sam still wouldn't give in and tried to follow the man. Dean stopped him. Sam tried to plead with Dean once more. When it looked like he was giving in, Dean drove off, telling him to go take care of the séance.

Dean tailed the man, following him to a house where he was picking someone up. In his hand looked like a bouquet of roses. Sarah curiously leaned over the passenger side of the front seat, resting her chin on her folded arms. The two of them watched as he handed the flowers to the other person they guessed was a woman and opened the passenger door for her. The woman got in before he closed it, going around to his side.

"Seems good to me, but looks can be deceiving," Sarah shrugged not lifting her head.

Dean glanced at her for a second. "You're not buying this now, are ya?"

"I still think it's Father Gregory too but what if it's true. What if this guy will do something?"

Dean continued to follow the man until they turned a corner and Dean lost him. "Damn it," Dean hit the steering wheel. "I could use one of your visions right about now."

"Okay, yeah, let me just turn that right on for you," Sarah told her father, sarcastically as she lifted her head.

"All right, all right. I was kidding, smartass," he replied. Dean kept driving as the two of them looked down each alleyway. Eventually, it was Sarah to spot the man's car. He quickly turned down the alley and stepped on the brakes once he pulled up behind the man and saw he was hurting the woman or trying, at least. "Stay here," Dean told Sarah as he stepped out of the car.

Dean hurried over and smashed through the man's window, knocking him out before unlocking the woman's door. Sarah had climbed over the front seat and rowed down the passenger side window to stick her head out, right as the woman hurried from the car and Dean rolled over the hood.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding onto the woman's upper arms as she was crying. "Are you okay?"

"Thank God," Sarah heard her manage to utter.

The car started and drove off as Dean shoved the woman out of the way.

"Damn it," he said again as he watched it and refocused on her. "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded, still crying.

"Do you have a cell phone?"

She nodded again.

"Call 911," Dean told her and hurried back to the Impala and jumped in, driving after the man. He barely noticed Sarah leaning on the door, in prayer as she sat on her right foot. He couldn't believe she was praying at a time like this when he knew nothing would be done unless he got his hands on the guy.

Dean raced after him, his foot pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. Sarah held on as they went over bumps and when Dean had to swerve. Finally, the man came to an intersection just as a black car was driving by, making a blue pick-up truck that was ahead swerve. The man stepped on his brakes as a long, lead pipe went flying through the air and crashed right through the windshield, stabbing right through his chest.

Dean stepped on his brakes as well and swerved around the man's car, pulling up, slowly beside it. He looked over and saw the pipe sticking through the windshield and stared in amazement as Sarah got up onto her right knee to get a better look.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "Sarah, what were you praying about just now?"

Sarah looked back and glared at him. "What do you care?" she asked.

"Please, just humor me," he said.

"If you must know, I was praying for the woman and for justice to be served."

Dean slowly looked back over at the man's car before stepping out of the car and walked around to look inside. The pipe was not only pierced through the man's chest, it had gone through the back of the seat too.

Dean was at a loss for words, his chest moving rapidly. When he finally did find his voice, he said, "You were right, Baby Girl. You…you were right," unable to remove his eyes from the scene.

"About…?" she asked, leaning on the door again.

"God," was all he could utter.

Sarah jerked her head back as her eyes grew wide. She looked skyward as tears filled her eyes as she mouthed, _thank you_. Opening her door as fast as she could, Sarah jumped out and wrapped her arms around her father's legs, snapping him out of his trance. Dean then lifted her up and held her in a tight embrace, stopping long enough to ask her if she was okay from the car chase and Dean having to step on his brakes and swerve at top speed, which Sarah proudly said that she was definitely was now and continued to hold each other.

It wasn't long before the ambulance was there, where Dean explained what happened and got out of there before the police showed up.

On the drive back to the motel, Sarah was removing her uncle's jacket and threw hers back on.

Dean watched her as he drove with his left hand. "Hey, I'm sorry about today. All right? We butted heads quite a lot, didn't we?" He smiled at her.

Sarah looked up at him when she had her jacket back on. "Yeah, I'm sorry too," she told him.

"How come you were so intent on me believing in God?"

Sarah shrugged, "All my life I've been taught you should believe that we were born into this evil world as sinners and the only way to be saved from it was to believe in God. I wanted you to be saved, Dad. You're a good person, doing good things for other people."

Dean had been watching the road. He looked back at her, still keeping an eye ahead. "Well, I hope you don't expect me to start praying, or reading the Bible, or anything and I'm still skeptic on angels but I get there could be a God up there somewhere," he finished as he faced forward again.

"Hey, I'll take what I can get and now I have Uncle Sam to pray with," she said, excited.

Dean smiled over at his daughter, "And you can pray enough for the both of us, how's that?"

"Sure, and maybe one day I can convince you start on your own."

He laughed at that. "Right, and maybe one day we will meet an angel," he said, sarcastically.

Sarah shrugged, "Who knows, maybe one day we will."

"Yeah right," Dean looked over at his daughter, "the day I meet an angel is the day I will dance ballet while wearing a frilly, pink dress, and singing a crappy pop song."

"Can I get that in writing?" she asked and burst out, laughing, making Dean laugh as well until they literally had tears in their eyes.

"Sure, kiddo. If I do meet an angel I promise I will do that," he told her when he found his breath and pulled Sarah in to hug her head to him, kissing the top of it. "I love you, Baby Girl."

"Love you too, Dad," she smiled up at him.

So far, things seemed to be looking up for Sarah and hoped it'll last for a while. But of course, it didn't. Not even through the night. When the two of them arrived at the motel, Sarah bounded into their room, happily only to find Sam packing and looking depressed.

When Sarah asked what was wrong as Dean came in, shutting the door behind him, Sam explained how it really was Father Gregory's spirit. Dean offered him a drink after taking one himself.

After Sam took a swig of it, he slowly sat down on one of the beds. "I wanted to believe…" he shook his head. "…so badly I'd…It's so damn hard to do this…what we do."

Sarah went over and sat down beside her uncle. "No one said life was easy, not even God Himself," she told him.

"But there's so much evil in the world, Peanut, I feel like I could drown in it," he told her. "And when I think about our destinies, when I think about how we could end up…I mean, doesn't it scare you, Peanut?"

"Yeah, it does scare me," she agreed. "But every time a vision happens or my abilities come out, I just start praying. You don't think I want answers to all of this? Why do you think I sat that last hunt out? Believe me, shapeshifters are the coolest monsters we've hunted so far, except for the one shifting into my dad, that wasn't cool. But I used some of that time to maul things over with God and in time we will get answers when it's the right time. It's a pain in the ass but someday it will all make sense and whatever the demon wants to do to us, we'll just send his ass right back to hell where he belongs."

Sam couldn't help smile at his niece and placed his left arm around her.

Dean had sat down on the foot of the other bed, listening. "Besides, Sam, don't worry about it, because I'm watching out for you both."

He looked over at him, "Yeah, I know you are. But you're just one person, Dean. And I needed to think there was something else watching me too, you know?" Sam shrugged, forcing a small laugh, "Some higher power." He glanced down at his lap for a second. "Some greater good. And maybe…"

Sarah was leaning against her uncle, looking up at him, "Maybe what?"

"Maybe I could be saved."

"That's what faith is for, and prayer," she told him and repeated what she had told her father in the car.

Sam looked away, unable to look his niece in the eye anymore. "No, Peanut. None of that is true. Your dad's right, we have to go with what we know, with what we can see…What's right there in front of our own two eyes."

Dean was staring at the floor, "Yeah, well, it's funny you say that."

He looked at him, confused, "Why?"

"Gregory's spirit gave you some pretty good information," he said, looking over at Sam. "The guy in the car was bad news. We barely got there in time."

"What happened?"

Dean looked at the floor again, clicking his tongue and looked over at him, "He's dead."

Sam sat up straight, raising his eyebrows for a second, before lowering them. "Did you…?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I'll tell you one thing. If…The way he died and right after Sarah prayed for justice to be served too, if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes I never would have believed it." Dean paused for a few seconds. "I mean…I don't know what to call it," he forced a small smile.

Sam asked, eagerly, "What?"

Dean looked away at the floor, yet again.

"Dean, what did you see?"

"Maybe..."

Sarah couldn't help smile at what her father was about to say.

He looked at Sam, "…God's will."


	68. Chapter 68: Born Under a Bad Sign (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 68

Over the last week, Dean had been going insane trying to find Sam…again. Sam went out to grab dinner this time since Dean had done it the last couple times and never returned.

Dean tried to call Ellen a dozen times but this time she hadn't heard from Sam at all. Finally, while parked near a dirt lot of several dozen cars, Sam called Dean telling him where he was, sounding confused, himself. Dean hopped in the car and took off for Twin Lakes.

Pulling up to the motel, Dean and Sarah jumped out and ran inside, heading for Sam's room. Dean pounded on the door, yelling for him. When there was no answer, Sarah opened it as she slowly peeked in until they were sure it was Sam and went inside.

Sarah ran over and wrapped her arms around his neck but Sam didn't hug back. "What happened to you, Uncle Sam? We were worried about you," she told him.

Dean kneeled beside where his brother was sitting on the foot of one of the beds. "Are you bleeding?" he asked, noticing the blood.

"I tried to wash it off," he told them.

Dean looked him over, examining the blood on the front of Sam's shirt. "Oh my God," he said suddenly, spreading it out.

"I don't think it's my blood."

"Then whose is it?" Sarah asked.

"I don't know," Sam admitted.

"Sam, what the hell happened?" Dean asked of him.

Sam slowly raised his head, "Dean. I don't remember anything."

Dean and Sarah stared at Sam, in disbelief and worry for him. Dean left again to go get something to eat and to ask the motel manager when Sam checked in. Sarah stayed back to make sure Sam didn't disappear on them again.

"What'd you find out?" Sam asked when Dean returned.

"You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora," he explained, setting the food on the table by the door as Sarah hurried over to sit down. Dean dug out the food, placing Sarah's in front of her on the table. "Of course, I think the scariest part about this is that you're a Bon Jovi fan."

"Dean," Sam told him.

"Your room's been quiet. Nobody noticed anything unusual."

Sam walked away, "You mean no one saw me walking around covered in blood?"

Dean shrugged, "Yeah, that's what I mean."

"Then how the hell did I get here, Dean?" Sam shrugged as well. "What happened to me?"

"Dad's not psychic, you know. He doesn't know everything so don't take it out on him," Sarah told her uncle off. "We weren't with you for the past week."

"Besides, you're okay and that's what matters," Dean added, removing his jacket and tossed it on the nearest bed. "Everything else we can do."

"Oh, really?" asked Sam. "What if I hurt someone? Or worse…"

Sarah was about to say something else until Dean stopped her and told her to eat. "Sam, please," he turned back to his brother.

Sam was silent as Dean turned back to taking out the food from the bag. "What if this is what Dad warned you about?"

"Hey, whoa, whoa," Dean said, turning back to his brother. ""Let's not jump the gun here. We don't know what happened. We just gotta treat this like any other job. What's the last thing you remember?"

"It's the three of us in that motel room in West Texas," he said, looking away. Sam sat down, slowly on the bed. "I went out to grab some burgers…"

"West Texas?" Dean walked towards him.

"But that was a week ago," Sarah pointed out.

"That's it," he admitted. "Next thing I knew, I was sitting here."

"You have no recollection since over a week ago?" she asked, astonished. "What, you've been hitting the bottle or something?"

Dean looked back at his daughter, amazed she knew that phase. "What do you know about hitting the bottle?" he asked of her.

"Try spending four hours in a car with Mom and see if you don't learn something from listening to country music," she told him, leaning on her right arm beside her.

Dean shrugged in understanding and turned back to his brother.

"It felt like I've been asleep for a month actually," Sam added, nodding at the floor.

"Okay," Dean said as he walked across the room. "Retrace your steps. The manager said you left yesterday afternoon and never saw you come back so…" He walked over to the window and pushed the white, thin curtain back to look out, noticing bloody fingerprints on the window frame. "Hey," he called over to Sam who stood up and hurried over to him.

Sarah hurried over as well, squeezing in between the brothers. After they ate, the Winchesters started retracing Sam's steps. First, they found a car garage that Sam had a key for. Looking inside, there was an old Volkswagen car with an opened pack of cigarettes, blood on the steering wheel, and a bloody knife on the floor in the backseat.

She wasn't sure what her father was thinking but Sarah was really starting to feel afraid what her uncle had done the past week. Sarah rationalized in her head though if Sam had done something there had to have been a good reason he did what he did.

After Sam found a gas receipt from two towns over, the three of them headed for the gas station next which he was not welcomed in. Dean told him to go wait in the car before asking the clerk which way Sam had headed when he was last there. Once Dean got the directions and paid for the booze and cigarettes Sam had stolen, he grabbed a couple energy bars and walked out as Sarah quickly followed.

They drove for a while into nightfall until Sam remembered a side road and had Dean go down it, stopping in front of a house. Walking up the front steps, Dean eventually knocked on the door. The lights inside were off.

Sam noticed a broken window and alerted Dean.

"I'm surprised the cops didn't show," Dean said. "Place like this, you'd think it'd have an alarm." He looked inside with a flashlight while Sam kept walking across the porch, finding a cut alarm system around the corner.

"Yeah, you would," said Sam, looking back at Dean and Sarah, who was also trying to shine a flashlight through a window. Dean wouldn't let her near the broken glass though so it wasn't an easy task shining a flashlight through it.

Breaking into the house, the Winchesters wandered through it, looking for anyone or anything that could jog Sam's memory, and found something they did. There was a man lying in an office room, on the floor with a dried puddle of blood near his head, dead.

Sarah looked up at her uncle when Dean flipped him over on to his back.

"Dean, I did this," Sam told his brother, sadly.

"We don't know that," he said from where he was squatting on the floor, looking around the room.

"What else do you need?" asked Sam. "I mean, how else do you explain the car, the knife, the blood?"

Dean looked up at him, "I don't know, man. Why don't you tell me?"

Sam didn't respond.

Dean looked at the body then back at Sam. "Even if you did do this, I'm sure you had a reason. You know: self-defense, uh, he was a bad son of a bitch, something." He patted the body down, looking for ID but there wasn't any.

Asking for Dean's lockpick, Sam went over and unlocked the two sliding, closet doors, opening them up to reveal an arsenal of weapons. He then realized that he may have killed another hunter.

They learned the truth of how the man died via the surveillance footage on his computer. Sarah stood in front of her father, holding onto his left arm he was leaning on the desk. She bit her lower lip at the horror of her uncle cutting the man's throat. Unable to take her eyes off the screen, she started gripping Dean's arm tighter. Dean tried to pull it out of her grasp as he tried to stand up but she wouldn't let go.

Finally, Sarah looked over at her uncle. "There has to be an explanation, right?" she asked. "You wouldn't just kill him for nothing." Sarah was mostly trying to convince herself more than Sam. It scared her to think her uncle would intentionally do that to a person but what scared her even more was the possibly she could end up like that next.

Sam wasn't even listening to her. He just sat there, staring at it too. Dean was able to pull his arm out from his daughter's grip and quickly started wiping everything they touched down. Sam found a letter from the guy's daughter to him and was reading it when Dean went back over to him.

"How do you erase this, huh?" he asked Sam, pointing at the computer screen.

Sam still wasn't responding.

Dean tapped his left arm as well as Sarah's left shoulder who was also still in shock from what they had witnessed. "Sam, Sarah, come on. I need your help," he told them.

Sarah snapped out of it and started helping her father wipe everything down.

Sam didn't move. "I killed him, Dean," he muttered loud enough Dean could hear. "I just broke in and killed him."

Dean was kneeled down, wiping down the window sill and turned to look at him, "Listen to me. Whoever this guy is, he's a hunter. Which means other hunters are gonna come looking for his killer. Which means we gotta cover our tracks, okay?" He stood up and walked towards the door.

"His name was Steve Wandel," Sam said, still staring at the note. Dean turned back around at him. "This is a letter from his daughter." Sam held up the letter and tossed it on the desk as he exhaled.

Dean was silent for a moment as he looked around the floor, trying to figure out what to say. Instead, he reached down and grabbed the computer hard drive and slammed it into the floor before putting his foot through it. The crash made both Sam and Sarah jump, immediately looking over at Dean.

Once the hard drive was destroyed, Dean tossed one of the cloths he was using onto the desk, telling Sam to wipe his fingerprints before they left. They finished up and quickly got the heck out of there, returning to the motel room Sam had been staying in.

On the way there, no one said a thing to anyone. The car ride was in silence as each Winchester tried to make sense of the whole situation. Sarah thought about her abilities and when they came out. She wondered if there ever came a time when she wouldn't be able to control her emotions and ends up hurting someone and suddenly, something she never thought on before that moment clicked on in her head.

Back at the hospital, after the accident when she had blown up at her grandparents and second cousin, the lights started flickering. If she could do that, what else was Sarah capable of? And more importantly, was Sarah next to randomly kill someone? She remembered Gordon had been after her and Sam. So was that hunter after them too? There were so many questions floating around inside Sarah's head that it made her head spin.

Dean pulled up to the motel and the three of them got out and went up to the motel room. Sarah went over to the bed to remove her tennis shoes which were looking a lot worse by now. With what had been going on, shoes for his daughter had been the last thing on his mind and since he had to use most of the cash he had recently won in a pool game on Sam, it would again be a little while before Sarah had new shoes.

"All right, we get a couple hours of sleep, then we put this place in our rear-view mirror," Dean walked over and set his duffel bag on the foot of the bed beside Sarah. Once Sarah had thrown off her shoes, she lifted her duffel bag strap over her head and turned around to take out a pair of shorts to change into before running into the bathroom and closing the door. Dean had looked over at Sam, who was wandering around the room, not saying anything. "I know this is bad, okay? You gotta snap out of it."

Sam turned around more, rubbing his eyes with one hand.

Dean was watching him. "Sam, say something."

"We should get some sleep and leave in the morning?" Sam questioned his brother. "Murder, Dean. That's what I did."

"Maybe, okay? Hey, we don't know…" he shrugged. "Shapeshifter."

"Come on. You know it wasn't. You saw the tape." Sam walked over to stand between the two beds. "There was no eye flare, no distortion."

Dean walked around the bed he was standing next to, "But it wasn't you. All right. Yeah, it might've been you, but it wasn't you."

"I think it was," he stated at the ground, his hands shoved into his pockets and slowly sat down on the bed behind him. "I think maybe more than you know," leaning his forearms on his knees.

"What the hell does that mean?" Dean stared at his brother.

"For the last few weeks, I've been having…." Sam shook his folded hands on his knees, "I've been having these feelings."

Dean moved closer, "What feelings?"

Sam was looking away, to his right. "Rage," he said as Dean went over to sit across from him.

"Hate. And I can't stop it."

Dean stared at him, listening.

"It just gets worse. Day by day, it gets worse."

"You never told me this," Dean finally said.

"I didn't want to scare you," Sam told him.

Dean was thinking about it in his head and wondered if Sarah was having these feelings as well. He turned his head and yelled, "Sarah!"

"I'm going to the bathroom!" she yelled back.

Dean sat and waited until Sarah finished up in the bathroom, washing her hands before she came out, turning the light off. She walked over to the brothers, tossing her jacket and jeans on the foot of the bed. He motioned for her to come over. Sarah walked over and allowed her father to pull her onto his right knee, wrapping her left arm around his neck.

"Sam just told me he's been feeling hatred and rage inside of him the past couple of weeks. What about you? Been feeling like that at all?" he asked of her.

Sarah thought on it and shook her head. "No, nothing. Just lots and lots of confusion. And fear."

Dean made sure, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I mean, I hate the demon and I'm not fond of my other family right now," she shrugged. "But I don't linger on it that much."

Dean kissed the top of her head and hugged her to him.

Sarah looked over behind her father and looked at the railing that divided the eating and sleeping area. "Hey Dad, you know what those things on the railing look like?" she pointed over at the red and white spheres that decorated the railing.

Dean twisted around to look for himself and turned back, smiling, "What?"

Sarah smiled too, "Pokéballs."

He laughed and gave his daughter a tight squeeze, "I love you, kid," he told her.

Sam interrupted their father/daughter moment, "Dean, the yellow-eyed demon, you know he has plans for Sarah and me. We both know that he's turned other children into killers before too."

"Boy, you know how to kill a moment, don't cha?" Dean told him.

"Dean," he said.

"Look, no one can control you but you."

"Sure doesn't seem like that, Dean. It feels like no matter what I do, slowly but surely…I'm just becoming…"

Dean shrugged, holding his hands out to the sides, "What?"

Sam shrugged, looking around with his eyes, "Who I'm meant to be."

Dean dropped his head and stood up to sit Sarah on the bed where he was sitting, walking back around the bed.

"You said it yourself, Dean," he reminded him, "I gotta face up to who I am."

Dean had started going through his bag. He lifted his head to hold his arms out again, "I didn't mean this."

"But it's still true," Sam stood up, straight. "You know that." He walked around the bed Sarah was sitting on, towards his brother. "Dad knew that too. About both of us. That's why he told you that if it ever came to this…"

"Shut up, Sam," Dean told him, frustrated he was bringing this up in front of Sarah again, and while sober this time.

There was a moment of silence before Sam said as he stared at him, "Dean, you promised him."

Sarah lifted her head, looking between her uncle and father, "You _promised_ Grandpa you would kill me?"

Dean dropped his head again, feeling the most ashamed he had ever felt. Finally, he lifted his head to look over at her. "Only if I couldn't save you, Baby Girl and _I will_ save you." Dean looked back at Sam. "Both of you."

Sam shook his head, "You can't save both of us and you promised me."

"No," he told him, plain and simple. "Listen to me. We're gonna figure this out, okay?" Dean shrugged, "I mean, there's gotta be a way, right?"

"Yeah, there is," Sam just stared at him and looked down at Dean's duffel bag to pull out a black handgun, pushing it against Dean's chest. "I don't want to hurt anyone else."

Dean looked down at it then back up at his brother. He couldn't believe how his brother was acting. Sarah, on the other hand, was wondering why Sam was doing it. Something suddenly felt weird and uneasy to her about her uncle and she realized that this couldn't have been Sam. Either that or it was just her feelings towards her uncle that was just making her want to think this wasn't him.

"I don't want to hurt you, or Sarah," Sam finished.

Dean looked down then back at him, again, raising his eyebrows, "You won't. Whatever this is, you can fight it."

"No, I can't," Sam shook his head. "Not forever." He shifted his feet still holding the gun to Dean's chest, "Here, you gotta do it." When Dean didn't move, Sam forcefully shoved it into his right hand. Dean just stared at him, holding the gun in the same position Sam had placed it as Sam breathed in and out, heavily.

No one said anything for a moment until Dean broke the silence, "You know I tried so hard to keep you and Sarah safe."

Sam stared at the ground like he might start crying any second now. "I know," he said, his voice a little shaky.

Sarah finally stood up on the bed and walked over to take the gun from her father's hand, shaking her head at him and then at Sam. "There's got to be another way, Uncle Sammy," she told her uncle and sniffed in a lot of air, trying to keep herself from crying.

Sam shook his head at her. "There's not, Peanut," he said and tried to reach for the gun but Sarah held it away from his reach. "Give me the gun, please."

"No," she said. "No one's shooting anyone."

"Give me the gun, Sarah," he repeated with more sternness in his voice.

"No, she's not, Sam. I'd rather die than have to shoot any one of you," Dean told him and walked away, around Sam.

Sam stared ahead, "No, you'll live," and looked over at his niece who was backing away now. He grabbed the front of her blue, _Pokémon_ shirt and forcefully pulled Sarah towards him, grabbing the gun from her hand before shoving Sarah back onto the bed where she fell off the side. Dean couldn't believe what he just saw but before he could say anything, Sam told him, "You'll live to regret this," and hit him in the head with the handle of the gun and stormed out of the room.

Dean was knocked to the ground, onto his stomach, out cold.

Sarah sat up, rubbing the back of her head as the door shut. She looked around for her father or uncle but not one of them was in sight. Quickly getting to her feet, Sarah moved around the bed and saw her father lying there, not moving.

"Dad," she said and hurried to his right side, kneeling beside him. "Dad. Please, wake up, Dad." Sarah looked around, trying to figure out what to do. Her uncle was gone and it was just her and Dean. She looked back down at her father and tried to flip him over onto his back, struggling, until she was finally able to. Sarah then placed her right ear to his chest and listened for a heartbeat.

Once she found one, Sarah checked her father's head for any bleeding, finding none. Sarah sat back onto her legs, biting her lower lip. If she called 911 then the authorities would be able to find him and try to lock him away. On the other hand, Dean may need serious medical help. She tried to wake him some more but still wasn't having any luck so she started searching him for his phone, finding it in his right, jeans pocket.

Sarah went into her father's contacts and searched for the first person she knew, stopping at Bobby's name. Hitting the call button, she held it up to her ear. It rang for half a minute before going to voicemail. Sarah hung up and redialed, repeating the process a few times before Bobby eventually came on the other line.

"Hello?" he said.

Sarah started talking at a fast pace where Bobby couldn't understand a word she was saying. "Slow down, is this Sarah?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, trying to stay calm but was finding it difficult to breathe. "Uncle Sam knocked out Dad. Now he's gone and I can't get Dad to wake up. I checked for a pulse and for any head wound so what should I do now?"

Bobby could tell the kid would start hyperventilating by the sound of her breathing. "Okay, calm down there, youngin'. Where are you?"

Sarah took a deep breath before she told him.

"Keep yer dad warm and I will be there as soon as I can, okay?"

She wiped her eyes on her right arm. "Okay, Uncle Bobby," she nodded.

"I know you'll want to but you cannot put a pillow under his head. Just keep him still until I get there," he warned her.

"Is it bad then that I turned him over onto his back?" she asked, worried now.

Bobby didn't answer right away but when he did, all he said was, "Your dad's gonna be fine, Sarah. He's a tough man."

When both of them hung up, Sarah dropped the cellphone on the floor, beside her and stood up to yank the comforter off Sam's bed and covered her father with it. "Everything's gonna be all right, Dad. Uncle Bobby's on his way. Please, hang in there." She then lied down beside him.

Sarah tried to fight the drowsiness she had started feeling once she was lying down but was finding it hard. She had to stay awake in case something happened she needed to be awake for. In the end though, sleep overcame her as she held onto her father's left upper arm.


	69. Chapter 69: Born Under a Bad Sign (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 69

Sarah awoke five hours later to someone banging on the door. She slowly lifted her head, looking around, groggily. Dean was still unconscious beside her. Standing up, Sarah made her way over to the door as she rubbed at her left eye and opened the door. She looked up to see Bobby standing there.

"Hey kiddo, yer Dad still out?" he asked her.

Sarah moved to the side to let the old hunter in and led him over to where her father was still lying on the floor, "Yeah. What should we do, Uncle Bobby?"

Bobby kneeled beside Dean and tried to wake him up. After doing that for five minutes with Sarah joining in, Dean finally stirred.

"What's going on?" Dean asked, confused and groggily, himself.

Bobby and Sarah helped the young man sit up.

"How do you feel, son?" Bobby asked him.

"My head hurts," he admitted. "How did you get here, Bobby?"

"Sarah called me last night, told me what happened."

Dean was holding his head where Sam had hit him. "Where's Sam?" he asked.

"Uncle Sam left right after he hit you," Sarah explained.

"Do you guys think Sam was possessed?" asked Bobby.

"I never saw any black eyes but it has to be. Uncle Sam wouldn't do something like this, or ki…" Dean quickly motioned for Sarah to hush when Bobby wasn't looking. "I mean, never mind."

Dean tried to stand, which Bobby helped him. "We gotta find that kid," he stated as if it were a fact.

"Dean, take it easy, you were unconscious just now after being knocked in the head." Bobby caught him before he fell back.

"I'm fine," he said.

Dean asked the manager if he had seen Sam leave, and after paying him the rest of the cash he had on him, used the manager's computer to find Sam, getting a strange look from Sarah when Dean mentioned Sam sneaking out to go to a Justin Timberlake concert.

Once Sam was located, Dean, Sarah, and Bobby headed to Duluth, Minnesota since Sam had taken the Impala. Bobby pulled up to a bar, later that night and Dean jumped out. Sarah was about to do the same but Dean stopped her when he reached back in the backseat for his duffel bag and told Bobby to go ahead and take Sarah back to his place. If something happened and Dean did have to kill Sam, he didn't want Sarah around to see it.

Sarah wanted to protest but kept quiet, knowing she had to follow orders. After making sure, Bobby told Dean to be careful and drove off. Sarah climbed over into the front seat.

"I don't see why we couldn't have gone in there to help," Sarah sulked in her seat, her arms folded tightly as she stared out the window.

"Your daddy just wants to do it alone. It is his brother in there," Bobby told her as he focused on the road.

"And my uncle," Sarah added.

"It's more complicated than that, Sarah," he told her. "Since your daddy was a kid, he was drilled to watch out for yer uncle and feels like this is something he should do on his own. He doesn't mean to leave you out of it but it would be better if you weren't there. There may even be things said that are just between brothers. Isn't there things between you and your daddy, Sam doesn't know?"

Sarah didn't respond. Yes, there were things her and Dean kept between them, mostly feelings. She knew Bobby was right but didn't want to admit it.

Since she was still tired from the night before, sleep had overcome her again. Instead of waking her up when he pulled into his salvage yard, Bobby went around to Sarah's side and lifted her up onto his right side, reaching back behind the seat for her duffel bag and carried her inside and up to the guest room. He remembered carrying a sleeping Sam in there when he was just a kid. Laying her down on the bed, Bobby, very carefully, removed her jacket and tennis shoes, seeing how messed up they were.

Just about when Bobby was going to lie down in his own bed, his house phone rang. _Balls_ , he thought and headed downstairs to answer it. Just when he got to the top of the stairs, it suddenly stopped ringing. Shrugging it off that it might have been a wrong number, Bobby turned around to head back to his room when there was a knock on the front door. Walking down the stairs, he went over to answer it.

It was Sam.

Bobby pretended to be happy to see the young man, "Sam."

"Hey, Bobby," Sam smiled back.

"It's been a while."

Sam chuckled to himself.

Bobby moved to the side and invited Sam in, closing the door behind him. Bobby went to grab a couple beers, bringing them back to Sam. They toasted to John and each took a swig. Unknown to Sam, his beer had holy water in it which burned the inside of his mouth, making him choke and fall onto the floor.

Bobby punched Sam out, cold.

All the commotion had brought Sarah downstairs, hurrying into the room to find Bobby tying her uncle to a chair. "What's going on?" she asked but answered her own question when she looked up at the ceiling above Sam where the devil's trap still was from the exorcism with Meg. "Uncle Sam is possessed?"

"Yup," Bobby replied, tightening the binds around Sam's left arm.

"Well, what are we waiting for? I memorized the exorcism Uncle Sam taught me."

Bobby stood up. "Your dad's on his way here. He doesn't want anyone doing anything until he gets here."

Sarah looked over at her uncle's unconscious form, his head hunched over limp. She was glad that it wasn't Sam who had killed that guy after all.

Once Dean was there and laid out a plan, he slapped his brother awake. "Hey."

Sam snapped awake, grunting as Dean looked back at his daughter, who was holding her super soaker, and nodded. Dean looked up at the devil's trap, making Sam look up as well to distract him from Sarah pumping up the large water gun.

Sam panted and smirked over at his brother. "Dean," he said. "Back from the dead."

Sarah looked up at her father, confused why Sam had said that. She kept quiet though, staying focused.

"Getting to be a regular thing for you, isn't it?" Sam continued. "Like a cockroach."

"You're the cockroach, you demonic ass," Sarah glared over at him, angrily. "Shut up before I sock you the face."

"Careful now, wouldn't wanna bruise this fine packaging."

Dean nodded at him once, "Don't worry. This isn't gonna hurt Sam much." He moved a little to let Sarah take his place, holding up her super soaker to point it at him and sprayed it.

Sam cried out as holy water burned his skin.

"You, on the other hand…" Dean smirked when Sarah stopped.

Sam sat there, groaning in pain.

"Feel like talking now?" he raised his voice.

"Sam's still my meat puppet," Sam sneered at the ground and glared up at him. "I'll make him bite off his own tongue."

"No," Dean shook his head, "You won't be in there long enough. Sarah."

Sarah, keeping a firm grip on the super soaker, started speaking in Latin.

As Sam struggled at the words, Dean said, "See, whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up…"

Sam cried out.

"…you're not getting Sam. Or Sarah."

Sam raised his head towards the ceiling, panting hard.

"You understand me?" he demanded, leaning over in Sam's face. "Because I'm gonna kill every one of you first."

Sam struggled some more against Sarah's exorcism before his gasps turned into laughs, making her stop and look over at her father.

He panted, breathlessly with his head down before lifting it to laugh at Dean, "You really think that's what this thing is about? The master plan?" Sam panted some more. "I don't give a rat's ass about the master plan."

Dean exchanged looks with Bobby, who was standing back overseeing everything, and then looked down at Sarah, who then continued where she had left off, exactly.

"Oops," Sam smirked, interrupting the little girl. "Doesn't seem to be working. See, I learned a few new tricks." He put his head down and started speaking in Latin as well. Soon, the fire inside the fireplace shot up, bigger as the house shook and papers started blowing around.

Sarah pumped her super soaker more until she was thrown back to her left against the wall and landed on the floor, the toy flying out of her hand.

"Sarah," Dean ran to her side, helping her up. "This isn't going as I planned. What's going on, Bobby?"

Bobby hurried behind Sam and noticed a singed in Q on his forearm. "It's a binding link," he yelled over the noise.

Dean and Sarah looked over at him.

"It's like a lock. He's locked himself inside Sam's body."

"What the hell do we do?" Dean yelled back.

"I don't know." Bobby moved away as a cracking noise was heard from above.

Dean was trying to shield Sarah as they watched a crack form in the ceiling, going through a corner of the devil's trap.

Sam cracked his neck, staring over at Dean, "There. That's better." He sent all three of them flying into different walls and broke his arms free, slowly walking over to Dean, who was struggling from the pain in his left shoulder. "You know when people wanna describe the worst possible thing?" Sam kneeled down and grabbed the front of Dean's jacket. "They say it's _like hell_." He socked Dean in the face and grabbed him up again. "Well, there's a reason for that."

"Hell is like," Sam explained, shaking his right fist and socked him again. "Well, it's like hell. Even for demons." Another punch. "It's a prison made of bone and flesh and blood and fear."

Sam punched him one last time before grabbing onto Dean's head. Blood was gushing from Dean's nose. Sarah was struggling to her feet, a little wobbly from being thrown into the wall twice. She couldn't understand why her abilities weren't coming out as she glared over at the men. When Sam punched her father for the last time, she managed to jump to her feet as a rush of adrenaline rushed up inside of her and sped over to shove Sam off of him, punching him in the face.

"My, little Sarah," Sam smirked up at her. "You've gotten stronger since the last time we seen each other. No wonder my father likes you best."

Sarah had pulled back to hit him again but froze, staring down at her uncle, her mouth hanging open in shock. "Meg?"

"That's right, only it's not Meg anymore. Now it's Sam or to you, Uncle Sam, am I right? I saw your grandpa there, but then again, so do you." He smirked.

She clenched her fist tighter and socked him for a third time, this time drawing blood.

Sam just laughed, "All I had to hold onto was that I would climb out one day." He lifted his head towards her. "And I was gonna torture your precious daddy, and maybe even you."

Sarah could feel some hostility towards her father from the demon, but even more it seemed, towards her.

"Ever since you came into the picture my own father pays much more attention to you than he has ever shown me. You're like the favorite of his. In fact, you're more demon than I am."

Sarah loosened her fist that was pulled back once again as she stared at her uncle. "I'm…a…a demon?"

Sam glared up at her, "How do you think you can do all that? It's the demon's blood inside you. You're top dog of all my father's psychic children."

"I have demon blood inside me?"

At that point, Bobby had rushed up and burned a hot, metal stick from the fireplace onto Sam's right arm, burning the singed Q as Sarah had it pinned on the ground. Black smoke shot out of his mouth towards the ceiling and up through the fireplace. Sam's head dropped back onto the ground as Sarah just sat there, staring at him, still in shock.

Sam suddenly shot up into a sitting position and clutched his arm, dropping onto his right elbow. He looked around, confused why his niece was on top of him and his brother was over by the wall, bleeding from the nose. "Did I miss anything?" he asked between the three of them.

Sarah slugged her uncle for that.

"Ow, what was that for?"

She just glared at him and fell onto her back on Sam's left side, holding her hand she had been using. Bobby went over to help Dean up and over to a chair where he got him and Sam ice packs. Sarah sat over on the couch in the other room, thinking about what Meg had told her. So she had demon blood in her? Did Sam have it to? What did all this mean?

Bobby interrupted her thoughts when he came over to hand her a small charm.

"What's this?" she asked as he placed it in her hand.

"It's a charm," he explained. "It'll fend off possession, keeping demons from getting inside ya like it did Sam."

Sarah looked away, at the floor. "What's the point?"

Dean walked in at that point. "Because you're still human, Sarah," he told her.

"Not according to Meg, I'm not," she shrugged. "Now I understand my abilities, my nightmares. I don't know how but I have it. I have demon blood."

"We don't know that for sure, Sarah." Dean walked towards her.

"How else do you explain everything, Dad? I tackled my giant of an uncle off of you and was able to pin him down. I break glass. I send everyone flying when I'm pissed off or when someone's hurting you. I am a monster that the demon wants more than anything." Sarah started crying again. Dean moved even closer and lifted his daughter up into his arms, letting her cry into his shoulder. "How can a half-demon or whatever be saved?"

No one said anything as the men exchanged looks between each other. No one knew what to say. The little girl they loved was pretty much what they hunted….


	70. Chapter 70: Tall Tales (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 70

Sam sat on the couch, looking through old books while Sarah laid on hers and Dean's bed, looking through her own books. Dean was sitting over on Sam's bed, eating chili cheese fries and looking through a magazine which Sam noticed.

"You mind not eating those on my bed?" Sam asked of him in an annoyed tone.

"No, I don't mind," he replied, not looking up. After a few moments, Dean asked, "how's the research going?"

"You know how it's going?" Sam looked over at his brother and slammed his book shut. "Slow. You know how it would go a heck of a lot faster? If I had my computer."

Dean nodded at his brother, grinning, "Mm."

"We could be using my PSP but someone had to go and lose it!" Sarah spat over at her uncle.

"I did not lose your PSP, Sarah," Sam told her for the hundredth time.

"Well, I didn't lose it."

Sam returned to the research, not saying anything else until the music Dean was playing on the radio started to break his concentration. "Can you turn that down, please?" he asked of his brother.

"Yeah, absolutely," he replied, not looking up from his magazine and turned the radio up instead.

Sam looked ahead, annoyed still. He looked back over at Dean, "You know what? Maybe, uh… Maybe you should just go somewhere for a while, huh?"

Dean looked up at him again and shut off the radio. "Hey, I'd love to. That's a great idea. Unfortunately, my car's all screwed to hell."

"Dean, I told you too, I had nothing to do…"

There was a knock on the door.

The Winchesters looked over in that direction. Sam looked between his brother and the door, his leg bouncing up and down before he stood up to answer it, letting Bobby in, after looking through the peephole.

"Hey, Bobby," he greeted, quietly.

"Boys, Sar…" Bobby got the wind knocked out of him when Sarah dashed over and hugged his legs.

"Hey, Bobby," Dean called, standing up from the bed.

"It's good to see you again so soon," he told them, touching his hand to the top of Sarah's head.

Sam playfully, hit him on the shoulder. "Yeah, thanks for coming," he told him, walking towards Dean. "Come on in."

"Thank God you're here," Dean said as Bobby was looking around the room and exchanged a friendly handshake with him.

"So, um," Bobby shrugged, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets, "What didn't you wanna talk to me on the phone about?"

"It's this job we're working. We…" Sam explained and chuckled. "We weren't sure you'd believe us."

Bobby chuckled too, "Well, I can believe a lot."

"No, yeah, yeah. I know," he said. "It's just we've never seen anything like it."

"Not even close," Dean added.

"And we thought we could use some fresh eyes," Sam finished.

"Well, why don't you begin at the beginning?" shrugged Bobby.

"Yeah, um," Sam looked back for something to sit on, "all right, please," he offered Bobby, Sarah and Dean's bed to sit on while Sam pulled up a chair. "So…it all started when we caught wind of an orbit."

Bobby picked up an old food tray, tossing it to the other side of the bed before sitting down.

"See, a professor took a nosedive from a fourth-story window. Only there's a campus legend that the building's haunted. So we pretexted as reporters from the local paper."

A few days before:

Sam and Sarah were sitting at a table with a couple college students, interviewing them while Sam recorded it.

"Yeah, we both had the professor for Ethics and Morality," the young man was explaining.

"Is there any reason you'd think why he would commit suicide?" Sarah asked him.

"Who knows," the young woman replied. "He was tenured, wife and kids. His book was, like, a really big deal."

Sam nodded at her.

"Then again," she continued. "Who's to say it was suicide?"

"Jen, come on," the young man told her, smiling.

"Well, what else could it be?" Sam asked, looking between the students.

"Well, you know about Crawford Hall, right?" the young woman asked him and Sarah.

Sam shifted in his seat, sharing a look with his niece, "No, we don't actually."

"It's a bunch of crap," the young man said, "total urban legend."

"Yeah? Well, Heather's mom went to school here and she knew the girl," the young woman argued with him.

Sarah shifted onto her left foot. "What girl?"

"Like thirty years ago, this girl was having an affair with some professor," she explained. "He broke it off. She jumped out the window and killed herself."

"Uh, wow. Can you say, major drama queen?" Sarah commented, sitting back from where she was leaning on her arms. "When a guy dumps you, you just dig your key into the side of his car, carve your name into his seats, take a bat to each headlight, and slash a whole in all four tires."

"Isn't that when a guy cheats on you?" the young woman told her.

Sarah leaned on her right elbow, "Ah, a Carrie Underwood fan." She shrugged, "Same diff."

"Have you heard her new album yet?"

"Hell yes, I did," Sarah said, leaning closer to the young woman now. " _Just a Dream_ is amazing. The lyrics can just make you want to cry, doesn't it?"

"I know, and…"

Sam stepped in the middle of the conversation, clearing his throat, "Can we get back to the girl? Please?"

Sarah leaned back in her chair, clearing her own throat. "Right, uh, so this girl jumps out a window?" she changed the subject back to the urban legend.

"Right," she replied.

"You know her name?" asked Sam.

She shook her head, "No, but they say she jumped from room 6-6-9. Get it? You turn the nine upside down."

Sam nodded but Sarah seemed like she was questioning it.

"It would be creepier if the number _was_ 6-6-6," she stated. "But, anyway, continue."

The young man chuckled to himself as the young woman continued, stealing a glance at him. "So now she haunts the building. And anyone who sees her, they don't live to tell the tale," she shook her head.

"Well, if no one lives to tell the tale, then how does the story get told?" he asked.

"Curtis, shut up," she told him.

"Guy's got a point there," Sarah agreed.

"You know what," Sam interrupted, "Uh, thanks a lot, guys. Excuse us." He stood up and walked away with Sarah quickly following after him. They went in search of Dean who was over at the bar, chugging down shots of some purplish-looking alcoholic drinks.

"Dean, what are you…? What are you drinking?" Sam asked, standing next to him.

Dean burped and shrugged, "I don't know, man. I think they're called Purple Nurples." He laughed. It was very apparent he was drunk.

Sarah just rolled her eyes at her father.

"Well, listen," Sam told him. "I think we should go check out the professor's office."

"Oh, no, no, no. I can't right now," Dean told him. "I've got a feisty, little wildcat on the hook. I'm about to…" he made a sound like a bee. "…reel her in."

Sam and Sarah looked over at the girl Dean was referring to as Dean looked back.

"I'll introduce you," he told them.

"Dean…" Sam tried to protest.

But Dean was already calling her name who turned around. "Starla, hey. These are my shuttle co-pilots, Major Tom and Jerry. Major Tom, Jerry, Starla," he introduced them.

"Mm," she smiled at Sam and hugged Dean around the neck, from behind. "Enchante." Starla held a shot glass out towards Sam.

Sam just smiled.

"We should really get going," Sarah pointed out with her arms folded across her chest and gave Starla a look that said, _try anything with my dad and you're dead_ who didn't seem to notice. When Starla started gagging, Sarah raised her eyebrows at her.

"Sorry," she apologized, smiling as she removed her hand from her mouth. "Just trying to keep my liquor down."

Her and Dean laughed. "Yeah, good job," he told her and turned back to Sam. "Hey, good news. She's got a sister." Dean grinned at him.

Sam raised both of his eyebrows, trying to force a smile as Starla wrapped her arm around Dean's neck again.

Back in the present:

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean interrupted Sam. "Hold on a minute."

Sam replied, "What?" looking between him and Bobby.

"Come on, dude. That's not how it happened."

"Uh, yeah it was, Dad. You just don't remember since you were drunk at the time," Sarah told him, sitting across from him, next to Bobby.

"I remember things, Sarah and I don't say things like, 'feisty, little wildcat,' and her name wasn't Starla," he said, looking over at his brother.

She crossed her arms across her chest, "Then what was it?"

Dean thought on it before he said, "I don't know."

"Exactly," she said.

"So what did happen, Dean?" Sam asked, sarcastically.

Dean told his version of the story which was a far exaggerated version from the truth, which ending with Sam sounding like he couldn't speak English.

"Right," Sarah interrupted this time. "That's how it really happened."

Dean shrugged.

"I don't sound like that, Dean," Sam spat at him.

"That's what you sound like to me," he said.

"Okay," Bobby jumped in, looking between the three of them. "What's going on with the three of you?"

Sam rolled his eyes at the ceiling, "Nothing. It's nothing."

"Come on. Now, you're all bickering like an old married couple," he told them.

"No," Dean argued. "See, married couples can get divorced." He stood up to walk over to the kitchen area. "We're more like Siamese triplets."

"It's _conjoined_ triplets," Sam corrected him as Dean walked by him.

"And technically, I _can_ divorce from you, Dad," Sarah added.

Dean looked back at Bobby as he was walking, "See what I mean?"

Bobby stared down at the floor, trying to make sense of everything going on.

"Look, it…" Sam tried to explain. "We've just been on the road for too long. Tight quarters, that's all. Don't worry about it."

"Okay," he shook his head.

Sam continued telling him about the job they were on. "So, anyway, we figured it might be a haunting…so we went to check out the scene of the crime."

Later, that same night (a few nights ago):

"So, how long you been working here?" Sam was asking the janitor.

"I've been mopping these floors for six years," he replied, unlocking the door to the professor's office and turned on the light. "There you go, guys."

The Winchesters followed him inside the office as Sam turned on the EMF reader.

"What the heck's that for?" the janitor asked him.

"Just finding wires in the walls," he shrugged.

The janitor crossed his arms, leaning up against the wall frame, "Ah, well… Not sure why you're wiring up this office," he said, looking around the room. "Not gonna do the professor much good."

"Why's that?" Sarah asked him.

"He's dead," he plainly stated.

"Oh, that's terrible. How did he die?"

The janitor stood up straight again and pointed over at a window behind the large desk in the center of the room, "He went out that window right there."

Sam and Dean were wandering around the room.

"Yeah?" asked Sam. "Were you working that night?"

"I'm the one who found him," he nodded over at Sam.

Sarah asked him, "What did you think happened?"

The janitor shrugged, "I don't know." He laughed.

Sam asked, "What?"

"He wasn't alone."

Dean walked up behind Sarah, his cheeks stuffed with candy like a chipmunk's. "Who was he with," he asked.

Sarah side-stepped away from her father, wiping her hand along the top of her hair from where she felt his saliva as she stared up at him.

"He was with a young lady," the janitor explained and shrugged, "I told the cops about her, but, uh, I guess they never found her."

"You saw this girl go in, huh?" asked Sam. "But did you ever see her come out?" He rolled his eyes when he saw Dean holding the bowl of candy out of Sarah's reach as she tried to grab one, playing around with her.

The janitor raised an eyebrow at the two of them as he replied, "Now that you mention it, no."

"You ever see her…" Sam looked back at his brother and niece. "Will you two knock it off?"

Sarah was now jumping for the bowl in Dean's hand as he held it higher and higher. She stopped when Sam said something. Even though they were each in uniform, the two of them weren't really playing their parts. "I will when Butch here shares the candy."

Sam gave his niece a look that told her to knock it off and Sarah looked away, crossing her arms. Dean, smiling like a chipmunk, held the bowl beside her, finally offering her one. She took one, thanking him.

Sam looked back at the janitor, "Sorry for my partners. You ever see the girl around before?"

"Not her," he said.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, chewing.

"I don't mean to cast aspersions on a dead guy but, uh, Mr. Morality here? He brought a lot of girls up here. Got more ass than a toilet seat."

Dean laughed at that while Sarah raised her right eyebrow. "Gross," she said while chewing the one piece of candy on the left side of her mouth.

"One more thing," Sam said, "Uh, this building, it only has four stories, right?"

The janitor nodded, "Yeah."

"So there wouldn't be a room 6-6-9?"

He shook his head this time as he shrugged, "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

"Ah," Sam shook his head as well, "Just curious. Thanks."

The Winchesters headed back to their motel room they were staying in. "Well, no traces of EMF, that's for sure," Sam said as they walked inside, turning on the light.

Dean placed their metal suitcase in the chair next to the one Sam sat down in, "And that room 6-6-9's a load of crap," he added.

Sarah sat in the chair, opposite the suitcase, on her heels as she leaned her elbows on the table as she turned on her PSP.

"So, what do you think, the professor's just a jumper?" Sam asked, removing his jacket "Legend's just a legend?"

Dean was grabbing two beers out of the fridge and placed one on the table for Sam. "I don't know." He looked over at his daughter. "Dude, we're on a job. Turn it off."

Sarah switched it off, dropping it onto the table, folding her arms on the table still, placing her chin inside them.

"Anyway. The girl that the janitor described, that's pretty weird," Dean leaned against the counter, twisting the cap off.

Sam agreed.

"Why don't we see if the building's got any history? Maybe a girl did die there once," Sarah shrugged, not lifting her head.

"Right." Sam grabbed his computer as Dean walked away, drinking his beer and opened it up to find a porn site frozen on the screen. "Dude, were you on my computer?" he called over to Dean.

Dean came back to look at him, "No," he replied.

"Oh, really?" Sam stared back at him. "Because it's frozen now on, uh, ."

Dean looked at the ground, remembering now and walked back into the bathroom.

"Dean…" Sam tried to yell after him and placed his right elbow on the table, looking at the floor. "Would you just… Don't touch my stuff anymore, okay?"

"Oh yeah, Uncle Sam," Sarah told her uncle, lifting her head at him. "That's telling him."

"You hush, Sarah."

Dean had stuck his head out the bathroom. "Why don't you control your OCD?" he asked Sam.

Back in the present:

"But did you dig up anything about the building?" Bobby asked, in front of one of the windows and walked over to them. "Or on the suicidal coed?"

Sam was standing in front of the coffee table. He shook his head at the floor, rubbing his neck, "No. History's clean."

"Well, then it's not a haunting," he said, stopping to look back at them.

Dean stopped in front of him, "Maybe not. To tell the truth, we're not really sure. Not even Sarah and she's usually the one to figure it out when we can't."

Bobby stared at him, shrugging his shoulders, "What do you mean you're not sure?"

Sam had been pacing around the room. He stopped to look over at the older hunter, "Well, it's weird."

"What's weird?" he asked.

"This part you definitely won't believe," Sarah spoke up beside him, her hands shoved into her sky blue shorts pockets. "It's weird even for us," and this time Sarah told Bobby the story.


	71. Chapter 71: Tall Tales (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 71

"Aliens?" Bobby questioned once Sarah told him.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

Bobby was pacing the floor, staring at it. "Aliens?" he repeated, finding it hard to believe.

Dean agreed as well, his arms folded.

Bobby stopped pacing and looked over at the Winchesters. "Look, even if they are real, they sure ain't coming to earth, swiping people."

"Hey, believe me, we know," he unfolded his arms.

"My whole life, I've never found evidence of an honest-to-God abduction." Bobby shrugged, "It's all just cranks and pranks."

Sam told Bobby about talking to the guy that was abducted.

A couple days after the professor's jump:

The Winchesters sat in the same bar as before, talking to the young man, Curtis who was downing shot after shot, looking scarred for life.

"Hey, you gotta give those Purple Nurples a shot," Dean smiled at him. "Phew."

Curtis just glared at him.

Sam cleared his throat to get Curtis' attention as Sarah kicked her father under the table, who gave her a hard glare. "So what happened, Curtis?" he asked him.

Curtis shrugged at Sam, who had his hands in his jacket pockets, "You won't believe me. Nobody does."

"We're not nobody," Sarah told him. "Just tell us what you think you saw."

He pointed at them, "I do not want this in the papers."

"Off the record then," Dean assured him.

Curtis looked over at Dean and slowly set his shot glass down, staring at it. "I, uh…I blacked out and…and I lost track of time and when I woke up, I don't know where I was."

Sam asked, leaning against another table, "Then what?"

Curtis was staring at his glass still, "They did tests on me. And um…." He took another drink, downing that one. Curtis set the glass down and folded his arms on the table. "They, um….They probed me."

Sam looked away, scratching the back of his head while Sarah asked, "They probed you for answers?"

"No, they probed me…like probed me," he told her.

Sarah started thinking about alien movies she'd seen. "You mean they stuck you with…"

"Yeah, they probed me. I mean, again, and again, and again, and…" Curtis took another drink, downing that one as well as Sarah looked back at her father, who shrugged.

Sam looked like he wanted to laugh but held it in.

He set the glass down. "And again, and again, and again, and one more time."

Dean stared at him, horrified, "Yikes."

"Wow," Sarah added.

"And that's not even the worse of it."

"How can it get any worse?" she asked him.

Dean grinned, jokingly, "Some alien made you his bitch."

Curtis stared at him and Dean exchanged looks with Sam. After a moment, he said, "They….They made me….slow dance."

Sam and Dean were speechless but Sarah had lost it. She started snickering, holding her sides until Curtis glared over at her and sat up, straight, again. "I mean…that's awful, Curtis. I wish there was something we could do," she told him, trying to keep a straight face but found herself losing the battle.

Back in the present:

"You guys are exaggerating again, huh?" Bobby told them, turning around to face them.

"No," all three answered.

He shrugged, "Then this frat boy is just nuts."

"We're not so sure," Dean admitted from the arm of the couch.

The day after they talked with Curtis:

"So you and this Curtis guy," Sam asked a student, "you're in the same house?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"You heard what happened to him, right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, he said it was aliens," the student replied, looking between them, "but, you know, whatever."

Sam shifted on his feet, his hands in his jacket pockets again, "Look, man, I know this has to be so hard."

He shook his head, "Um, not so much," he said, starting to feel awkward.

"But I want you to know…." Sam nodded closer to the student. "I'm here for you."

The student nodded, trying to look at the ground.

"You brave little soldier. I acknowledge your pain."

He was looking over at Dean and Sarah as if to ask, _what the heck is this guy's problem?_

Sam teared up, "Come here," and wrapped the student in a big hug. Dean started to say something but decided not to as Sam continued. "Too precious for this world," he said.

Sarah moved to her father's other side, scratching the back of her head. "I don't know this guy. Never seen him in all my life," she tried to assure the student who looked very uncomfortable.

In the present again:

"I never said that," Sam interrupted his brother.

"You're always saying pansy stuff like that," Dean shrugged.

Bobby was looking between them, realizing something was up as Dean continued.

Back on that day:

Sam finally let go of the student, assuring he was fine and stated Curtis had it coming, that he had put their house through hell that semester as their pledge master. Afterwards, the Winchesters headed back to their motel room again.

"Still don't make a lick of sense," Dean stated as they walked in the door and removed his jacket, "but hey, at least there's one connection."

Sam asked, "Between what?"

"Victims," he replied and tossed his jacket over on his bed. "The professor and the frat guy." Dean flopped down in an arm chair Sarah was leaning against on her arms. He laughed, "They're both dicks."

Sam scoffed from over by the beds, "That's a connection?"

"You got anything better to go on, I'd like to hear it," he shrugged and asked Sarah if she could grab him a beer from the fridge. Sarah nodded and went over to the fridge. Dean stretched out in the chair. "One good thing about being a dad: having your own, personal butler."

Sarah was grabbing a beer from inside the fridge, "I heard that, Dad." She closed the fridge door and took the beer over to her father, giving him a hard look.

Dean wrapped his arm around her, holding a long kiss on her left cheek. "You know I love you," he grinned at her.

"Oh sure," she told him, sarcastically, "want me to fetch your slippers, pipe, and newspaper for you, too?"

Sam was looking through his bag and around the room. "Where's my laptop?" he asked them.

"I don't know," Dean told him, looking away from him.

"I haven't seen it," Sarah shrugged.

Dean started talking about the case again as Sam continued searching. "Think about it. A philandering professor gets a dead girl," he said. "A pledge master gets hazed."

"What's philandering mean?" Sarah asked, her head resting on her father's right shoulder now.

"Man who cheats on his wife," Dean explained.

"That sounds like a dick to me," she agreed.

"I left it in here." Sam was still looking for his laptop.

"Well, you obviously didn't," Dean told him. "I mean, these punishments, they're almost poetic. Actually, it would be more like a limerick, but still…"

Sam walked over to him and Sarah, "Okay, hilarious, ha ha. Where'd you hide it?"

"What, your computer?" he asked.

"Yeah," Sam replied, "Where'd you hide it?"

"Why would I take your computer? Sarah uses it, why don't you ask her?"

Sarah stood up fast at that point, looking between the brothers, "I didn't take it."

"Someone took it," Sam shrugged, "No one else could have. We keep the door locked. We never let any maids in."

Dean grinned up at him, "Looks like you lost it, Poindexter."

Sam didn't say anything as he stared down at his brother, who kept on grinning. "Dude, you know something? I put up with a lot from you. Both of you, actually.

"What are ya talking about?" Dean smirked over at his daughter, "We're a joy to be around. Huh, Baby Girl?"

"Yup," she smiled back at him.

"Yeah?" said Sam, and held his hand out towards the kitchen area. "Your dirty socks in the sink, Dean. You Sarah, leaving your toys lying around." Sam looked back at Dean, "Your food in the fridge."

"What's wrong with my food?" Dean asked, offended.

"It's not food, anymore, Dean," he yelled at him. "It's Darwinism."

Dean looked away from his brother, muttering, "I like it."

Sarah jumped in, "It's both ways, Uncle Sam. I tried to put up with your quirks, too."

Sam scoffed, "Oh, my quirks? Like what?"

"Being the kill joy and Mr. Clean all the time, expecting everything to be perfectly placed," she told him. "Dad's more fun than you are, most of the time."

"Someone has to be the responsible adult around here," Sam argued.

"Yeah, well, there's such thing as too responsible, Uncle Sam," Sarah argued back.

Sam just scoffed, walking away.

Dean asked, "You two done?" when no one said anything else.

He turned back to his brother and niece, walking towards them again. "How would you feel if I screwed with the Impala, Dean?"

"It'll be the last thing you ever did," Dean told him, frankly.

"How would you feel, Sarah, if I took your PSP without asking?"

I'd repeat how we met," she told him, frankly, mimicking her father's tone. "You know I ask, every time, to use your computer, anyway."

Present day:

"Did any of you take his computer?" Bobby asked of Dean and Sarah, looking between them. Sam and Dean were sitting at the table, this time.

"Serves him right," said Dean, holding his beer towards him, "but I didn't."

Bobby looked over at Sarah who was sitting, cross-legged on her bed, "Did you, Sarah?"

"No, but he lost my PSP after I gladly let him borrow it so he could use the internet I never knew I had," she glared over at her uncle.

"For the last time I did not lose your PSP," Sam repeated. "I gave it right back when I was done."

Sarah stood up on her feet, "And I set it on the nightstand so you obviously took it back and lost it."

"I didn't touch it, Sarah," he argued. "You must have lost it."

"In all the time I had it, I have never lost my PSP," she argued in returned.

"Okay," Bobby broke up the argument, "that's enough, both of you. Why don't you just tell me what happened next?"

"There was one more victim," Dean told the older hunter.

"Right. Now, we didn't see this one, ourselves, either," Sam added. "We kind of put it together from the evidence, but this guy, he was…. He was a research scientist. Animal testing."

Sarah finished for her uncle, "A huge dick."

"Which fits the pattern," Dean also said. The three of them told Bobby about the victim being mauled by an alligator in the sewers, a classic urban legend, and searching around in the sewers.

"Yeah, I found something, just not in the sewer," Dean said afterwards when Bobby had asked if they had found anything down there.

Dean climbed out of the sewer, pushing the sewer lid off, letting his daughter climb out first before he lifted himself onto the ground. They walked around a corner where the Impala was parked, to find an unpleasant surprise, also finding Sam's money clip on the ground next to it.

Dean looked up from where he was squatting to see Sarah cracking her knuckles. They headed upstairs to their motel room. "You think this is funny?" he asked of Sam, who was sitting there reading.

Sam looked back at this brother and niece. "It depends, what?"

Dean grumbled, mimicking Sam. "The car!"

Sam sounded clueless to what Dean was talking about. "What about the car?"

"You can't let the air out of the tires, you idiot," he spat at him. "You're gonna bend the rims."

"Whoa, wait a minute," Sam shifted in his seat, closing the book. "I didn't go near your car."

Dean nodded at Sam, "oh, yeah. Huh." He took out the money clip, holding it up to show him, "Then how'd I find this?"

Sam stared at it and quickly checked his pocket before standing up to face Dean. "Hey, give me back my money," he ordered of Dean.

"Oh, no. No," Dean shook his head while Sarah walked away, over to the bed, removing her jacket and tossed it on hers. "Consider it reparations for, uh, emotional trauma."

Sarah looked down at the nightstand where she had left her PSP and saw it gone. "Where's my game?" she asked, interrupting the brotherly fight.

"I don't know, Peanut," Sam replied.

"I left it right here on the table," she said, turning around to face them.

He shrugged, "I haven't seen it since I gave it back to you."

"Yeah, right. Now where is it?"

"I didn't take it, Sarah," Sam told his niece.

"Oh, like you had nothing to do with the Impala?" she pointed out. "You were the only one in here before Dad and I got back and I left it right there when we left. Now give it back!"

"And I said I didn't take it," he argued, defensively.

Sarah joined in the quarrel, wrestling her uncle to try and pat him down for her PSP while Sam wrestled his brother for his money clip back.

Bobby interrupted the flashback. "Okay, I've heard enough."

"Well, you showed up about an hour after that," Dean finished, looking at the table.

"I'm surprised at you three. I really am," he said. "Sam, first off, neither Dean nor Sarah stole your computer."

Sam tried to protest as Sarah grinned over at him.

"Told ya," she told her uncle.

"And Sarah," Bobby turned to her after he shushed them both. "Sam did not lose your video game."

"Yeah," Sam told his niece as she folded her arms.

"Shut up," Sarah told him, bitterly.

"Dean, Sam did not touch your car, either. If you three bothered to pull your heads out of your asses, yes I'm talking to you as well, Sarah," Bobby said, when Sarah looked up at him in surprise that he would say that to her. "It would have been pretty clear."

Dean asked, "What?"

"What you're dealing with."

The Winchesters shifted uncomfortably in their seats, trying to think about it but came up blank.

"You got a trickster on your hands," Bobby told them.

Dean snapped his fingers up at him, "That's what I thought," he grinned.

"No you didn't, Dad," said Sarah. "You were clueless as we were."

"I gotta tell you," Bobby looked between the Winchesters, "you three were the biggest clue."  
Sam asked, "What do you mean?"

"These things create chaos and mischief as easy as breathing," he explained. "And it's got you so turned around and at each other's throats, you can't even think straight."

"The laptop," Sam realized.

"The tires," Dean realized.

"My PSP," Sarah realized.

"It knows you're onto him," Bobby told them. "And it's been playing you like fiddles."

"So what is it?" Dean asked. "Spirit, demon, what?"

"Well, more like demigods, really. There's Loki in Scandinavia. There's Anansi in West Arica. Dozens of them. They're immortal and can create things out of thin air. Things as real as you and me. Make them vanish just as quick."

"Like an angry spirit, alien, or alligator?" Sarah asked.

Bobby nodded. "The victims fit the M.O. too. Tricksters target the high and the mighty. Knock them down a peg, usually with a sense of humor. Deadly pranks, stuff like that."

Dean was thinking on it. "Bobby, what do these things look like?" he asked.

He shrugged. "Lots of things," Bobby answered, stepping away. "But human mostly."

Dean came to a realization and leaned on the table, towards Sam and Sarah, "And what human do we know who's been at ground zero this whole time?"

Sam shrugged until it also sunk in and looked over at his niece who was thinking the same thing.

So they went to search the janitor's locker. Dean and Sarah distracted him while Sam did the searching finding a Weekly World News magazine, proving the janitor was the trickster.

After staging a fake fight, Sam headed back to Bobby while Dean and Sarah stayed there, walking back and forth, in front of the building until nightfall. The two of them then headed inside again. Seeing how the trickster wasn't in the employee locker area, they hurried upstairs, hearing music coming from the theater department.

Dean opened the door to find a couple of women and something yellow moving on the bed as they walked in. He quickly covered Sarah's eyes as they stepped closer.

"Dad, I can't see," Sarah complained.

"That's the whole point," he told her.

As he led her closer down the steps, Dean could not believe what the yellow thing was. "Oh my God," he said in disbelief.

The yellow thing hopped off the bed and scurried over to the edge of the stage. "Pi ka chu," it said, standing on its hind feet.

Sarah heard it, too. "Did I just hear what I think I heard?"

"You bet, kiddo."

Dean turned his head to see the Trickster sitting in one of the seats.

"Come on. Let her see it," he told Dean. "How many other kids can say they met a real live Pikachu?"

"As much as I appreciate the ladies, I don't really want Sarah seeing them," said Dean.

"So you'll let your daughter miss out on an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity just 'cause you don't want her to see a couple ladies lying on a bed?"

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

"Dad, I watch movies way past my age limit, as long as they're not naked it's nothing I haven't seen before," she told her father.

"Fine." Dean removed his hand, reluctantly.

Sarah looked over and her eyes widen in surprise as she stared at her favorite cartoon character, live in the fur. "No way. I gotta be dreaming," she said.

"Nope, it's all real, kiddo," the Trickster smiled between her and the Pikachu.

Dean started staring over at the women before he remembered what they were there for and looked back over at the Trickster, reminding Sarah to do the same.

"They're a peace offering," the Trickster told them. "I know what you three do. I've been around a while, run into your kind before."

Dean shrugged, "Well, then you know that we can't let you just keep hurting people."

The Trickster threw his head back, "Come on. Those people got what was coming to them. Hoisted on their own petards."

"True," Sarah could agree to that.

"But you two and Sam," he continued. "I like you. I do. So treat yourself, as long as you like." Dean and Sarah looked back at the ladies and Pikachu. "Just long enough for me to move on to the next town." The Trickster pulled a candy bar from his front pocket and started to unwrap it. "By the way, Sarah, I think you missed one."

Sarah looked back at the stage again. Only this time there was the huge, orange, dragon-like Pokémon she loved even more than Pikachu. Her mouth dropped opened as she stared at it. "Charizard," she said, quietly.

"Now, he's my personal favorite. I can see why you like him so much."

Sarah watched as Charizard flapped its wings once and blew real fire into the air, at the ceiling. But she shook her head and turned back to the Trickster. "There's no way we're letting you escape," she told him.

"I don't wanna hurt you guys," the trickster admitted and shrugged. "And you know that I can."

Dean couldn't help smile. "Look, man, I gotta tell you. I dig your style. All right? I mean…" He looked back at the women and blew out a breath of air. "I do. I mean: And the slow-dancing alien?"

Sarah agreed, "Yeah, right on, dude."

The three of them laughed.

"Another one of my personal favorites," the Trickster laughed.

"Yeah," he said. "But uh, we can't let you go, like Sarah said."

"Too bad," said the Trickster. "Like I said, I like you. Sam was right. You both shouldn't have come alone."

Dean clicked his mouth on one side, "Well, I'll agree with you there."

The doors on either side of the section the Trickster was sitting in opened, bringing in Sam and Bobby who was each holding a wooden stake. The Trickster looked back at them and then at Dean and Sarah again. "That fight you guys had outside. That was a trick?"

Dean and Sarah just shrugged at him.

He nodded, "Hm. Not bad."

The two of them pulled out their own wooden stakes, staring at the Trickster.

"But you wanna see a real trick?" With a wave of his hand, two guys wearing a mask and holding a chainsaw appeared behind Sam and Bobby, raising them above their heads. Sam and Bobby ducked out of the way before the chainsaws ripped them to shreds.

Dean tried to plunge his stake into the Trickster. One of the women stopped him, holding his arm. Sarah tried to run in and help her father until Pikachu and Charizard rushed in and blocked her path. She didn't know what to do either. These things were real and Sarah didn't have any of her own to battle them so she backed away, slowly.

"Nice Pikachu. Nice Charizard," she told them.

Pikachu ran towards her and tackled her in the stomach, knocking her back against the stage.

Sarah got to her hands and knees, still griping the stake in her hand. She stood up, slowly and tried to swing at Pikachu but it dodged it, jumping back. Charizard stepped up behind it to shoot out a breath of fire, burning the stake which Sarah quickly dropped. As the Pokémon inched towards her, Sarah started backing up again, glancing around for something to use before running up the side steps. The Pokémon followed until Sarah reached the top and turned around.

At that moment, Charizard spun around and hit her with its tail. Luckily, it wasn't the very end. It did hurt though as Sarah was knocked to the ground and Charizard pinned her. Pikachu was powering up an electric attack when it and the Charizard disappeared.

Sarah opened her eyes to see the Pokémon were gone and quickly got to her feet. Down below, Dean was standing over as the Trickster fell back into his seat, dead as a doornail. Everyone else was relieved it was over and got the hell out of there, running out to the Impala.

As Bobby jumped in the backseat, Sam stopped to look over the roof at Dean. "Look, Dean, um…I just want to say that I'm, uh…Um…."

Dean looked at him. "Hey," he said and hesitated. "Me too."

Sarah moved around her father to look over the hood at her uncle. "I'm sorry too, Uncle Sam," she told him.

"Same here, Peanut," he replied.

"And Dad, same goes for you. I'm sorry," Sarah turned to her father.

"Don't sweat it, Baby Girl," Dean assured her.

Bobby jumped out of the Impala to look between the Winchesters, "You guys are breaking my heart. Could we please just leave?" and slid back into the backseat.

Dean nodded at his daughter and brother before they jumped into the Impala and sped away.


	72. Chapter 72: What is and WSN be (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 72

Over the next month, the Winchesters had run-ins with, for the most part, spirits. There were two of them haunting a road. One of them a woman, reliving her death, and an old man who the woman had hit with her car the night they both died. The Winchesters spoke to the woman's husband first and researched her at the local library before finding her.

Sam had come to the conclusion that the woman did not know she was dead and Sarah had to make a reference to the movie, _The Others_. After helping the woman and burning the man's bones, the Winchesters kept good on their promise and took her back to see her husband who had remarried and moved on with his own life since that night of the accident. They talked her through to moving on to the afterlife and she vanished.

Not long after the roadside spirits, Sarah went on her first werewolf hunt. Sam ended up getting close with the victim which made it harder when they had to kill her when it became known she was the werewolf killing everyone. Madison, the girl, begged Sam to do it. Sam ended up walking out of the room and cried as he leaned against a doorframe. Sarah walked over to him and took ahold of his hand, trying to comfort him.

Sam looked down at his niece and lifted her up to hold onto to her. Sarah hugged his neck, assuring it was going to be all right. He continued to hold her head against his as Dean walked in. Dean told Sam that he would do this for him but Sam reminded his brother that Madison had asked him to do it. With one last hug from his niece, Sam passed her off to Dean taking the gun from him and went back into the other room, stealing one last look with his brother. As Dean watched him go, a tear fell from his own eye as Sarah hid her face in his neck. When they heard the gunshot, Dean felt her grip tighten and he squeezed her tighter as well.

It cheered Dean and Sarah up, not long after to find a gig on a movie set where they took jobs as PAs or in other words, slaves as Sam called it. Sarah was mostly enjoying working on a movie set, not caring if she was considered a slave or not. They learned that one of the writers was bringing in the spirits that were killing crew members because he wasn't getting the respect he wanted. In the end, it was the spirits that got him and was able to move on, and Dean ended up rewarded in the end.

A couple weeks after the haunted movie set, the Winchesters got a call from a friend of John's who worked inside a prison which Sarah had to sit this one out against her protests. Even though Sarah stages as a short, adult woman and could pretend to be a guy if need be, both Sam and Dean agreed that they didn't want Sarah inside prison walls with a bunch of grown men who would literally kill her, especially since she has a tendency to open her mouth at the wrong time and pick a fight with anyone. So instead, the brothers dropped her off at the Roadhouse since Sarah stayed with Bobby the last time and hadn't seen Ellen in a while.

Once Ellen got a look at the condition of Sarah's shoes, she took her to get a new pair. It got to where Sarah's toes were sticking out. Dean felt bad about his daughter having to wear old tennis shoes that were falling apart but every time he and Sarah made plans to go replace them, a gig would pop up. Ellen was glad to do it, though but being a guy and a father, Dean wanted to insist on paying her back, saying Ellen didn't have to do that, that it was his responsibility. Ellen refused to let him pay her back, saying it was no problem at all. Besides, it was Sarah's birthday gift from her. All three Winchesters had been so focused the past few months with the demon and hunting that another year had gone by and Sarah's ninth birthday had snuck up on them. So, this year they threw a party for Sarah at the Roadhouse, inviting Bobby, too.

Dean couldn't believe his little girl was nine years old now. It felt like yesterday she was only seven and he was picking her up from her grandparents' house. Now here she was, older and more mature than she was back then. Sarah was his world, the reason Dean woke up every morning. He couldn't see life without her and Sarah couldn't see her dad ever leaving her. At times, she thought about what Dean had said about John when they met Gordon, how nothing could kill her dad, that he was indestructible. That no matter what they would always be a family.

It wasn't until the Winchesters caught wind of a djinn, did Sarah get a glimpse of what her father could be in a whole other, screwed-up lifestyle. While Sam stayed back at the motel, researching some more, Dean and Sarah found the trail, thanks to Sam, of the djinn in a warehouse where the two of them got separated somehow and the djinn had attacked her.

Sarah sat up in bed, panting. The last thing she remembered was the djinn standing over her and touched his tattooed hand to her forehead as it glowed with a bluish aura. Now here she was, lying in a bed and neither her father nor her uncle were anywhere in sight.

The ceiling light above flew on and to her surprise, John was there by her side. "Hey, what's the matter, Sarah?" he asked. "Did you have a nightmare?"

Sarah stared up at the man that was supposed to be dead. It didn't even seem like he spent time down in hell.

"Grandpa?" she finally managed to muster up. "Is that really you?"

John looked back at her, confused. "Sarah, are you feeling all right?" He felt her forehead with his left hand.

Sarah pushed his hand away, "I feel fine, Grandpa. I just can't believe you're alive."

"Of course I'm alive," he told her. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Don't you remember hell and trading your soul to save Dad?" she asked.

"Watch your language, Sarah," he told her, sternly and hugged her to him. "Whatever dream you had, it wasn't real. Okay?" John stood up and kissed the side of her head. "Your mom and dad will be here tomorrow after work." He headed for the door.

Sarah realized what her grandfather said, "My mom is alive?"

John stopped in the doorway, looking back at his granddaughter and shook his head. "I swear your dad needs to stop hitting you in the head." With that, he shut off the light again and left the room, telling her good-night.

Sarah sat there, trying to figure what it was her grandfather meant. Sure, Dean smacked her upside the head but he never did it to where it would hurt or have any effect on her brain. And how was she talking to her grandfather in the first place? How did he get out and why didn't he remember it? And her mother was alive, and _married_ to her father? What was going on here? Did it have something to do with the djinn? Did he do something?

She remembered in the car, on the way to the warehouse, her father talking to Sam on the phone how djinns were genies. Could they really grant wishes? Sarah wanted everyone alive, and that must have included her mother. Maybe her mother was a whole different person here. Wherever here was, that is.

Sarah lied back down and tried to fall asleep as she tried to make sense of what just happened. She thought about trying this new life out but her father and uncle must be worrying sick about where she was, especially her father. Eventually, sleep overcame her and before she knew it, Sarah had woken up again to the morning sun shining in. She tossed back the covers and wandered from the room and downstairs, looking up at all the photos that littered the walls and shelves of Sam and Dean growing up as kids and even some of her when she was younger. There were family photos of her grandparents with her father and uncle at different times, growing up. What caught her eye though was a group photo of her and her father, with not her mother but Jo. Was Jo her mother or did her mother die in this universe, too and Dean married Jo afterwards?

It sounded like John was talking to someone in the kitchen so Sarah headed there to find her grandmother finishing up breakfast. Sarah stood there in the entryway, stunned to see her grandmother alive.

"Sarah, are you all right?" John asked, sitting at the table, eating his breakfast.

Sarah shook it off and looked over at her grandfather. "Yeah, I'm great, Grandpa." She walked over and sat next to him, her back to the kitchen sink. "I mean, I have you, Grandma, Mom and Dad. Wait, where's Uncle Sam?" Sarah had almost forgotten her uncle.

Mary set a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and a piece of toast in front of her. "His plane doesn't fly in until this afternoon, remember, honey?" she told her granddaughter.

"Yeah, of course. I forgot," she lied, looking up at her. "Where is Uncle Sam flying in from again?"

"California, remember?" she said.

"California, right." Sarah turned her attention to her food and started eating.

"Sarah," John said after sharing a look with his wife. "Did your father get mad again before he dropped you off yesterday?"

"Get mad?" She looked at her grandfather confused and suddenly felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Was her father a whole other person here? Sure she'd seen him mad before but the way John was sounding, it seemed like he was abusive or something. "What do you mean by mad?"

John didn't answer right away. "Sarah, you wouldn't talk to any of us until you woke up last night, now you act like you can't remember anything?" He paused for a minute before he added, "he hit you again, didn't he?"

Sarah had placed a bite of her eggs in her mouth at that point when he asked and started choking, coughing repeatedly, and her eyes watering now. Mary quickly poured her a glass of milk and brought it to her granddaughter, who took it. Once the eggs were washed down, Sarah stared over at her grandfather. "Dad would never actually hit me. He loves me, Grandpa."

John stared down at what was left of his food.

"He does, Grandpa. Honest," she continued.

Mary had sat down on her other side to eat her own breakfast and touched her granddaughter's left shoulder. "We know he does, sweetheart. Your father just has a temper, that's all," she told her.

Sarah looked over at her grandmother then back at her grandfather. What in the world was going on here? Breakfast continued with John and Mary talking about random adult stuff before Sarah politely interrupted. "Hey, uh, when I turned six months old, was there ever a fire at our house?"

John and Mary both stared at her. "No, why do you ask?" Mary asked.

"So I don't have anything unusual about me?"

"Like what?" John asked.

Sarah shrugged, "Like anything…supernatural? Do I read books on monsters or folk tales?"

Mary looked over at her husband. "I think we should take her to the urgent care, John. Dean may have hit her too hard this time."

Sarah dropped her fork onto her plate. "Whoa! I'm okay, Grandma. Really, I'm fine. But, uh, there wouldn't happen to be a computer here, would there?"

"No, not since your uncle moved out, you know that," John told her.

"I really think…" Mary began but John stopped her.

"Let's just give it a day and talk to Jo about it when we meet her and Dean at the restaurant and we will talk to her about it."

Sarah looked between her grandparents. Now she really didn't know what was going on. Dean treating his daughter, like crap? That was absurd, he loved her. She had to see this for herself, along with finding a computer.

After breakfast, John headed out to the backyard to do some yard work. Sarah helped her grandmother with the breakfast dishes which surprised Mary.

"So Dad and I don't get along at all?" Sarah was asking as she placed each dish inside the dishwasher.

"It seemed like since you were born, you wanted nothing to do with him and I think it kind of hurt him. Your father was never an easy person to be around and he never seemed to get along with your uncle but the first time he held you and you screamed your head off, I don't know. What little affection had surfaced that moment had just disappeared. Your dad started drinking even more than usual after that, and from the minute you could walk he started…" Mary trailed off, tears filling up in her eyes. She tried to hide them from her but Sarah saw them anyway.

"What about Mom?" Sarah asked, after a while just before they finished the dishes. "Do we get along?"

"Sarah, are you sure you're all right?" she finally asked.

"Yeah, I just had a rough night, last night." Sarah placed the last dish in the dishwasher and poured the soap in for her grandmother and started it. Mary told her she could run off and play while she finished the rest. Sarah asked if she was sure and said she could take out the trash or something but Mary assured her she had everything under control.

So Sarah decided to head out to the backyard where John was pulling weeds, both dressed now. "Hey, Grandpa," she greeted him. "Need any help?"

"You want to help?" John asked, also surprised. "Where is this sudden helpfulness coming from?"

"I'm not usually helpful?"

"No, not really but if you want to, go ahead," he told her, smiling at her.

Sarah grabbed a hand shovel and kneeled beside her grandfather to start pulling up weeds. After about fifteen minutes of processing everything, she said, "I can fix everything. I'll try harder with Dad. I will try to be more helpful and a better person. I mean, I'm only nine, right? I'm still young enough to make things better."

"Sarah, your dad is his own person, making his own choices. He's the one who decided to become an alcoholic just because you and him don't have anything in common," John assured her.

"But what about our music, our smartass-ness?" she asked.

John looked up at her, "Sarah Lynn, if you don't watch your language, I will spank your butt. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," Sarah replied, returning to dig at a stubborn weed plant.

He stared at her, shocked again. "Since when do you call me, sir?"

Sarah sat back onto her legs, "Am I just a spoiled, rotten brat or what?"

"I don't know about spoiled but you can be a brat at times," he admitted, scraping at the dirt with the shovel.

She watched him, sadly. "I've been over your knee a lot, growing up, haven't I?"

"Mm hm," he nodded, not looking up.

Sarah looked away, staring at the ground. It felt like her relationship with the Holdens had merged with her relationship with the Winchesters. She never wanted that, especially when she loved the Winchester side so much.

Sarah dropped the shovel and tackled her grandfather, hugging his neck. "I'm sorry for always giving you and everybody a hard time, Grandpa. I'm sorry for being a brat. I'll try harder, I promise. I know I can fix this."

John had been taken by surprise when she had tackled him. He sat up onto his legs and sat Sarah on them. "Sarah, you're just a kid. Kids cause mischief. It's a part of growing up. I mean, you could have avoided some things but it's perfectly normal for kids to rebel against authority. I don't expect you to be perfect and neither does your grandmother, or your parents."

She let him go and wiped her eye, "But I know I can do better and I will fix everything."

"Okay," he smiled. "Now why don't we finish getting these weeds pulled so we can get ready for your grandmother's birthday dinner tonight?"

Sarah stared up at him, "Grandma's birthday is today?"

"Yes, Sarah. That's one of the reasons we let you come over and spend the night."

"Oh yeah. Duh," she said, trying to seem like she remembered. The two of them finished pulling weeds, shifting over to the front yard where a blue car eventually pulled up. Sarah looked over as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and saw her uncle and… "Jessica?" she asked, surprised. A big smile appeared on her face. "Uncle Sammy still has Jessica."

"Why wouldn't he?" John asked her, scrapping the ground to loosen the small weed plants. "They've been dating for almost four years."

Sarah jumped up and ran over to hug Jessica around the legs, also taking her by surprise.

"Good to see you too, Sarah," she told her.

"Same here." Sarah looked up at the young woman. "I'm just glad Uncle Sammy has you."

Sam stepped up onto the sidewalk, carrying the bags which Sarah hugged his legs, too.

"You look great, Uncle Sammy," Sarah smiled up at her uncle as John walked up, wiping his tired, dirty hands on a rag.

"Uh, thanks, Sarah," he replied.

Sarah stepped back to look up at him. "You called me, Sarah."

"That is your name, isn't it?" Sam shrugged.

"But aren't I your peanut?" she asked.

Sam looked over at his father, looking to see if there was an explanation.

John just shrugged, "We think Dean hit her a little too hard in the head this time."

He just shook his head in sheer disappointment before he and Jessica went inside the house. Sarah stood there, watching them. She had to find answers to all this.


	73. Chapter 73: W is and WSN be (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 73

Sarah fixed her collar once she had the jacket on. It felt great having to dress up again for a normal occasion instead of posing as FBI or something. It was even better that she was still a tomboy in this universe or whatever it was. She had her whole Winchester family, no sign of the Holdens anywhere. What could make it better? Oh yeah, fixing this screwed-up version so it could be like before. Well, her relationship with her father anyway. She'll miss hunting but at least she has all her family and could finally have the life she always wanted.

Once everyone was ready, they climbed into…the family's minivan with John driving. _Okay, add that to the strange list of things I can't believe_ , Sarah thought as she sat in the backseat behind her uncle. So if this was the djinn's doing, not only was he screwed up in the head, but also had a sense of humor, considering her grandfather never seemed like the soccer dad-type.

After a twenty-minute drive, John pulled into the parking lot and parked right next to… _the Impala?_ Sarah looked over, her eyes open wide. Her father still had the Impala? Yes, more good news to outweigh the bad. As soon as Jessica had stepped out, Sarah jumped out on her side, walking around the Impala.

"I'm so glad you're here, girl," Sarah told the car, silently as she stared around at it until her grandfather hurried her along. The family walked across the parking lot, walking up to the restaurant and headed inside. Sarah held the door for the adults, smiling up at them as they walked in, thanking her.

The hostess walked them over to a large table where Dean and Jo were already sitting. Sarah sprinted over the minute she saw them stand up, running over to embrace her father. She expected him to scoop her up like he always did but not this time. He was like stone as Sarah hugged his legs.

"Get off, Sarah," he told her. "We're in public and you shouldn't be running in a restaurant."

Sarah stepped back, more hurt than surprised. "I'm sorry, Dad. I was just excited to see you."

"Oh yeah? Since when?"

"Dean, that's enough," Jo told him and reached down to hug the little girl to her, kissing the top of her head. "Did you have fun at your grandparents' house?"

"Yeah, Jo…er, I mean…Mom." This was something Sarah had to get used to.

Jo stared at her, confused. "Are you feeling all right, Sarah?" She touched Sarah's forehead, feeling for a fever.

Mary walked over to give Jo a hug and to say hello as Jo wished her a _happy birthday_. "She's been forgetful all day. I told John we should take her to the urgent care but he said to wait it out and talk to you about it." She looked over at her oldest son who was over talking to his father and brother, and lowered her voice. "Did Dean…yesterday?"

Jo shrugged, "I don't know. I was working late. That's why I asked Dean to drop Sarah off at your house."

"We think he may have done it too hard this time. She's been asking strange questions…"

Sarah was trying to listen in on the women's conversation to learn something herself until a young woman caught her eye on the other side of the restaurant. She had long, brown hair and wearing a dirty, ragged-looking dress. Who she was, Sarah hadn't a clue but it seemed like the young woman was staring over at her. She looked around at her family and the restaurant. No one else seemed to notice her.

Once they were seated, the Winchesters each looked at their menus. Sarah could really go for a cheeseburger right about now but of course, the restaurant didn't serve anything fast food. She looked at her menu for five minutes, trying to decide which unknown to her, everyone else had decided and was waiting on her. Dean was starting to lose his patience.

"Will you choose something already?" he asked of her, annoyance apparent in his voice.

Sarah looked up at him. Usually when Dean said something like that, he said it with a grin. Now he really was annoyed. In the end, Sarah chose a grilled chicken plate with mashed potatoes and corn. When the food arrived, the adults toasted to Mary, wishing her a _happy birthday_ which Sarah joined in, raising her ginger ale.

Sarah took a bite of her chicken. She couldn't remember the last time she had a real meal like this. It had been so long and even though it wasn't a cheeseburger, it still tasted good and was thrilled to be sharing the experience with her family. She smiled over at each of them as her grandparents shared a kiss, along with her uncle and Jessica. It felt great seeing them happy. She was even happier when she noticed behind her, her father and Jo reaching behind to give each other a kiss. This had to be the best dinner she ever had.

Halfway through the meal, Sam spoke up. "All right," he announced. "Jess and I actually have another surprise for Mom's birthday." He turned to Jessica. "Uh, you wanna tell them?"

Jessica nodded her head at the family, "They're your family."

"All right," he smiled.

"What?" Mary asked, smiling. "Tell me what?"

Sam held Jessica's hand out to show everyone the silver diamond ring that was on her left ring finger. Sarah scooted to the edge of her chair, leaning forward to see it better. She couldn't believe it and with her grandmother's excitement, and her grandfather telling Sam, "That's my boy," she knew what it was. Her uncle was getting married to the woman he loved, the life Sam had wanted when she and Dean had picked him up from Stanford. She was going to have cousins possibly.

Sarah slid around in her chair when everyone stood up to exchange hugs and congratulations, and ran around the table to hug her uncle. Sam kneeled down to her level. "I am so happy for you, Uncle Sammy," she told him from his left shoulder. Tears of joy were flooding her eyes.

Sam lifted her off his shoulder to look at his niece. "Sarah, are you crying?" he asked, surprised again.

She nodded, smiling at him. "You deserve this more than anything, Uncle Sammy."

"Thanks, Sarah," he smiled in return.

"You're welcome."

"But since when do you call me, Uncle Sammy?" Sam asked.

Sarah looked back at her uncle before the same young woman from before caught her eye again.

Sam looked over where his niece was looking but didn't see anything. "What's wrong, Sarah?" he asked her, looking between her and where she was staring at.

Sarah started walking over towards the young woman, never removing her eyes. When she was close, the young woman had disappeared. Sarah looked around the restaurant then turned around to see her whole family staring at her. It didn't seem like any of them saw the woman and all of them but Dean looked at her, concerned. Dean looked pissed.

After dinner, the family headed outside where they said their good-byes and wished Mary a _happy birthday_ one last time before splitting up. Dean and Sarah let John pull out of the parking space before walking over to their side of the car. Once John was gone, Dean hit Sarah across the head.

"Ow! Dad, what was that for?" she asked, rubbing where it hurt.

"Why did you have to embarrass your mother and me in there, for?" he demanded of his daughter. "Have you lost your mind?"

"I thought I saw a girl in there. She looked really messed up and was looking right at me," Sarah tried to explain. "I think it may be a spirit of some kind."

Dean stared down at her like she was crazy. "That's the poorest excuse I've ever heard. There's no such things as spirits, Sarah Lynn. Just wait until I get you home." He walked over to his car door and thrust it open.

"Dean, enough. Sarah's just having a really hard time, right now," Jo stood up for her from her side of the Impala. "And I know you did it again yesterday after I called you."

"Yeah, well the kid ruined Mom's birthday, just so you know and I'm not going to stand for it. She's getting her ass beat when we get home." Dean then got in the car and slammed his door shut.

Sarah stood there at the trunk of the Impala. She looked up to see Jo sadly staring at her, as if to send the kid some sympathy before she motioned with her head to get inside when Dean honked. The drive home was in silence for the most part.

Sarah couldn't believe how her father was, here. He was a totally different person. She felt nothing from this Dean. Quickly wiping away a tear, she finally spoke. "Dad, I'm sorry I never felt close to you but I can fix it now. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise."

"Save it, kid," he snarled at her through the rear-view mirror. "You're not getting your way out of this."

"But Dad, I love you. I'm your baby girl, remember?" She tried to lean over the back of the front seat until her father made her sit back.

"You're nine years old, Sarah, not a baby!" Dean shifted in his seat and muttered, "Man, I hate having a daughter."

Even though he muttered it, Sarah could still hear him and it broke her heart as tears filled her eyes. Maybe she couldn't fix this after all. This Dean was the complete opposite of the man she knew and loved. She had to figure out how to get out of this nightmare and get her old father back. The one that was proud to have her as his daughter.

Dean pulled into the driveway of a small, two bedroom house and turned off the engine. Sarah decided to get out on Jo's side as he went back to open the trunk. Jo kneeled down to hold her close, comforting her. Dean grew impatient again.

"Sarah, let's go! Come get your bag before I beat your ass right now," he ordered of her.

Jo let go and told Sarah to do as she was told. Sarah walked slowly over to the trunk and grabbed her duffel bag, amazed how empty the trunk was except for old beer cans and a couple car magazines, before Dean closed it and shoved her by the head, towards the house. Dean had shut and locked the front door behind him when he started.

"I don't know what has been going on with you lately, but I will not let you embarrass your mother and I the way you did."

Sarah looked up just in time to receive a hit on the side of her head, knocking her to the floor. Jo tried to hurry to her side but Dean stopped her.

"Do not interfere, Jo. She needs to learn her lesson," he told her.

Jo backed up as tears filled Sarah's eyes again as she tried to stand again. "Dad, I'm sorry I never got along with you before but I want to make it right. We're the closest dad and daughter there is, I bet. In fact I know we are. Please, Dad. Don't do this."

Neither of them had expected Sarah to speak at all, much less try and reason with the man.

Dean laughed down at her, moving over to stand over Sarah. "Yeah right," he said. "And you expect me to believe that. Since you were born you wanted nothing to do with me. I didn't even want a daughter in the first place and to make things worse, she resents me? I don't think so." Dean reached down and pulled Sarah back to her feet and pulled back his right hand before bringing it down, hard on her backside, using all his strength.

Sarah cried out. "Dad, please! I mean it. I love you!" she continued to plead with him.

Dean just ignored her and brought his hand down on her backside again, keeping it up until he shoved her into the wall, bringing his face inches from hers. "Listen, kid, I could care less about you." With that, Dean let her go and stormed into the kitchen to grab himself a beer, leaving his daughter there, her face full of tears and snot.

Sarah definitely did not like this at all. She wanted back in her own universe. She wanted her father back. Sure, her grandparents weren't alive anymore, and her uncle had lost the woman he loved and wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but at least Dean wasn't a monster there. In fact, the only reason she would stay there would be for her uncle and grandparents' happiness.

She watched him go. Jo walked over and wrapped the little girl in a comforting embrace. "I'm so sorry, Sarah," she cried, silently.

Sarah sniffed, holding onto her. "About what, J-Mom?"

"I let this happen. I should be protecting you and I don't." Jo let out a few sobs. "I'm sorry."

Sarah ended up the one comforting Jo, "It's okay…M-Mom. I forgive you."

Jo kneeled there, holding onto Sarah as she held her head to her. "I love you, Sarah," she told her after a moment.

"I love you too," Sarah replied from her right shoulder. She had been trying to ignore the sting coming from her bottom. This was real all right. Everything was real. It wasn't a dream.

After Jo ran a bath for her, Sarah soaked in it for a long time, trying to ease the sting before she finally got out and got dressed in her pajamas. She wandered around, looking for Jo who was in the master bedroom, watching the news. Sarah crawled into the bed and lied down next to her as the news reporter was talking about the anniversary of a plane crash in Indianapolis which Sarah realized was the same plane, she, Dean, and Sam had stopped the demon on.

She raised her head as the reporter continued.

"What's wrong?" Jo asked her.

"No way," Sarah muttered and turned to Jo. "We stopped that plane from crashing."

"Who's we, Sarah?"

Sarah shook her head at the bed, her eyes shut. "Nothing," she said and glanced over at the nightstand on the other side of Jo. Sitting right in front of the lamp was a laptop. "Who's computer is that?"

Jo looked over it and back at Sarah. "Mine, you know that," she told her.

"Can I use it?" Sarah asked, eagerly.

Taken aback, Jo reached over and picked it up, opening the laptop to turn it on and signed in. Sarah sat up onto her legs and took the laptop from Jo. She was about to open the internet browser when she suddenly stared at the family photo of them on the desktop background. Dean and Jo had their arm wrapped around each other with Sarah in between them, at age five just glaring at the camera. She didn't look like a happy kid at all. The three of them were sitting on a huge beach towel at a beach.

"Mom," she finally said. "Am I emo?"

"You're quiet most of the time. You hardly say a word to anyone but when you do, it's usually to cause trouble," Jo explained. "I wouldn't call you emo though. Just, hard-tempered like your father."

Sarah just shook her head at the picture and looked up at Jo. "I am so sorry. I can't say that enough." She looked back at the laptop and opened the internet browser and started searching around for any and all the gigs she, Dean, and Sam had done the past two years.

Every single person they had saved was dead. Lucas and Tyler had drowned. Michael and his brother along with those other kids the shtriga was after were dead. Everyone.

"They're all dead," she said in horror as she stared at the screen.

"Who's all dead?" Jo looked over at the screen. "Sarah, what are you looking at?" All she saw were dozens of news articles of accidents.

Sarah then brought up a new tab and looked up djinns, finding out all she could about them. She had to get out of this nightmare. She had to.

Once she found a web site on djinns, she read as much as she could before Jo told her it was past her bedtime and made her shut off the laptop. Sarah went to her room and shut the door, sitting on the edge of the bed. She stared at the floor, angrily before she looked up.

"Why couldn't another hunter have saved all those people?" she prayed. "Why did it have to be us? How can you put all this weight on us for? And why does Dad have to be a jackass here?" Sarah felt her fists clench tightly in her lap. "Why can't I have my whole family in a normal life, with lots of love and affection? Why can't Uncle Sam have Jessica and start his own family? Why does Grandma have to be dead while Grandpa is suffering in hell? Why do we have to save these people and be miserable ourselves? Why do I have to have this demon blood inside me? Why does it have to hurt so much for?" Tears ran down both sides of her face as she sat there, praying to God. She then stood up, getting dressed, and grabbed her duffel bag, sneaking out of the house and took off running. She remembered seeing real silver at her grandparents' house. Sarah didn't want to but she was going to have to steal a knife from them. The real John would understand but wasn't so sure on the real Mary. She also wasn't sure how she was going to find lamb's blood or how she was getting to Illinois, but she'll figure that out once she had a silver knife.


	74. Chapter 74: W is and WSN be (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 74

As quiet as she could, Sarah very carefully opened the window of her grandparents' house and climbed inside as not to wake anyone. She crept over to the china cabinet and opened it to pull out a silverware case. Hearing a loose floorboard creak, Sarah turned around in time to see her grandfather standing there as he turned on the light.

"Sarah? What are you doing here?" He walked over and noticed his wife's china cabinet open and the silverware case on the floor, also open. John didn't know what to make of this. "Sarah, are you stealing from your grandmother?"

"Well, I uh…" Sarah tried to think of an explanation. This John didn't know about the monsters that were really out there. Regardless though, she didn't want to lie to her grandfather. "You want the truth?"

"Yes, Sarah. What in the world is going on with you?" he asked, concerned.

Sam came downstairs, holding his father's softball bat in attack position. He lowered it when he saw it was only his niece. "Sarah? What's going on?" he asked, confused.

"Sarah was just about to start explaining," John told him and folded his arms, looking over at Sarah.

Sarah stared down at the silver knife in her hand.

"We're waiting."

Sarah looked up at her grandfather and uncle. "All of this…it's…it's not supposed to be. This is like my wish, twisted around," she began.

"What are you talking about, Sarah?" asked Sam, after exchanging looks with his father.

"I have to go set things right. I have to go hunt what's called a djinn and kill him with a silver knife dipped in lamb's blood, wherever I'm going to find that."

Both men stared down at her like she was speaking in tongues. It was John who finally spoke, "I'm sorry, you're going to go do what now?"

"I know it sounds crazy but it's true. Grandpa, you're supposed to be in hell, literally. Grandma died before I was born in your nursery, Uncle Sam and Dad is the best dad a kid could ever ask for. We're supposed to be hunting right now, and you and Dad are probably looking all over that warehouse for me."

Sam looked over at his father, who had lowered his head, his eyes close.

"Why couldn't you leave well enough alone, Sarah?" John asked of her.

Sarah looked at her grandfather, confused, "Huh?"

"So what if your dad's a jackass? You have all of us here to protect you. Your grandmother and I could take custody of you and you can come live with us, if you like."

Sarah twirled the knife in her hand. "As much as I would love that, and for your happiness with Jessica, Uncle Sam, I have to set things right. Like Dad said once, this isn't natural and I can't keep living in a dream world. I want my dad back. The real Dean Winchester. I want the Uncle Sam I'm close to who calls me, his little peanut, I…."

Suddenly, it felt like she was hearing voices inside her head, familiar voices. She looked up at the ceiling and could have sworn it was her father calling her, the real Dean. "Dad?"

She looked around the room as her grandmother, Jo, and Jessica appeared.

"Don't you want to get to know me, honey?" Mary asked her.

"I thought you missed me," John added.

"I do but…this isn't really you." Sarah closed her eyes and tried to listen to her father. What he said wasn't making sense though.

 _Sarah, listen to me. If you can find something, stab yourself to wake up. Trust me, you'll be just fine._

Sarah stared at the silver knife in her hand. Something in her heart was telling her to listen. She looked up at John with a tear falling from her eye. "I love you guys so much but…" She gripped the knife in both hands. Shutting her eyes, tight, Sarah plunged the knife into her stomach.

Sarah shot up, gasping out in pain. She looked around to find she was in the warehouse again and that her father was right there, beside her. "Dad? Is that you? The real you?" she asked.

"Yeah, Baby Girl, it's me," he told her, softly.

 _Baby Girl! He called me, Baby Girl!_ Sarah got up onto her legs and jumped into his arms. "You don't know how much I'm glad to hear you call me, your baby girl," she told him as she squeezed his neck.

After the paramedics picked up the young woman, who was just in Sarah's same situation as well as Dean, Sarah told her father and uncle everything about her alternate reality the djinn had created. Dean was silent the whole time. Every bone in his body told him to stay in his while Sarah couldn't wait to get out of hers.

At the motel, Dean was looking through a magazine when Sarah came out of the bathroom, showered for real, this time. He tossed the magazine to the side and pulled Sarah onto his lap.

"So yours was pretty much hell, huh?" he told her.

Sarah laid her head against his chest not saying a word.

"You know I would never do something like that, right?"

She nodded against his chest. "It felt great having Grandma alive, Uncle Sammy had Jessica and was starting a family of his own, Jo was my mom, Grandpa wasn't suffering in hell...but the whole thing with you, Dad and the fact that everyone we saved so far was dead." She shrugged, "I just wanted out of there. I wanted you, the real you." Sarah looked up at her father.

"I know, Baby Girl, I know. Did Sam and I get along with each other in yours?" he asked, curious.

Sarah shook her head.

"So we didn't get along then, huh?" Sam was sitting on the other bed across from them, now off the phone.

Sarah shook her head at her uncle. "You didn't even call me, peanut."

Sam's heart broke, watching his niece. He held his arms out to her but she refused.

"If it's okay I'd like to be with my dad, right now," and with that, Sarah laid her head back against her father.

Sam said after a minute, "I thought it was supposes to be this perfect fantasy?"

"More like nightmare," Sarah stated, bitterly.

Dean kissed the top of her forehead. "It's just a wish," he said, looking at the floor. "I wished for Mom to live. If Mom never died, we never went hunting. And you and me, Sam, we just never, uh…you know."

"Same here," Sarah told him, sadly.

He held her, close. "Sarah was still born but we just never got close either."

"I guess it was a good thing you came later after I discovered hunting," Sarah admitted.

"Guess so," Dean replied. "The only thing that really got me out of there was you, Baby Girl. I couldn't stay in there, knowing the real you was still out here, unprotected. I had to get out of there."

"It's a good thing you did, when you did," she told him.

"Why's that?" he asked.

"Because I don't know where I was going to find lamb's blood." Sarah couldn't help smile at that.

"Anywhere that sells meat, usually."

She shrugged, "Oh, good to know."

"But there was still a part of me that wanted to stay," Dean admitted. "You were a normal kid, a quiet, bratty kid, but a normal kid." He looked over at Sam, "You had Jess. Mom was going to have more grandkids, and actually get to know them."

"So was Grandpa," Sarah added.

"Dad wasn't in mine, Baby Girl. He had died in his sleep from a stroke," he told her.

"Oh," she replied, sadly, looking away.

"It wasn't real, Dean," Sam pointed out, "and I'm glad you both got out."

Sarah looked over at her uncle. "It felt real," she said.

"Ever since Dad…" Dean wrapped his arms around his daughter, resting his head on hers. "All I can think about is how much this job's cost us. We've lost so much." He paused for a couple seconds, moving his forehead so it rested against the top of her head. "We've…sacrificed so much."

Sarah started crying, softly. "I like hunting, but it is so hard to lose the ones we love," she agreed.

"People are alive because of you," Sam assured his brother and niece. "It's worth it. It is. It's not fair. It hurts like hell but it's worth it."

"I know," was all Sarah said while Dean didn't say anything at all.


	75. Chapter 75: All Hell Breaks Loose (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 75

It was getting really late and the Winchesters still hadn't found a motel yet. Sarah was growing more hungry than tired though. Thankfully, there was a diner on the side of the road. Dean pulled up to the diner, hungry himself, and parked, handing Sam the money.

"Hey, don't forget the extra onions, this time, huh?" Dean reminded his brother.

Sam looked back at him, "Dude," he told him and grabbed the money. "I'm the one who's gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions."

Dean gave him a smile, grasping the steering wheel in his left hand as Sam stepped out.

"Wait for me, Uncle Sam," Sarah told her uncle, scooting over to open the car door on his side.

"Hey, see if they got any pie," Dean quickly called after his brother.

Sam bent over to give him a hard glare before shutting his door.

"Don't worry, Dad. I will make sure he does," Sarah assured her father.

"Thanks, Baby Girl. Love ya," he said.

"I love you too, Dad," she said and shut her door to hurry after her uncle. Dean watched them leave and head inside before turning the car radio's volume up. After a minute, it started cutting in and out, statically.

Dean tried hitting the radio with his finger which wasn't doing anything and looked back over his shoulder and all around him. He looked over at the diner to find Sam and Sarah not in sight. Dean jumped from the car and hurried inside to find a man sitting in one of the booths, with a pool of blood around his head, on the table. Quickly getting his gun out, Dean walked through the diner, calling out to his brother and daughter as country music played on a radio somewhere.

There was no reply from any of them.

Walking through the diner, he saw that all the workers and customers were dead, their throats cut. Dean checked out the back door, finding sulfur along the small window. Hurrying from the diner through the main door, he yelled out for Sam and Sarah.

"Sam? Sarah? Sammy! Sarah!" Dean yelled Sarah's name the loudest once he reached the parking lot. Neither of them were anywhere in sight.

Sarah opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head, looking around at her surroundings. It was light out, but still dark because of the storm clouds. She wasn't sure where she was but it looked like something out of a western. Sarah was lying in the dirt, which was damp from the rain, in between two really old-looking buildings.

Picking herself up, Sarah wandered over to look out at her surroundings. She took a right and started looking for any civilization of any kind. Or at least a phone.

Sarah wondered where her uncle and father were, and how she had gotten there. She tried to think back to what she last remembered. Her and Sam had walked inside the diner and over to the cashier. Then she remembered the cashier's eyes turning black and the strong smell of sulfur, and suddenly, all she could see was darkness. So a demon had brought her here? But why?

Heading up some steps, Sarah pushed through a worn-out door and checked inside. It had only two rooms. The one she stood in had an old pioneer stove that looked like it hadn't been used in many years and a lot of old, worn-out, wooden furniture scattered around. In the other room was a wooden bedframe with a wire mattress holder, but no mattress. When she moved more into the house, a voice startled her from behind. Sarah turned around to see the demon standing in the doorway, smirking at her.

"Hiya, Sarah. How's it going?" he told her.

"You," she glared at him. "I should have known you were behind this. I've been waiting for you, this time but first, where the hell am I? Why am I here?"

The demon stepped towards her, the door slamming shut behind him. "Remember those plans I have for you," he asked.

"Yeah. What about them?"

"This is it. Well, first you have to survive a test but I have total faith you'll pull through," the demon explained and stopped two feet away from her.

"What kind of test?" Sarah eyed him, suspiciously.

"A survival test," he said. "A best of the best, you might say. And I'm counting on you to win."

Sarah clenched her fists at her sides. "I'm not doing anything you say."

He shrugged, "That's your choice if you don't mind dying."

"You're not gonna kill me." She wasn't about to back down to him.

"That's right, I won't," the demon shook his head. "But someone else might."

"Who, your demon followers? I know the exorcism by heart. I can send them straight back to hell," Sarah snarled at the demon.

"No, I'm talking about your fellow psychics," the demon smirked.

Sarah stared up at him, unsure of what he just said.

"Only one of you will make it out alive and with how smart and well-trained you are, thanks to your daddy, I guarantee it will be you."

"If you think I'm killing another person, think again," she told him, angrily.

The demon only shrugged.

"But I want to know one thing," Sarah changed the subject. "Why do I have demon blood? And how did I get demon blood if both my parents are both human?"

"Sarah, didn't you pay any attention to those nightmares of yours of the night your aunt died?"

She folded her arms across her chest. "Uh, no. No, I didn't. I was more freaked out of my mind of my aunt burning on the ceiling, you jackass," Sarah replied, sarcastically.

"Ouch, always with the name-calling, Sarah? Fine, I will show you one more time." With a snap of his fingers, the two of them appeared in a dark bedroom with a bassinet at the foot of a queen-sized bed. Sarah's aunt, Kyra was asleep on one side. The only light was from the full moon outside the window and a light from another room, across the hall.

A silhouette of a man stood beside the bassinet. Sarah watched as he cut his wrist with his thumbnail on his opposite hand until it bled. Blood dripped from the cut and down into the bassinet where it landed inside the mouth of a six-month old infant with very thin blond hair and green eyes.

Sarah knew from baby photos that the young infant was her. "You…dripped y-your…your blood in me?" she questioned of the demon.

"Better than mother's milk," he grinned.

Kyra started to stir and eventually sat up, looking over at the bassinet when the infant started fussing from the bitter taste of the blood. She saw the demon standing there and jumped out of fear, calling for her husband.

The demon suddenly pinned her against the wall. Sarah watched as her aunt rose and stopped on the ceiling where she then caught on fire.

"You've seen the rest," the demon told Sarah and snapped his fingers once. They were back in the pioneer house.

Sarah was backing away from him in utter shock. "I have…your blood…in me? But why me? Why any of us?" she asked.

"There's not a specific reasoning to my methods. I never counted on you either but something about you just drew me to you. The same thing that drew me to your uncle Sammy. You had smarts, potential. And I wanted it. Then you turned five and those visions into hell of yours started. None of my other psychics could see into hell nor start at that age so I was impressed." The demon started circling around her as Sarah eyed him, never removing her gaze. "I realized you had to be the one. All the others had failed me but I knew for certain. Yes, it had to be you." He stopped behind her.

Sarah, who was watching him over her right shoulder, turned around to fully face him. "What is it exactly you want one of us for?" she asked, feeling a little curious now.

He smirked. "Well, I can't give away the big, grand prize before the winner is decided, now can I." With that, the demon was gone.

She looked around the room and thought on what she had learned, letting everything sink in before leaving the house. For the next twenty minutes, Sarah scoured the entire perimeter of the old town, finding nothing but woods. Reaching behind her, Sarah pulled out her pistol, checking it before looking around. It was fully loaded but wondered if she could make it through the woods on foot and how long it would take.

A child's laughter was heard, making Sarah turn on the spot. A few yards away, there was a young woman hanging from a windmill. She sprinted over there where a group of people were standing. One young man was walking over to the windmill to cut the woman down. Over on the porch of one of the buildings was her uncle talking to who Sarah recognized as Andrew Gallagher.

The first young man noticed Sarah first. "Sam, there's another one!" he yelled for Sam.

Sam looked over at Sarah. "Sarah?" he asked, in disbelief.

"Uncle Sam!" Sarah sprinted over and jumped into her uncle's arms and hugged his neck. "Am I glad to see you," and pointed over at the young woman who was still hanging up there. "What happened to the girl?"

Sam explained to his niece a brief history of the town and how it was haunted by demons. When he told her that the yellow-eyed demon was trying to keep them there, Sarah then explained about her recent confrontation with the demon.

"So it wants us to kill each other?" Andrew asked when Sarah was finished.

"It wants the best of us," Sarah told him, standing on her own feet now.

"For what?" the young man from before asked her.

Sarah looked back at him and shrugged. "He wouldn't say."

"Being a soldier is one thing, but killing each other?" a young woman Sarah recognized as her uncle's friend, Ava said.

"Look, no one is killing anyone," Sam assured them. "Like I said before, we have to be ready for whatever happens next."

"Have you tried calling Dad, Uncle Sam?" she asked him.

"There's no phone signal," he said.

"You know, you may not need one," Andrew spoke up.

"Why's that?" asked Sarah.

"I've been practicing my mind thing and I can put images into people's head. I mean, I never tried it long distance but maybe I can try it on your dad. Do any of you have anything of his on you? Like something he touched."

Sam was checking his pockets.

Sarah pulled out a silver lighter from her jeans pocket. "This is his, will this work?"

"Yeah," he replied and Sarah handed it to him.

Sam watched his niece before he asked, "Why do you have your dad's lighter?"

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know."

Sam just rolled his eyes and shook his head, smiling to himself. He didn't think he would ever understand his niece, fully.

Andrew focused on a bell with an engraving of an oak tree on the side that was in the center of the town and on Sarah as well, sending it, telepathy to Dean. "Well, hopefully it worked," he shook it off afterwards, handing Sarah back the lighter.

"Sorry, but I have to ask out of protection for my dad. This doesn't hurt him at all, does it?" she asked of him.

"It's like a painful headache, but no lasting effects. Kind of like when you two have those vision things," Andrew pointed out.

Meanwhile, Dean was walking towards the Impala with Bobby. Behind them was the Roadhouse in ruins and ashes. None of them was sure what had happened or if Ellen was alive or not. They tried to look for her inside the rubble but had only found Ash, by his wristwatch.

Dean was freaking out about everything, but was more worried about his brother, and even more, about his daughter than anything else. Bobby tried to assure him that they will find both Sarah and Sam when Dean started feeling pain in his head.

"Dean?" Bobby asked from the other side of the Impala's hood.

Dean grunted in pain, briefly seeing an image of a bell.

"What was that?" Bobby demanded, confused.

Dean tried to shake it off. "I don't know. Headache," he replied.

"You get headaches like that a lot?"

He shook his head, looking down as he leaned on the hood, "No. No. Must be the stress," Dean tried to force a smile for Bobby. He took a deep breath, standing up and covered his eyes with his hand. "I could have sworn I saw something."

"What do you mean? Like… Like a vision?" Bobby continued to ask. "Like what Sam and Sarah gets?"

"What? No," Dean told him, leaning on the hood again.

"I'm just saying," he said. "It would make more sense for you to have one than Sam since Sarah's yours."

"Come on, I'm not some psychic." Another wave of pain ran through Dean's head, this time more intense than the last. Bobby rushed to his side as another image of the same bell flashed through his mind then of Sarah.

"Are you with me?" Bobby asked when the vision was over.

Dean gasped for air, lying halfway on the hood. "Yeah, I think so. I saw Sarah. I saw her, Bobby. I think part of Sam, too." He rubbed the side of his hand against his right eye.

"It was a vision," the older hunter said, touching Dean's upper back.

"Yeah," Dean agreed, lifting his head to lean on his hands. "I don't know how but, yeah. Hoo." The vision had taken a lot out of him as Dean tried to shake it off. "That was about as fun as getting kicked in the jewels," he looked up at Bobby then down at the hood again. "My poor baby girl," Dean mumbled to himself, trying not to let Bobby hear him. He had a reputation to keep, after all. He now sort of knew what both his brother and daughter went through.

Bobby finally asked, "What else did you see?"

"Uh," Dean thought about it. "There was a bell."

"What kind of bell?"

"Uh, like a big…big bell," he explained, using his hands, "with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know."

"Engraving?" Bobby was thinking about it.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

"Was it a tree? Like an oak tree?"

Dean looked up at him again, amazed Bobby had guessed it. "Yeah. Exactly," he said.

Bobby nodded, "I know where Sarah is." It was an old abandoned town somewhere in South Dakota. Bobby explained it to him when they were back in the Impala. Dean sped down the road, headed in that direction. 


	76. Chapter 76: All Hell Breaks Loose (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 76

That night, the group stayed in one of the buildings. After Andrew found sacks of salt, Ava and Sarah laid them along the doors and windows while Sam and the young man, Jake went in search for anything made of iron they could use to defend themselves. Sarah didn't tell anyone about the gun she had on her, not even her uncle. Of course, it wasn't like it would do any good anyway against demons. Why Sarah still had it on her, she wasn't sure. She figured it was there from the last hunt and just never placed it back in the trunk of the Impala.

That night, the group waited for whatever happened next. Andrew was the first to fall asleep and when Sarah looked over at her uncle, she saw he was trying to fight falling asleep himself. She and Jake circled around the room, each holding a blunt, iron bar.

"So you're one of us?" Jake asked of Sarah after a while.

"Yup," was all she replied, not letting her guard down. Sam had fallen asleep by now.

"You can't be no more than six," he said.

"Nine, actually and I guess you can say I'm an early bloomer," Sarah shrugged.

Jake asked, "You scared?"

"A little but I can't let fear get the best of me. Lives are at stake and I have to be brave so I can be ready for whatever comes my way." Sarah twirled the iron bar in her hands.

"That's a lot for a kid to have to deal with," he said.

"Yeah, well, there's a time to be a kid and there's a time to work." She looked over at the young man, noticing his uniform. "You were in the war when this happened?"

"Yeah, stationed in Afghanistan," he said.

"My second cousin was stationed in Iraq."

"Really. What was his name?" Jake asked, curious.

"Mark Holden," she answered.

"Oh. Never heard of him."

Sarah shrugged, "I guess he was dismissed when he had his accident."

"What happened?" he asked.

She shrugged again, "I hadn't seen him in two years, then one day we meet up and he's in a wheelchair. He said he couldn't walk anymore." At that moment, Sarah noticed Ava was missing. "Where's Ava?" she asked, looking around the room.

Jake looked around the room as well. "I thought she was sitting there at the table."

"Ava!" Sarah called.

There was no answer.

"Shit," she said. Sarah and Jake checked the rest of the house but Ava was nowhere in sight. Jake checked around outside but didn't find her out there either. So Sarah hurried over to her uncle and shook him awake. "Ava's missing," she told him.

Sam stared at his niece before they hurried outside while Andrew stayed.

"I'll take the barn and the hotel, you take the houses," Jake told Sam and Sarah.

Sarah agreed but Sam shook his head. "Peanut, you get back inside with Andy."

"What?" she questioned. "But I want to help."

"And you will. Help protect Andy," he told her.

"But…fine," Sarah reluctantly gave in and hurried back inside. "You okay, Andy?" she asked when she stepped back over the line of salt in the doorway.

"Yeah. A little freaked out but I'm good," he replied.

"Yeah, demons will do that to you and worse," Sarah nodded, holding the iron bar on the back of her neck, leaning her arms over both ends.

"Well, that's comforting."

Sarah shrugged, "But as long as the salt stays in place, they shouldn't get through."

"How does salt keep them out anyway? I mean, I never thought it was useful other than putting it on my eggs," said Andrew.

"It's a purifier, according to folklore. Works with ghosts too," Sarah explained. The two of them happened to look over and see Ava standing at the window. "Ava, there you are. We've been calling you for the past fifteen minutes."

Ava ran two fingers through the salt and turned around. "Yeah, I heard."

Sarah nodded behind her at the window, "What did you just do over there?"

Ava didn't say a word. Instead, she lowered her head and placed her fingers on either side. Black smoke appeared and went through a crack under the closed window, coming into the room.

"What are you doing?" Andrew questioned, backing away.

Sarah stepped in front of Andrew, raising the iron bar, ready to defend him. When the smoke turned into a messed up, little girl with long finger nails, it zoomed around Sarah and aimed for Andrew. Sarah tried to bash it away but it got to Andrew faster and dug its nails into his flesh before she could do anything.

Sarah looked back at Ava in disbelief. "What the hell is your problem? You're actually doing what the demon wants us to do?"

"Look, I've been here a long time. And not alone either, people just keep showing up," Ava told her. "Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time."

Realization hit Sarah. "So you're not the sweet, innocent young girl you've been, so far."

"Had you going there, didn't I?" Ava smirked.

"And the others? What happened to them?" Sarah tightened her grip on the bar. "You didn't…kill them. Did you?"

She shrugged, "I'm the undefeated heavyweight champ."

"They were probably innocent people. How could you just kill them like that?"

"I had no choice," Ava shook her head.

"Of course you had a choice. My dad once said, no one can control you but you," Sarah told her. Anger was rising up inside as she stared up at Ava.

"Hey, if I wanted to survive, I had to do it. After a while, it got easy," she explained. "It was even kind of fun."

"You sick, demented little…"

"Don't get mad at me. Isn't that all part of the game? The way I see it, we all have to face up to who we are and give into our abilities. You have no idea what you can do either. The learning curve is so fast, it's crazy. The switches that just flip on in your brain."

"Trust me, I know what I can do and there is no way I am giving into it. I may have demon blood but I will keep fighting it."

Ava laughed, "I can't believe I just started out just having dreams. Now look what I can do." She closed her eyes and held her fingers up to each side of her head. "Sorry, kid, but it's over." The black smoke appeared in the window again and sunk through it.

Sarah got ready to counter against it when Jake came up behind Ava and cracked her neck, letting her fall to the ground. Sam came up behind his niece, scaring the crap out of her and almost got elbowed in the gut before she realized who it was.

Sarah turned around and hugged his neck. Sam lifted her up, "It's okay, Peanut. Everything's gonna be okay," he assured her.

"I tried to protect Andy, Uncle Sam. I did. But Ava, she can control demons and it was just too fast for me." She squeezed his neck as Sam rubbed her back up and down.

"It's okay, Peanut. You tried, that's all that matters. I want to save everyone too, you know that but we can at least try to save as much as we can."

Meanwhile, Dean drove up to a dead end. Unable to continue on wheels, he and Bobby packed up a couple shotguns from the trunk and continued the rest of the way on foot. The whole time, Dean kept thinking about his brother and daughter. He had to find them. He couldn't lose them, especially Sarah. Both hunters trudged into the woods and started their long hike, focused on the goal ahead.

Sam, Sarah, and Jake were hurrying down the steps of the house. "I think we can make it out of here now," Sam was saying as he descended the steps.

"But the Acheri demon…" Jake started to reply.

"No, no. Ava was summoning it," Sam told him, "controlling it. It shouldn't come back now that she's dead. We gotta go."

Sarah was hurrying to keep up with the men, "But what about the demon? He's not gonna let us out of here either. Not alive anyway."

"Sarah's right, Sam," Jake agreed.

Sam stopped to look back at the two of them.

"Only one of us is getting out of here," he said. "I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I-I had a vision. That yellow-eyed demon or whatever Sarah said. He talked to me too. He told me how it was," he explained.

"No, no, Jake, you can't listen to him…" Sam tried to tell Jake.

"Sam, he's not letting us go. Only one. Now, if we don't play along, he'll kill us all. Now, I-I like you, man. I do. But do the math here. What good's it do for both of us to die? I can get out of here. I can get close to the bastard."

"It's not that simple, Jake," Sarah told him. "You can't just kill him that easily. And besides, no one has to die anyway. We can all work together."

"How do I know either of you won't turn on me?" Jake looked between Sam and Sarah.

"We won't," Sam tried to assure him.

Jake shook his head, "I don't know that."

Sam stared at him for a moment before he told him, "Okay. Look." He held his hands up and took a knife from where he had it hanging in his belt and placed it, slowly on the ground. Sam nodded for his niece to do the same.

Sarah looked between her uncle and Jake, not wanting to put the bar down. She looked up at Sam who raised his eyebrows at her, and she tossed it on the ground with his knife.

"Just come with us, Jake," Sam told him. "Don't do this. Don't play into what it wants."

Jake had been watching them the entire time. He jerked his head back and finally nodded before placing his own iron bar on the ground.

Sam relieved, stole a look at his niece who looked up at him. Suddenly, he was sent, flying backwards into the air and crashed through a wooden fence, landing on the ground.

Sarah tried to reach down for her iron bar but was sent backwards as well, hitting her head. Everything was pitch-black until she was finally able to come to again. She lifted her head, holding the back of it as she heard her father call out for her and Sam. She looked up suddenly when she heard him tell Sam to look out and saw Jake stab Sam in the back and run off. A surge of hatred and vengeance rose up inside her as Dean yelled out a long, "NO!"

Sarah jumped to her feet and ran after Jake. Bobby tried to run after Jake as well, but Jake was younger and faster than he was. Sarah, on the other hand, felt a wave of adrenaline course through her body and sped after him, chasing Jake into the woods.

Jake stopped in the middle of the woods, trying to catch his breath and looked back as Sarah stopped not far away. He shook his head, "What? You're gonna kill me?" Jake smiled. "You're unarmed."

Sarah whipped out her pistol from behind her, holding it up to the grown man, cocking it. Jake stared at it in surprise. "No one searched me or asked if I had anything else," she glared.

"So use it then," he urged her. "I killed your uncle, didn't I?"

Sarah's hands started to shake as she held her pistol in her hands. Tears ran down both sides of her cheeks as the image of Jake stabbing her uncle replayed and her father's cries echoed throughout her mind. "We…were…trying t-to help all of y-you. But no, you… you and Ava… You just had to give into the demon. I c-can understand how manipulative he can be, but… Why couldn't you just hold on just a little longer? Why do you have to be so selfish?"

Jake shook his head. "I wasn't about to let myself die, kid. No matter who I had to kill, I had to do what I did."

Sarah tightened her fingers around the handle and her pointer finger fought against the urge to press the trigger. She couldn't stand to lose someone else she loved. First her father came to a couple scares. Then her grandfather died. Now her uncle? She dropped to her knees in the dirt, holding the pistol on the ground, crying as her chest rapidly moved in and out. It hurt so bad to lose her grandfather and uncle as she tried to gasp for air.

She looked back over her left shoulder when she heard her father calling out for her from a distance. Jake tried to reach for the pistol but Sarah caught him out of the corner of her eye and grabbed the gun up and shot the man where he stood.

Jake dropped back onto the ground, not moving.

Sarah stared at him in horror of what she had done. She backed away, dropping the gun at her side. Turning on her heels, Sarah sprinted through the forest towards the direction she had heard her father yell, tripping over a tree root. She hadn't noticed her PSP that she had inside her jacket fall out when she fell and just kept running.

A wall of fire suddenly appeared, blocking her path. She looked around and saw she was surrounded. Soon, everything went black again.

After taking care of Sam's limp body, placing him on a bed in one of the houses, Dean and Bobby went out in search for Sarah. They headed into the woods since that was where Bobby had seen her and Jake disappear to. They scoured every branch and leaf for Sarah, not finding her anywhere.

Dean's heart was racing as he frantically searched everywhere for her. He had just lost his brother. He wasn't about to lose his daughter as well. Even if it took all night, Dean was going to find Sarah, no matter what it took.

"Sarah!" he called out. "Sarah, where are you!" His grip tightened around the shotgun in his hands as he shoved tree limbs out of his way.

Bobby could see how worked up the young man was getting. "Don't worry, Dean," he assured him. "We'll find her."

"Oh, you bet we will." Dean kept going until he heard a gunshot off in the distance. He and Bobby ran towards it until a wall of fire had appeared a yard away. That wasn't about to stop Dean though and he continued running.

Bobby ran after him and grabbed him and tried to hold Dean back. "Dean, its suicide," he said the same thing Dean had once told Sam a year ago.

"I don't care!" he roared at the older man. "My daughter might be in there!"

Bobby just wouldn't ease off. "What good are ya to her if you're dead?" he asked of him.

Dean struggled some more until the fire vanished as fast as it had appeared. Bobby let him go and Dean took off at the fastest sprint he had ever run. He came to where the base of the fire was and looked around. Sarah was nowhere in sight. Walking a few more feet, he felt something underneath his foot and looked down before picking up his daughter's PSP.

He stared in horror at what was left of it. The game device was charred and the screen had melted. Dean flipped it over and saw the Pikachu sticker half burned away. Tears filled his eyes as they glossed over. A tear managed to escape and ran, slowly down the right side of his face. Not only was his little brother gone but his baby girl was gone as well….


	77. Chapter 77: All Hell Breaks Loose (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 77

Dean stood there, leaning in the doorway as he stared at his brother's lifeless body. He had lost the two most important people in his life, who he had tried so hard to protect. Dean figured he would be all right if it had been just Sam who had died, because he would have his little girl to help him through it but no, both Sam _and_ Sarah had to die.

He thought about how alone he felt now that he had lost his father, brother, and daughter. More importantly, he thought about how he had failed as a father. Dean had tried so hard to protect his daughter the most. Sarah was the one person who actually had understood him the most, was the most like him, his spitting image. Dean tried to hold the tears back but the more he thought about his daughter being gone for good, the more it grew harder to stifle them. The tears finally won the battle and floated, gently down his face which he tried to wipe away. They just kept coming.

Eventually, Bobby had returned from picking up something to eat. "Dean," he called as he came through the door and closed it behind him, holding up a bucket of chicken. "Brought you this back."

Dean had looked over at him and looked back at Sam. "No thanks. I'm fine," he replied, quietly. Dean didn't think he would ever eat again. It felt like a part of him had died, too.

Bobby had walked over to the room behind Dean, setting the bucket of chicken on a table. He looked over at Dean, "You should eat something."

"I said I'm fine," Dean repeated, some annoyance apparent in his voice, and stood up straight to turn around and walk over there himself, only to take a long drink on his beer.

Bobby stood beside the young man, watching him until Dean stopped and placed it back on the table. "Dean," he said, looking down at the table. "I hate to bring this up, I really do. But don't you think it's time…we bury Sam?"

Dean stared at the table before he looked over at Bobby, "No," he told the older man and sat down.

Bobby shrugged, not knowing what else to say, "Well, we could maybe…like Sarah was."

"What, torch his corpse?" Dean stared up at Bobby and shook his head, "Not yet."

Bobby leaned forward, looking back at Dean, "I want you to come with me."

Dean raised his eyebrows. "I'm not going anywhere," he told him and leaned forward on his forearms, staring down at the table again.

"Dean, I understand you just lost not only your brother, your daughter as well. But I don't think you should be alone over this." Bobby stood up straight again. "I gotta admit I could use your help."

Dean scoffed, looking away.

"Something big is going down," he paused before continuing. "End-of-the-world big."

"Well, then let it end!" Dean yelled in frustration.

Bobby stared at the young man, shocked. "You don't mean that," he said.

Dean stood up, knocking his chair back onto the floor and walked around to face Bobby, standing close to him. "You don't think so?" he asked.

Bobby stood there with his mouth open. He couldn't believe how worked up Dean was over this. Actually, thinking about it. Sarah was his daughter and he figured any parent would probably feel like the world was over so Bobby pulled back on the shock he had as Dean told him, "You don't think I given enough? You don't think I paid enough? My baby girl…I'm done with it. All of it. If you knew what's good for you, you'd turn around and get the hell out of here."

Dean turned to walk away, and then when Bobby didn't move, he shoved him back. "Go!" he told him, loudly.

Bobby continued to stand there, his heart breaking as he watched Dean slowly fall apart. His eyes watered a bit but did not shed a tear. It was painful to watch him but it was even more painful to lose both Sam and Sarah himself. Sam was like a son to him like Dean was. Bobby had helped John raise those boys whether John wanted to admit it or not. He was mostly there for them. Because of that, it felt like Sarah was his own granddaughter. He loved her as much as he loved Sam and Dean. Sarah had definitely become a part of his heart and it hurt to know she wouldn't come stay with him anymore and help under a hood or toss a ball around.

Finally, Dean apologized and asked him to just leave, walking over to lean on the back of the chair after picking it up.

Bobby turned around with his back to Dean. "You know where I'll be," he told Dean before leaving Dean to his own thoughts again.

Dean looked over at Sam before staring down at the table as another tear fell. Taking another drink of his beer, he pulled a chair over to sit beside his brother just to watch him. After half an hour of silence, he spoke as if Sam and Sarah could hear him, "You know, when we were little, Sam…and you couldn't have been no more than five…you just started asking questions. How come we didn't have a mom? Why we always have to move around? Where'd Dad go? He'd take off for days at a time. I could never take off and leave you like that, Baby Girl. I couldn't just leave you in a motel room by yourself."

Another tear fell as he continued. Dean tried to focus on Sam but, remembering when they were kids and how he tried to keep Sam a kid as long as possible, his mind always wandered back to Sarah. "Even teaching you how to be a hunter, I wanted you to be a kid as long as you possibly could. Just like Dad said, Baby Girl. Just because you're a hunter, doesn't mean you had to grow up fast. But even making that promise to him, you still continued to grow up too fast. I had my mind set on trying to protect you, keep you safe…I fought on you hunting. I should have just left you with Bobby."

Dean leaned forward, staring at the floor. "I really didn't mind the backseat a mess, you know. It reminded me a kid sat back there. My kid." His voice started to crack a little. "The first time you called me, Dad is when it finally hit me and things changed. That first hunt of yours, I know you tried so hard to do a good job, and then I pushed you to talk to me and you wouldn't…"

He sniffed in, "I'm not going to lie, it hurt for my own kid to not want to confide in me but I didn't want to push you away. So I waited and let you come to me. I never dreamed you would hold everything in like I do. Guess that would be expected, not only having me as a dad, but those other people treating you like crap. And that day you told me what they did to you, Baby Girl." Dean shook his head, his eyes closed, "I wanted to punch them all in the face, especially your grandfather. You're my kid and no one else's. My responsibility, you and Sam both. Like I had one job. That one job."

Dean looked over at Sam, "And I screwed it up." He looked down at the floor again. "I blew it," he said. "And for that, I'm sorry, Baby Girl." A tear dropped from his right eye, onto the floor. He wiped the rest away and shrugged, "I guess that's what I do," forcing a smile. "I let down the people I love."

He leaned his hand to his forehead, "I let Dad down. I let Sammy down." Dean leaned on his elbow, using his same hand to lean against his mouth. "And now, I guess I'm just supposed to let you down, too?" He shook his head, "how can I? How am I supposed to live with that?" It was silent for a few seconds before Dean asked, "What am I supposed to do?"

More tears filled his eyes as they glossed over, making it hard for him to see. "Baby Girl," he said, quietly. Dean's lower lip quivered as he looked at Sam. His heart was breaking with each passing moment, longing to hold his daughter one last time. "What am I supposed to do?" he muttered to himself and slowly rose to his feet, not taking his eyes off of his brother until he yelled out, "What am I supposed to do?"

Dean stormed from the house and through the woods until he came to where he had parked the Impala. Yanking his door open, Dean got in and sped to the nearest crossroads and opened the trunk, putting together a small wooden box of stuff he needed to summon the crossroads demon, including one of his IDs before taking the box over to the center.

Kneeling in the dirt, Dean began to dig a small hole big enough to fit the box inside and buried it. He then stood up and looked down each direction. No one appeared. "Oh, come on already," he said to himself as he looked around some more and raised his voice, "Show your face, you bitch." His heart was beating fast as he waited in anticipation. He just wanted ten years. That was what Sarah had left of her childhood. Just ten more years and Dean wanted to continue to watch her grow.

He didn't have that long to wait. "Easy, sugar," a deep woman's voice said behind him, "you'll wake the neighbors."

Dean turned around to see a woman with black, curly hair standing there. Her eyes turned black for a second to show she was indeed a demon.

"Dean," she grinned and looked him up and down. "It is so, so good to see you." The woman walked closer to him, "I mean it. Look at you." She stopped right in front of him, looking up. "Gone and got your family killed. All alone in the world." She snickered to herself, "It's too sweet."

The crossroads demon walked over to stand next to Dean on his right-hand side, inching her neck towards him, "Excuse me, you're gonna have to give me a moment. Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the roses."

Dean looked over at her. "I should send you straight back to hell," he threatened.

She breathed in, quickly, "Oh, you should. But you won't." The woman walked around behind him. "And I know why," she said.

He looked at the ground before turning around, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Following in Daddy's footsteps. You wanna make a deal. Little Sammy, back from the dead. And let me guess, you're offering up your own soul." The woman shrugged.

Dean shook his head, "No. My daughter. She has ten years left of her childhood. We'll go off somewhere, quit hunting, give her a normal life. Then Sarah will be grown up and on her own, possibly go away to college where she can't see your hellhounds come after me."

The crossroads demon smirked.

"Come on. It's a fair deal," Dean tried to make her agree.

"I'm afraid I can't bring your daughter back," she told him.

Dean stared at her. "Why not?" he demanded.

But she didn't say anything.

"Look, Sarah and I will quit hunting, I swear. We won't exorcise another demon. Just bring her back. Please." Dean could feel his pulse racing and emotions reach record height. "I can't live another second without her. Please, just bring her back and in ten years you can have me."

"You can keep begging like a pathetic puppy dog but nothing will change. It is not in my power or authority to bring little Sarah back," she shrugged.

Dean took a deep breath in through his nose as he glared at her. "Fine. Then bring Sam back and just take me now," he finally said. If the crossroads demon couldn't bring his daughter back then Dean didn't even want to live anymore, himself. "Other demons would love to get their hands on me. My soul's all yours. All you gotta do is bring Sam back. You don't even have to wait ten years."

The crossroads demon tilted her head a little, "You must be joking."

"It's a better deal you give everybody else."

"That is true," she shrugged at him and stepped closer to Dean again. "But why would I do anything for you?" There was a short pause before she said into his left ear, "Keep your gutter soul. It's too tarnished for me anyway." The crossroads demon walked around him to leave. "Make sure you bury Sam before he starts stinking up the joint."

Dean looked ahead. He couldn't live another moment knowing his daughter was gone. Maybe the reason the crossroads demon couldn't was because Sarah's body had burned up, so there wouldn't be a body for Sarah to return to. Right? Dean just didn't think about that. Or just didn't want to. Either way, he couldn't just keep going without her. It was either make this deal and bring Sam back or end it himself, with a bottle of beer and his gun. It didn't matter to him but if he made this deal, at least someone would get a second chance at life.

He turned around on his heels, "Wait."

The crossroads demon stopped walking and smiled forward, "It's a fire sale and everything must go."

"What do I have to do?" Dean asked when she had turned back around to face him.

"First of all, quit groveling," she said, walking towards him. "Needy guys are such a turnoff." The crossroads demon stepped even closer to him. "Look," she looked away for a second. "Look, I shouldn't be doing this. I could get into a lot of trouble."

She shook her head, "But what can I say? I got a blind spot for you, Dean." The crossroads demon breathed in, heavily. "You are like a puppy, you're too fun to play with," she told him and sighed. "I'll do it."

Dean nodded, "You'll bring him back?"

"I will," she said. "And because I'm a saint, I'll give you one year and one year only."

He shook his head, "No, no, no. I don't want any years. I'm barely lasting a second without my baby girl, much less a whole year."

The crossroads demon's grin was starting to widen and Dean couldn't figure out why. "And here's the thing. If you try and weasel your way out, the deal is off. That goes to you trying to end it yourself before the year is up. Sam drops dead, and he's back to rotten meat in no time. So? It's a better deal than your dad ever got," she shrugged and watched him for a couple seconds. "What do you say?"

Dean paused to think on that. He couldn't live a whole year without his little girl. There was just no way. Why did Sarah's body have to burn? Why couldn't Dean get there on time? He couldn't help but think of how much he had failed as a father. For letting something like this happen. And now he was supposed to live a year without her? He'd rather take hell over living without his daughter any day. But what choice did he have? Dean grabbed the crossroads demon and kissed her. He tried to enjoy it but all he could think of was the long year ahead and soon, she was gone.

He stood there for a long time as tears fell from his eyes again. "I'm so sorry, Baby Girl," he said, quietly. "I am so sorry. I tried."

Not even bothering to dig up the box, he stumbled back to the Impala and slid into the driver's seat. Dean looked up into the rear-view mirror and imagined his little girl sitting there, playing with her toys and pounded the top of the steering wheel with both hands. This was not what he had come here for. Now he had to live a year without the most important person he cared about. Yeah, he was glad to have one more year with his brother but what parent wanted their child to die before they did?

Dean laid his forehead against the steering wheel between his hands and cried like a baby, not even caring who saw him. Sarah was gone and there was nothing he could do about it. He sat there for a good forty-five minutes before starting the engine and driving back closest to the town he could get, then walked the rest of the way. The whole time all Dean could think about was Sarah.

When he walked up the steps and went through the door, he found Sam sitting there already digging into the food. Sam and Dean stared at each other before Dean rushed right over and hugged his brother around the neck when Sam stood up. Dean had to stop when Sam stated he was a little sore in the back.

They sat down and Sam asked what had happened.

"Well, what do you remember?" Dean asked him.

"I-I saw you and Bobby and… Then I felt this pain. This sharp pain, like white hot, you know. And then you started running at me and that's about it," he explained what he remembered.

"Yeah, that kid stabbed you in the back," Dean told him. "You lost a lot of blood. You know it was pretty touch and go for a while."

"But Dean, you can't patch up a wound that bad," said Sam.

"No, Bobby could," he lied to his brother. Sam couldn't know the truth of what Dean had just done. Dean was going to take that secret to the grave. "Who was that kid anyway?"

"His name's Jake." Sam suddenly looked at his brother, changing tones, "Did you get him?"

"No, Sarah chased him into the woods." Dean looked at the floor, unable to make any form of eye contact and tried his hardest not to cry again.

Sam realized his niece wasn't around. "Wait, where's Sarah?" he asked.

Dean didn't answer. He couldn't even lift his head.

"No," he said. "No. Did Jake…?"

"We don't know what happened," Dean shrugged, still not looking up. "I followed them into the woods while Bobby patched you up. There was this gunshot. Then this big fire…." He trailed off, a tear escaping his eye. "All I could find was her video game."

Sam stared in horror at his brother. "You mean…?"

Dean ran his right hand down his face, wiping away the tears as Sam watched him.

"You said there was a gunshot?" Sam finally asked.

Dean nodded.

"How? No one here had a gun. We all had to make do with what was lying around."

"When Bobby and I first got here, I noticed Sarah's gun was missing from the trunk. She must have still had it from that hunt in Oregon we finished a few days ago," Dean explained.

"You think maybe Sarah could have shot Jake?" asked Sam.

He shrugged.

"I mean, Sarah had a hard time before so why would she shoot another person?"

Dean finally looked up at his brother. "She saw her uncle get stabbed, Sam. Wouldn't that be enough to kill someone? Remember, she has yours and Dad's taste for vengeance. It probably drove her over the edge."

"So do you think Sarah might still be out there?"

"Didn't you hear me, Sam?" Dean asked. "There was a fire in the middle of the woods and all I could find was her video game, melted and burnt to a crisp. I barely made out the sticker on the back."

"But what if Sarah had dropped it when she was escaping?" Sam shrugged. "What if she didn't die in the fire?"

He shook his head, looking at the floor again. Dean wanted so desperately to believe that. Even if it were true, Dean would be so pissed because if Sarah was alive, then there was no reason to sell his soul.

The brothers finished off the chicken as Sam got Dean up to speed on what had happened. "Demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive," Sam told him.

"He told you that?" asked Dean.

"Yup," he replied. "According to Sarah, the demon wanted her to be the one, but the demon also told me, I was the one he was betting on."

"He tell you anything else?"

Sam shook his head, "No. No, that was it, nothing else." It seemed like he was hiding something, but Dean didn't say anything. "We gotta find that son of a bitch demon. For Mom and Dad, and now Sarah."

"Hold on there, all right?" Dean told him. "I want to avenge Sarah, too but first, you need to get your rest. We got time."

"No, we don't," Sam shook his head.

"Sam, oceans aren't boiling, okay? Frogs aren't raining from the sky. Let's get you your strength back first."

Sam looked down at his food for a few seconds then returned his attention back to his brother. "Well, did you call the Roadhouse? They know anything?"

It came rushing back to Dean. With what had happened the past night, he had forgotten about the Roadhouse. "Yeah," he stood up, forcing a smile but didn't say anything else as he stared at the floor again.

"Dean, what is it?" Sam urged his brother.

Dean looked up at him and walked over to sit across from Sam, picking up a bottle of soda. "The Roadhouse burned to the ground. Ash is dead. Probably Ellen, a lot of other hunters, too." He took a swig of his drink.

Sam couldn't believe what his brother had just told him. He looked around at the table in front of him before he asked, "Demons?"

"Yeah, we think so," Dean set the soda back on the table. "We think because Ash found something."

"What did he find?"

Dean shook his head, looking away, "Bobby's working on that right now."

"Well, come on then," Sam made to stand up, painfully. "Bobby's only a few hours away."

Dean stood up and hurried over to stop him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," he told him. "Stop, Sam. Damn it." He stared at his younger brother. "You almost died in there. I mean, I lost my little girl. What would have…?" Dean stopped in mid-sentence when Sam looked up at him. "Can't you just take care of yourself for a little bit, huh? Just for a little bit?"

"I'm sorry," Sam told him, quietly. "No."

Dean shook his head at him and smiled. Truth was Dean was itching to get out there and figure out what the heck was going on and kill that yellow-eyed demon once and for all, for what he had done to his family.


	78. Chapter 78: All Hell Breaks Loose (P4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 78

Sam and Dean headed straight for Bobby's house, going as fast they could. When Bobby answered the door it was like he was looking at a ghost. He couldn't believe Sam was alive. It was impossible. The youngest man was dead, past his expiration date. Bobby could take a wild guess what had happened and wanted to tear Dean a new one but didn't say anything as he let the boys in and got down to business.

"Well, I found something," Bobby was explaining to them. "But I'm not sure what the hell it means."

Sam asked, "What is it?"

"Demonic omens," he replied. "Like a frigging tidal wave. Cattle deaths, lightning storms. They've skyrocketed from out of nowhere. Here." Bobby laid out a map on the table in the middle of the men, circling around Wyoming with his finger, "All around here. Except for one place. Southern Wyoming," he made a small circle around the lower, left corner of Wyoming.

Dean questioned, "Wyoming?"

Bobby looked up at him, "Yeah, that one area's totally clean." He looked over at Sam, "Spotless."

Dean looked back down at the map.

"It's almost as if…"

Sam asked, "What?"

"…the demons are surrounding it," he told them.

"But you don't know why?" Dean shook his head.

Bobby stood up, straight, "No, and by this point my eyes are swimming. Sam, would you take a look at it? Maybe you could catch something I couldn't."

"Yeah, sure," he agreed.

Bobby stared over at Dean, picking up a bag on his left shoulder, "Come on, Dean. I got some more books in the truck. Help me lug them in." He walked around Sam and headed for the front door.

Dean had a feeling he knew what Bobby really wanted to do but agreed anyway. "Yeah," he said, following Bobby outside where they were isolated from Sam.

Once outside, Bobby turned on Dean, "You stupid ass. What did you do?" he demanded of him, angrily.

Dean looked back over his shoulder at the house, not saying a word.

Bobby grabbed the front of his jacket, "What did you do?"

Dean still didn't say anything. He couldn't even make eye contact.

"You made a deal," Bobby realized. "For Sam, didn't you?"

Still no response.

"How long they give you?"

"Bobby," Dean looked away.

"How long?" he demanded the loudest, so far.

Dean looked back at the older hunter and swallowed a lump in his throat. "One year," he finally said.

"Damn it, Dean," Bobby told him.

"I tried to bring Sarah back, Bobby." Dean's voice started cracking again as his eyes filled up once more. "But I couldn't. They wouldn't do it, because there wasn't a body left. I didn't want a year. I wish to God I could just die right now. The only thing I want to do right now is hunt down that yellow-eyed son of a bitch. That's why I'm gonna kill him myself. I mean, I got nothing to lose now, right?"

Bobby grabbed him by the front of his jacket again, pulling him close to his face, "I could throttle you."

"And send me downstairs ahead of schedule?" Dean asked of him. "'Cause right now, I would welcome that."

Bobby shook his head at Dean as he stared at him. He let him go. "What is it with you Winchesters, huh?" he questioned. "You, your dad, you're both just itching to throw yourselves down the pit."

"That's my point," Dean told him, "Dad brought me back, Bobby. I'm not even supposed to be here. At least this way, something good could come out of it, you know. Like my life can mean something."

"What and it didn't before? Have you got that low of an opinion of yourself?" Bobby grabbed his jacket a third time, "Are you that screwed in the head?"

Both of them were silent for a moment before Dean said, "I can't live without her, Bobby. I just can't," he shook his head. "She's my little girl. If I couldn't save her, I may as well save my brother. I couldn't let both of them die."

"How is your brother gonna feel if he knows you're going to hell? How would your daughter feel if she knew you tried to go for her? How did you feel when you knew your dad went for you?"

"You can't tell him," Dean said. "You take a shot at me, whatever you gotta do. But please don't tell him."

Bobby looked down, trying hard not to cry himself and just placed his left hand against the side of Dean's face. No one said a word. A clattering noise was heard nearby, getting the men's attention. After exchanging looks between them, they headed over to investigate, hiding behind an old, rusted car, missing some parts and waited for a bit before jumping out and grabbing someone.

"Ellen?" Dean asked, surprised to see the Roadhouse's owner and hugged her, tightly. "Ellen. Oh, God." They quickly headed back inside Bobby's house where Bobby had her drink some holy water to make sure it was her. Thankfully, it really was Ellen.

"Ellen, what happened?" Dean asked her, "how'd you get out?"

"I wasn't supposed to," she admitted. "I was supposed to be in there with everybody else." Ellen scoffed, "But we ran out of pretzels, of all things. Was just dumb luck." Bobby had pushed a glass of whiskey over to her and Ellen drank it down. "Anyway, that's when Ash called, panic in his voice."

She took a deep breath, letting it out, "He told me to look in the safe. Then the call cut out. By the time I got back, the flames were sky high." Ellen felt like she wanted to cry and it was apparent in her voice. "Everybody was dead. I couldn't have been gone more than fifteen minutes," she shook her head over at Bobby.

"Sorry, Ellen," Sam told her.

Ellen was staring at the table in front of her, "A lot of good people died in there. I got to live," she sniffed in. "Lucky me."

No one said a word for a moment until Bobby broke it. "Ellen, you mentioned a safe," he said.

"A hidden safe we keep in the basement," she explained.

"Demons get what was in it?"

"No." Ellen pulled a map out from inside her jacket and opened it up, placing it flat down on the table to show the men.

The three of them looked at it.

Dean questioned, "Wyoming?" and traced his fingers around the map. "What does that mean?" He looked up at Ellen and Bobby before they started searching through Bobby's library.

"Where's Sarah?" Ellen asked as they were standing up.

Dean didn't answer, he just buried himself in the research while Sam told her what he knew and what Dean had told him. Ellen pretty much lost it when she heard Sarah was gone as Sam held her.

Eventually, Bobby found what they were looking for. "I don't believe it," he said, looking through one of his books as he walked into the study and set the book open on the table beside where Dean was sitting.

"What, you got something?" Sam asked, walking up beside Bobby.

"A lot more than that," he replied as Ellen rejoined them. He pointed at each X Ash had drawn on the map, "Each of these X's is an abandoned frontier church, all mid-19th century. And all of them built by Samuel Colt."

"Samuel Colt?" Dean asked. "The demon-killing, gun-making Samuel Colt?"

Sam looked over at his brother as Bobby replied, "Yup" and returned his head to listen to Bobby.

"And there's more," Bobby continued. "He built private railway lines connecting church to church. That just happen to lay out like this." He drew a star, connecting the X's to each other with a black, permanent marker.

"Tell me that's not what I think it is," Dean said as he stared at the map.

"It's a devil's trap," said Sam, looking over at him.

Dean placed his hand over his mouth, leaning on the same elbow.

Sam looked over at Bobby, "A hundred-square mile devil's trap."

"That's brilliant," he stated, impressed. "Iron lines, demons can't cross."

Ellen added, "I never heard anything that massive."

"No one has," said Bobby.

"All these years none of the lines have been broken," Dean asked. "I mean, it still works?"

Realization hit Sam. "Definitely," he said.

"How do you know?" he asked his brother.

"All those omens Bobby found. I mean, the demons, they must be circling and they can't get in."

"Yeah, well, they're trying," Bobby said.

"Why, what's inside?" Ellen asked him.

"Well, that's what I've been looking for," Dean answered, "and, uh, there's nothing except for an old cowboy cemetery right in the middle." He pointed in the center of Wyoming.

Bobby leaned on the table as Sam asked, "Why? What's so important of a cemetery? Or, what's Colt trying to protect?"

"Well, unless…" Dean started to say.

Bobby asked, "Unless what?"

"What if Colt wasn't trying to keep the demons out?" Dean looked over at him. "What if he was trying to keep something in?"

"Now, that's a comforting thought," said Ellen.

"Yeah, you think," he agreed.

"Could they do it, Bobby?" Sam asked. "Could they get inside?"

Bobby shook his head, "This thing's so powerful you'd practically need an A-bomb to destroy it. No way a full-blood demon gets across."

Sam thought on that. "No," he finally said, quietly. "But I know who could." Sam looked over at Dean. "Someone else survived besides me, Dean. Either Jake or Sarah is out there somewhere and the yellow-eyed demon has them. Otherwise, it would have taken me."

Dean looked back down on the map. He wanted to believe it to be true. That his daughter was somewhere out there. He wanted to hope so badly but on the other hand, if Sarah was alive, he would regret making that deal, even if it was for his brother.

The sun was high in the sky but was hidden behind several clouds that covered the whole thing. Sarah stirred, opening her eyes and sat up quick from her nightmare of watching her grandfather in hell. She looked around at her surroundings, no knowing where she was. Beside her was a set of iron train tracks.

A voice startled her from a couple feet away. "Howdy, Sarah," the yellow-eyed demon greeted her with a smile. "Have a nice, restful sleep?"

Sarah rose to her feet, slowly as she eyed him, carefully. "What do you think?" she asked, defensively. "Where am I now? Where's my dad?"

"If I were you, I'd worry about yourself," he told her.

"If I were you, I would start talking or else!" Sarah warned him.

"I need you to do me a favor," he smirked.

"And why would I do you any favors?" she asked.

The yellow-eyed demon walked closer to her. "Remember, I basically gave you your daddy, I can take him away. I made him choke on his intestines once, I can do it again and this time, dear, ol'grandpappy won't be there to save him."

Sarah felt her fists clench at her side. "You wouldn't," she glared at him.

"Wanna place that bet?" he asked and winked at her.

For her father's protection, Sarah gave in but didn't enjoy it or did she ease off. "What is it you want me to do?" she asked.

"Fifty miles, that away," the yellow-eyed demon pointed over on the other side of the train tracks, off in the distance. There's a cemetery, a crypt. You gotta open that for me. Think you could manage that, sport?"

"Why do you want me to do that?"

The yellow-eyed demon looked to be offended and saddened at the little girl's question. "Sarah, I thought you would want a chance to free your grandpappy from hell."

Sarah stared at him, "What?"

"I like you, Sarah. I really do and what better way to earn your trust then by helping your grandpappy get out of hell. I know how."

Sarah looked at him, sideways. She wasn't sure she could trust him. After all, it was the demon who put John there in the first place.

He smiled at her, "What do you say, Sarah? Ready to rescue your grandfather?"

Sarah folded her arms, tightly across her chest. "Why should I trust you for? How do I know this isn't a trick?"

The yellow-eyed demon stepped even closer to her until they were a foot apart. "Remember, if you don't do this, remember what will happen to your daddy," he reminded her.

Sarah glared up at the demon, wanting to rip his heart out. That is, if he even had one. "Fine," she gave in, reluctantly.

He stepped back, a couple steps as he smirked, "Good." The yellow-eyed demon then pulled out the Colt. "But you will need a key," he told her and held it out to her, who stared at it then back at him. "Go ahead. Take it."

Sarah reached out and took the Colt by the thin barrel and looked at it in her hands before pointing it at the yellow-eyed demon. She cocked it back.

"Oh my," the yellow-eyed demon said, sarcastically. "I'm shocked at this unforeseen turn of events. Guess I should have mentioned your daddy was already dead, along with all the other people you've come to love." He shrugged, "But I guess you could always go back to living with what's their names…Holdens, was it? Bet you didn't know your other grandpappy saw your daddy on the news during that bank robbery, did ya? Oh, boy is he pissed. But I guess everything will be fine. After all, they love you, too, don't they?"

Sarah stood there, trying not to believe the yellow-eyed demon. It couldn't be true. Her father, Bobby, Ellen, Jo…even Ash. They couldn't be dead. They just couldn't. She tightened her grip around the handle in the same position as the night before. Her finger fought hard to pull the trigger.

"If you do as I say, I will give you your grandfather back. Put the natural order of life back in place and if you want, you both can come hunt me down. I just need you to do me this one, teensy, little favor."

Sarah ended up giving in, revenge blocking out the logic that the demon could have been lying to her. If it were true, Sarah wasn't about to go back to the Holdens. Not after everything she's been through. No, she was getting at least one of her family back.

She lowered her gun and stared at him.

"That's a good girl," he smirked at her.

Sarah turned and started heading over the train tracks. She stole one last look over her left shoulder to find the yellow-eyed demon gone and faced forward again, taking a deep breath in and let it out. This was for her grandfather. She could do this.

It took the rest of the day to walk all the way to the cemetery. Sarah gripped the Colt in her hand. Now and then, she would stare it and remembered when her and her family fought through that vampire nest to get it. To Sarah, that was her favorite hunt. Not because of the vampires, not because she got to decapitate one, but because her family was somewhat whole. Sarah, her father, her uncle, and her grandfather, they did it together. Now her uncle was dead, her grandfather was being tortured in hell, and there was a good chance her father was dead, too.

Tears filled her eyes as Sarah thought of that possibility. She didn't want it to be true. She wanted her whole family back but would simply settle for just her father. Her hero. The person she loved the most.

"God, please forgive me for whatever I'm about to do," she prayed, silently to herself. "I can't let my grandpa suffer any more."

Sarah continued her long walk until she arrived at the cemetery and looked around at all the graves until she came to a large old, iron door at the back of it. Taking another deep breath, she stepped up and shoved the Colt inside the perfectly-shaped keyhole.

A sound of a twig being stepped on startled her, making Sarah look to her left. She expected it to be the yellow-eyed demon but instead saw her uncle, which surprised her a lot.

"Uncle Sam?" she questioned.

Sam lowered his gun, "Sarah?"

Sarah hurried over and hugged his legs as Bobby, Dean, and Ellen appeared from behind the gravestones. Dean was the last one to come out. His mouth hung open at the realization that his daughter was indeed still alive and started kicking himself for making that deal.

"How…but…you…" Sarah was trying to tell Sam. "I saw Jake stab you in the back."

Sam smiled down at his niece, shaking his head over in Bobby's direction, "Yeah, well, Bobby was able to patch me up."

"Uncle Sam, I saw it happen. I heard Dad yell. You were dead. That's why I chased after Jake."

Sam looked over at Dean, making Sarah look over there, too.

"Dad's alive, too?" she asked.

Bobby nodded at the little girl and looked back at Dean who was frozen in place, still stunned. He knew the young man was kicking himself for it now.

Sarah sprinted over and Dean automatically lifted his daughter up into his arms. They held each other tight. The reunion was cut short though when the lock on the iron door started turning fast. Sam hurried over and grabbed the Colt from it but that didn't stop the door from continuing to unlock.

"Oh no," Bobby mumbled out loud.

"Bobby, what is it?" Ellen asked him.

"It's hell," he replied. "Take cover now!"

Everyone ducked behind some gravestones. It seemed like someone or something was banging on the inside of the doors. They shot open as a bunch of black smoke came flying out. Thunder rumbled as lightning flashed in the sky as the train tracks surrounding it burned around, breaking the devil's trap seal.

"What the hell just happened?" Dean roared out, clutching Sarah to him behind the gravestone he and Sam were crouched.

"That's a devil's gate," Ellen yelled back from behind hers and Bobby's gravestone. "A damn door to hell."

Dean wasn't the only one kicking himself now. Sarah was so blind with revenge she didn't think this would happen. Why had she acted so stupid before? She looked up at her father, "I'm so sorry, Dad. I didn't…I'm sorry." Sarah hid her face in his side which he held her head to him. In his mind, Dean was actually apologizing to her.

Come on," Ellen yelled to them, "We gotta shut that gate!"

The five of them jumped up to their feet. Sam dropped the Colt as the four of them, excluding Dean ran over to press themselves against the doors.

Dean had picked the Colt up and checked inside to see it still had the one bullet. "If the demon gave this to Sarah…then maybe…" He turned around where the yellow-eyed demon was standing there, behind him. Dean tried to aim the gun at him but the yellow-eyed demon levitated it over to him.

He smirked at Dean, "Boys shouldn't play with Daddy's guns."

Dean flew back into the air and landed on the ground, hitting his head on the gravestone beside him. He gasped in pain as the other four tried to shove the door closed.

Sarah noticed her father nowhere around and looked over to see the yellow-eyed demon smirk at her and walk towards where her father lied on the ground. "Daddy!" she let go of the door and sprinted over. Sam followed too.

Both of them were pinned backwards, Sam against a tree and Sarah against a really tall gravestone as the yellow-eyed demon raised his hand without looking back. "I'll get to you two in a minute. But Sarah, I'm proud of you." He turned back to Dean, walking near him and looked down at him.

Dean was trying to struggle to his feet until he got pinned back to the gravestone.

"Sit a spell," the yellow-eyed demon told him and walked even close to kneel in front of him. "So Dean, I gotta thank you for forming our little Sarah into the little soldier I knew she could be. I knew if I brought you two together, it would all work out in the end." He sneered at Dean, "Sarah, she's something all right, ain't she. Probably curious about her, huh? I personally like her better than all the rest, including Sam. I wasn't counting on you bringing him back. All I care about is Sarah."

"You sick, son of a bitch," Dean grumbled at the yellow-eyed demon.

He just shrugged. "So now you have a year to live. Sarah's not gonna be too happy to hear that, I bet. That's the trouble with her abilities," the yellow-eyed demon looked back at Sarah who was still pinned to the gravestone then back at Dean. "They can only come out, out of love and loyalty."

Dean looked at him, confused.

"Come on, you're smarter than that, Dean," the yellow-eyed demon said. "Other than her visions, all of her abilities come out when someone she's loves or cares about is in danger. That's the key component." The demon stood up still staring down at Dean. "And with you dead and out of the picture just think how much stronger they would be and in my army of followers. That's right I can make her join me if I really wanted to. And it's all thanks to daddy's unending, devoted, emotional love for his little girl. But now, your work is done and it's time for me to take over."

The yellow-eyed demon raised the Colt at Dean's head and cocked it just as Dean looked over in time to see John appear out of black smoke. John grabbed the demon from the back and yanked out the demon's soul, struggling with it until it shoved John back onto the ground.

Sarah couldn't believe it. So there was some truth to what the yellow-eyed demon had told her before. Something good had come out of what she had done and it relieved Sarah to no end as she watched her grandfather struggle with it. It scared her when John got shoved back and the demon returned to its body but when she saw her father on his feet and aim the last bullet at the yellow-eyed demon, Sarah couldn't help but smile as she watched the life get sucked out of him and fall back onto the ground. She and Sam were released, and Bobby and Ellen were finally able to close the devil's gate.

Sam was the first to slowly rise to his feet, then John. Sarah stared at her grandfather as she rose to hers and leaned back against the gravestone. It felt different seeing him after witnessing the excruciating torture John had experienced. Dean was the last one on his feet and like Sarah, stared over at his father, walking closer to him as John moved closer to the yellow-eyed demon.

John smiled over at his oldest son as Dean just stood there, relieved to see his father one last time. John stepped even closer, placing a hand on his shoulder as Sam moved closer, too. No one said anything as father and sons shared a quiet moment. Sarah, on the other hand, finally broke the silence.

She hurried over to them. "Grandpa!" she cried out.

John turned around to squat down, scooping his granddaughter up into his arms. Sarah hugged his neck, tightly, hiding her face in her arms where he could hear her crying, softly. He rubbed her back, trying to calm her down.

"I saw everything," she whispered to him. "I saw the pain, the torture. I saw you in pieces."

"It's okay, sweetheart," John assured her, quietly. "It's over now. It's all over."

Sarah cried on her grandfather's shoulder, wetting his shirt with her tears. She mumbled something but no one could hear it since her words were muffled. Not even John could understand her.

"What, sweetheart?" he asked.

Sarah lifted her tear-stained, snot-covered face to repeat what she had mumbled before. "I said, are you back, for good?"

Sam and Dean exchanged sad looks between themselves and looked back over at their father when he looked over at them.

John returned his focus to his granddaughter. "No, sweetheart. I have to pass over somewhere else," he explained to her.

"You mean heaven?" Sarah asked, wiping her nose on her jacket sleeve.

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"Okay. At least you won't be in anymore pain. Can you tell Grandma I said hello and that I love her?" Sarah gave in, reluctantly.

John smiled at his granddaughter, "I sure can."

Sarah hugged her grandfather's neck one last time. "And I love you, too, Grandpa. You're definitely my favorite grandfather."

That brought tears to rough-looking, tough, macho John Winchester as he returned the hug. Neither one of them wanted to let go but knew the longer they prolong this, the harder it would be so John kissed his granddaughter on the cheek and placed her down on her feet, in front of her father and gave his boys and Sarah one last smile to show how proud of them he was before backing away. In a flash, John Winchester was gone for the last time.

Sarah couldn't help as a tear fell down her cheek before the three of them looked back down at the yellow-eyed demon.

Dean looked over at his brother. "Well check that off the to-do list," he grinned.

Sam smiled back at him, hardly able to contain himself, "You did it."

Dean looked back down at the demon then back at Sam, "I didn't do it alone."

Sam looked over at the devil's gate. "I can't believe Dad actually climbed out of hell," he said.

Dean smiled back at the devil's gate, too, walking around the demon, "The door was open. If anyone's stubborn enough to do it…" he nodded over at his brother, "…it'll be him."

The Winchesters just stood there, staring at the demon's lifeless body. Sam kept shaking his head, "I kind of can't believe it, Dean. I mean…Our whole lives, everything, has been prepping for this. And now, I…" He shook his head some more. "I kind of don't know what else to say."

Dean looked over at him and forced a small smile, nodding, "I do." He looked back down and kneeled beside the demon to say, "That was for our mom," and paused before he added, "You son of a bitch." At that, Dean stood up and placed the Colt inside his jacket to lift Sarah up, into his arms to continue what was interrupted before.

Sarah hugged his neck and rested her head on his shoulder. After a few minutes, Dean carried his daughter where he had parked the Impala as Sam followed. He set her down on her feet.

"You know, when Sarah saw me it was like she saw a ghost," Sam spoke up as he leaned against the hood of the Impala.

Sarah yawned, slightly. "Well, yeah because I saw you die, Uncle Sam. It looked like Jake cut right through your spinal cord," she told him. "Not even Uncle Bobby could patch that up."

"You must have seen wrong, Baby Girl," Dean assured her, leaning against his car door with his hands in his pockets.

"No, Dad. I didn't. I know what I saw and heard. Uncle Sam was dead," Sarah tried to argue with him.

"What happened, Dean?" Sam asked of his brother. "After I was stabbed."

Dean just looked at him, calmly, "I already told you."

Sam shook his head, "Not everything."

Dean stayed silent for a moment as he watched his brother before he stood up, turning slightly to face him. "Sam, we just killed the demon," he reminded him and shrugged, "Can't we celebrate for a minute?"

Sam hesitated at first. "Did I really die? Like Sarah said."

He quickly looked away, grinning, "Oh, come on."

"Dad," Sarah spoke up, staring up at her father. "What did you do?"

Dean didn't answer his daughter. He couldn't even look her in the eye.

"Did you sell your soul for me?" Sam finally asked. "Like Dad did for you?"

Sarah quickly stepped back as she stared over at her father, "Dad, did you?"

"Come on," Dean told them. "No."

Sarah stepped forward, towards her father and grabbed a handful of his shirt, trying to make eye contact with him. "Look me in the eye and say that," she told him.

Dean tried to look his daughter in the eye but found himself turning away.

Sarah let go of his shirt as tears filled her eyes. "How long did they give you?" she asked.

Dean didn't respond.

She raised her voice to her father, "How long did they give you, Dad?!"

Sam waited for an answer, too.

"One year," Dean finally told them.

Sarah felt like she was suffocating as her chest rapidly moved. She stared up at her father. "How could you do that, Dad? After what you said about Grandpa doing it?" she asked of him, not realizing she had tried to do basically the same thing with trying to bring her grandfather back.

"I thought you were dead, Baby Girl. I even tried to bring you back first."

"Yes, because that makes it so much better," she said, angrily.

"Don't get mad at me," he shook his head at his daughter. "Don't you do that. I had to. I had to look out for both of you. That's my job."

"What do you think my job is?" Sam asked his brother.

Dean looked over him. "What?"

"You save our lives over and over. I mean, you sacrifice everything for Sarah and I. Don't you think I'd do the same for you? For Sarah?"

Dean looked away for a second as Sarah looked up at her uncle then at her father. "Same here," she agreed.

"You're my big brother," Sam concluded, "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you."

"I gave into the demon and risked the whole world to keep you safe," Sarah added.

Dean smiled at his brother and daughter's words.

"I don't care what it takes," said Sam. "I'm gonna get you out of this. Guess I gotta save your ass for a change."

"You mean, _we_ gotta save Dad's ass," Sarah corrected her uncle who smiled at that, making her smile back at him.

At that point, Bobby and Ellen walked up to the Winchesters. "Well," said Ellen, "Yellow-eyed demon might be dead but a lot more got through that gate."

Sarah looked at the ground, ashamed.

"How many do you think?" Dean asked.

"A hundred," Sam guessed, not looking back at his brother. "Maybe two hundred. It's an army. He's unleashed an army."

"I'm really sorry about opening that gate and letting the demons out," Sarah told the adults, sadly. "The demon said it would only let Grandpa out. I wasn't thinking straight, I guess."

"It's okay, Baby Girl," Dean assured her, running his fingers through her hair. "We'll just put'em back in."

Sarah smiled up at her father.

"Hope to hell you three are ready," Bobby told them. "Because the war's just begun."

"Well then…" Dean grinned as Sam looked back at him.

Opening the trunk, Dean pulled the Colt out and tossed it inside. He looked over at his brother and niece, placing his hand on the trunk lid, "…we got work to do," and closed it.


	79. Chapter 79-The Magnificent 7 (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 79

Sarah lied in the backseat, wiping her hands down her face while she and Sam waited in the Impala for Dean while he had some fun with a couple women he had met. It had been a week since the yellowed-eyed demon was finally killed. Sarah wished she could say she had restful nights now that her visions and nightmares were over but she couldn't. Now her dreams are of her losing her father and even though the hell-o-vision was gone, it didn't mean she didn't remember it. Hell sticks to you like a fly to flypaper. It never truly goes away.

Sam was in the front seat, looking through a book on crossroads demons. He and Sarah had been spending as much waking hours as they could, trying to find a way to get Dean out of his deal but so far, no dice. "How you holding up, Peanut?" he asked over his shoulder at his niece.

Sarah continued wiping her hands across her face. "What do you think?" she snapped. Sarah had been a little on edge the past week but tried to mask it to herself. It was getting quite difficult though, the last day.

"Sorry, Miss Grouchy," Sam replied, returning to his book.

She removed her hands to lift her head towards her uncle, "Hey, I have a right to be grouchy, okay? I lost my PSP for good, this time, I listened to a demon, set two hundred more demons free into the world, and my dad is going to hell, a year after we got Grandpa out. So yeah, okay?" Sarah lowered her head back down on the seat. "I swear. I want to castrate Dad with a pencil for making that deal for you…" she looked over at her uncle again long enough to say, "No offense," before returning to rub at her face.

Sam slumped in his seat, looking down at his book with his flashlight. "None taken," he told her. "By the way, I think that's impossible to use a pencil."

"Oh, I would find a way," she stated, "Trust me."

Sam's cell phone rang. He dug it out of his jeans pocket and answered it, "Hello?"

"Hey, Sam."

"Hey, Bobby," he replied.

"What ya doing?"

"You know, same old, same old," Sam shrugged.

"You and Sarah buried in that book again?" Bobby asked as he was driving. "Sam, you wanna break Dean free of that demon deal you ain't gonna find the answer in no book."

He sighed, "Then where, Bobby?"

"Kid, I wish I knew," Bobby shook his head. "How's Sarah holding up?"

"She wants to neuter her dad right now," he told him as he watched Dean's silhouette through the window.

"She wants to what?" Bobby asked, confused.

"Never mind."

"Well, you three better pack it up," he told Sam. "I think I finally found something." Bobby then told Sam where to meet him before they hung up.

Sam told Sarah to stay put while he fetched her father so they can go meet up with Bobby. Sarah held a thumb's up while her other hand was covering her eyes. When her uncle returned, "Instead of knocking, you walked in on him, didn't you?" she asked.

Sam slowly shut his door as if he was traumatized. "I knocked…once."

"You knew what Dad was doing so don't expect pity from me." Sarah then lied back down.

"What ever happened to my adorable, compassionate niece I once knew?" he asked of her, leaning his left arm over the back of the front seat.

"She took a vacation, won't be back until Christmas of 2012," Sarah stated, turning her body to place a sock-covered foot on the back of the seat.

Sam just snickered to himself, looking forward, "Okay, Peanut. Whatever you say."

"Dude, don't make me have to castrate you with a pencil," she threatened her uncle, lifting her hand from her eyes to look up at him.

"Where did you even learn that?" he asked.

"TV," was all Sarah said until her father finally slid into the driver's seat and they were driving down the road. "Dad, you smell like sweat and shame," she told him, bitterly.

"And I need to use your knife," Sam added.

Dean looked over his brother, confused, "What for?"

"So I can gouge my eyes out," he replied.

Dean snickered at his brother and daughter as he heard Sarah repeat, "No pity, Uncle Sam." He looked in the rear-view mirror, "Sarah, put your foot down. It's right in my view to see behind me."

Sarah dropped her foot onto the backseat, forcefully.

"Why don't you go to sleep back there," Dean asked of her. "We have a long drive ahead of us and I don't feel like dealing with your little attitude you've been having lately."

Sarah tightly folded her arms across her chest as she flipped onto her right side, facing the back of the seat. "I don't like having to deal with yours either but we can't always get what we want," she mumbled to herself.

"What was that?" he asked, sternly.

"Nothing," she repeated.

Dean looked forward, leaning on the door. All the excitement he had from the fun experience he had gotten back there, now was completely gone. He felt like a dick, having to leave his daughter in a year, and it hurt even more that so far, Sarah hadn't cuddled up with him or laughed with him. Dean wanted to spend enough bonding time in his last year as he possibly could but Sarah was shutting him out.

He turned to his brother and thanked him for giving him time to have some fun, though he did enjoy it, Dean would have rather go have some fun with his daughter instead. He tried getting Sarah to see if they could find a go-cart track, or go find an arcade or a Chuck E. Cheese, or something, even to go fishing at a lake. But Sarah just refused and kept her nose in one of her books.

While the brothers talked about what Bobby had found, they soon heard soft breathing and knew Sarah had fallen asleep. She had been trying to fight it but after reading for the majority of the day, her eyelids just couldn't stay open. Sam took a short nap before he and Dean switched so Dean could catch a few Z's.

Early the next morning, Sam pulled into the parking lot of a fast food place and parked. Dean slid out and opened the right, passenger door to slide into the backseat, leaning on his left knee to wake his daughter.

"Wake up, Baby Girl," he said, softly as he placed some of her hair behind her left ear. It took about five minutes before Sarah even stirred. "I know you're tired and all, but we still have a couple hours to go and I don't want to have to stop again until we get there," he told her when she moaned, half asleep.

Sarah opened her eyes, slowly and looked up to see her father smiling down at her.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," he said.

Sarah stared up at her father, wondering how many times she was going to wake up to her father like that. She wanted to smile back at him but knowing around this time, next year, he'll be gone. Sarah sat up and pushed him off.

Dean sat down on the seat and faced her. "I know you're mad and you have every right to be but Sarah, can't we make the most of our last year together? Please?" he asked.

Sarah threw on her boots that matched her father's, only kid-sized and tied the laces. She didn't respond to him, not even looking up. Even though she did want to have some fun with her father, Sarah couldn't get up the excitement to have any. She had finally found the one person she could relate to and he goes and make a deal with a demon.

She got out on the driver's side where Sam was waiting for them and closed the car door behind her. Dean sat there for a minute, leaning his hand against his forehead with his elbow on the back of the front seat. He was thinking about letting Sam just drop dead and cut off the deal. Was that the same as killing someone themselves though? He didn't feel right doing it but his daughter was alive and needed him.

"Dean, are you coming?" Sam called over to him. Dean didn't look up, he was too deep in thought so Sam went over and opened the door Sarah had come out of. "Dean."

Dean looked over at his brother before looking away again. "Why don't you go get the food, Sammy, I'm gonna stay out here. Just get me a bacon cheeseburger."

Sam nodded and closed the car door before he and Sarah headed inside. When they were gone, Dean stepped out of the car and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the Impala, staring at the ground. His heartstrings were tugging at the idea going through his mind.

Dean looked up as a vacationing family was walking out of the fast food place to their minivan. A four-year-old girl laughed excitedly as she sat on her father's shoulders as she clapped her hands. Dean watched the father and daughter until they were all inside their minivan and took out a flask from inside his blue jacket, unscrewing the lid to take a drink. Dean did deserve hell for the decisions he made. If he couldn't even think to look for his daughter more and find out if she was really dead or not, then what kind of a father was he? Sarah would be better off without him and when he gets the chance, he and Sarah were going to talk about it. She needed to learn the harsh truth: her father made a careless decision and he had to pay for his mistakes. Sarah was strong enough, she could handle it.

The Winchesters finally arrived at a house in the country where Bobby was meeting them. Cicadas were buzzing like crazy when they pulled up and got out which they knew wasn't a good sign.

They walked over to where Bobby was leaning against the back of his car, who met them halfway. Sarah hugged his right leg, leaning against it.

"So, Bobby," Sam was the first to speak, "what do you think? We got a biblical plague here or what?"

Bobby was running his hand along the little girl's hair, "Well, let's find out," he replied and started walking towards the house. The Winchesters followed. "Looks like the swarm's ground zero."

Dean knocked on the door, shouting, candy gram, but there was no answer. So he took out his lockpick and unlocked the door. Once the door was open and the four of them stepped inside, a strong scent hit their nostrils.

Sarah coughed the most and held her hand over her nose and mouth as she used the other to reach behind and pull out the gun she had behind her as she followed her father deeper into the house. They continued to look around the house and they heard a woman scream on the other side of a closed door.

Sam and Dean burst through the door first, finding the source of the smell. The moment Sarah stepped in she had to rush outside and down the front steps to throw up in the dirt, trying hard to hold it in as she ran. Dean hurried outside after her and kneeled behind her. Even though watching her puke made him want to, Dean stayed there and rubbed her back as she stood there, keeled over with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath, only throwing up twice.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" asked Dean.

She nodded.

"I thought you had a strong stomach for this stuff?" he tried to tease her.

Sarah just glared back at him, not looking like she was in the mood to joke around.

Suddenly, they heard a creak from the pouch and both stood up, slowly, keeping their guards up. It didn't seem like it was Sam or Bobby as father and daughter made their way back up the steps, with their guns pointed towards the ground.

Realizing someone was behind them now, Dean and Sarah turned on their heels just as they were knocked around a couple times, before getting knocked off their feet. The two of them looked up to see an older man standing over them as he pointed a rifle at them. Dean quickly shielded his daughter with his arm as the man cocked the rifle.

Bobby came from around the corner as a woman hurried up beside the man. "Isaac? Tamara?" he asked, surprised to see them and walked over to them, ignoring Dean and Sarah.

"Bobby," the woman, Tamara replied, "What the hell are you doing here?"

He half laughed, "I could ask the same."

"Hey, how are you, Bobby?" The man, Isaac shook his hand, also glad to see him.

Dean raised his hand up between them. "Hello? Bleeding here," he told them.

The three of them looked down at the two of them.

"Oh, Sarah, are you all right?" Bobby asked, more concerned for the little girl. He helped her up and looked her over. Her nose was bleeding a little and there was a bruise already forming on the side of her forehead but that was it.

"I'm okay, Uncle Bobby," she assured him.

Dean had decided to help himself up. "I'm okay, too," he said.

After calling for someone to pick up the rotted corpses, Bobby and the Winchesters went with Isaac and Tamara to their house. While Dean spoke with the coroner on the phone, the rest of them tried to make small talk. Sarah ended up nudging Sam in the leg when he asked how Isaac and Tamara got started hunting and the two of them didn't answer. He quickly apologized.

Dean came in from a backroom, wrapping up his call. "That was the coroner's tech," he said when he hung up.

Sam asked, "And?"

"Get this," he replied, "That whole family, cause of death: dehydration and starvation. No signs of restraint. No violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got up."

"But there was a fully-stocked kitchen just yards away," Bobby shrugged.

"Right," Sam agreed. "What is this, a demon attack?"

"Well, whatever it is, it's not anything I've ever seen and I've seen plenty."

Dean asked, "What now? What should we do?"

"Uh, we're not gonna do anything," Isaac spoke up.

Sarah looked over at him, "What do you mean?"

"You guys seem nice enough," he said, "but this ain't _Scooby-Doo_ and we don't play well with others."

"Well, I think we'd cover more ground if we all work together," Sam told him.

"No offense, but we're not teaming with the damn fools who let the devil's gates get open in the first place."

Dean looked over at the man, raising his eyebrows, "No offense?" he asked of him.

"Isaac," Tamara told her husband, "Like you never made a mistake."

"Oh yeah," Isaac looked at his wife for a moment before looking at the rest of them, "Locked my keys in the car. Turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world."

Dean forced a snicker at that, "All right. That's enough. My daughter's only nine years old and was easily manipulated by a demon."

"Your daughter shouldn't even be out hunting in the first place," he snapped over at Dean.

Dean tried to take a step towards him but Bobby rushed over and held him back. He immediately stopped, looking over at Sarah who was beating herself up again.

"Look, there are couple hundred more demons out there now," Isaac continued. "We don't know where they are. When they'll strike. There ain't enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us. On all of us."

Tears were starting to fall from Sarah's eyes, not pleasing Dean in the slightest. He looked over at Isaac again, "I said, that's enough."

"Okay," Tamara spoke up, this time, "That's quite enough testosterone for now." She took her husband by the hand and led him out of the room.

Dean glared at Isaac until they were gone then turned his attention to his daughter again, lifting her up into his arms. It was bad enough Sarah was beating her own self up over releasing the demons from hell, but to have other hunters remind her of it, made Dean want to punch somebody.


	80. Chapter 80-The Magnificient 7 (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 80

The next day, the Winchesters and Bobby caught word of an attack in the town not far away and went to investigate. A woman was brutally murdered over a pair of shoes. Bobby went to talk with the woman who had murdered her while the Winchesters checked out the crime scene.

"Murdered? Over a pair of shoes? That's ridiculous," Sarah was saying as she and Sam watched as the police swabbed up some of the blood for evidence.

"People are crazy," Sam replied before they headed inside where Dean was talking to one of the store associates.

Sarah cleared her throat, loudly to get her father's attention.

"Excuse me a minute, would you?" Dean asked of the associate.

"Sure," she agreed and walked away as Sam let out a deep sigh.

Sarah stood there with her arms folded. "Can we ever go someone without you flirting with someone?" she asked of him.

He shrugged, "I was just comforting the bereaved."

"Uh huh, sure."

"What are you doing?" Dean asked her.

"Working the job," Sarah replied, "You know, with the whole psycho shopper killing for a pair of shoes, maybe could have been possessed. That sort of thing. What we do for a living."

Dean fake-coughed into his hand, "Baby Girl, I'm sorry. It's just, you know, I don't have that much time left, and, uh…" He fake-coughed again. "…I gotta make every second count."

Sarah was unmoved by her father as she stared up at him. "I'm not giving you any pity either, Dad, like I told Uncle Sam," she told him, shaking her head.

"Come on, you can feel a little pity for your dear ole dad, right?" Dean grinned and fake-coughed a couple more times.

Sarah turned her head away. Dean's grin left his face and frowned at his daughter. She was still mad at him all right. Bobby walked up to the Winchesters, dressed in a suit much like they wore sometimes, and no trucker's cap. He walked over and adjusted his tie in the mirror behind where Dean was standing.

Dean whistled at him, "Looking spiffy, Bobby. What were you, G-man?"

The older man turned around to look at the small family and walked in between them, "Returning from the DA's office. Just spoke to the suspect." Bobby turned around again.

Sam asked, "Yeah? What do you think then? Was she possessed?"

Bobby shook his head, "Don't think so. There's none of the usual signs. No blackouts, no loss of control. Totally lucid," he shrugged, "Just think she really wanted those shoes. Spilled a glass of holy water on her just to be sure. Nothing."

Sarah shrugged, "So now what? I mean, first that family and now this?"

He shrugged again, too, "I believe in a lot of things. Coincidences ain't one of them. Did any of you find anything around here?"

"No sulfur or anything," she replied.

"Well, maybe something," Dean said and looked back behind him at a surveillance camera before looking at his daughter. "See? I'm working," he told her.

Asking the store manager, the Winchesters and Bobby took a look at the surveillance tapes, watching as a man walked into the store and over to the suspect. Placing a hand on her shoulder, the man said something to her while looking over at the woman who was murdered.

The four of them split up. Sarah joined Sam to do some research on the random guy while Dean and Bobby looked around for him.

"Try not to be so cold towards your dad, Peanut," Sam was telling her as they walked along the sidewalk. "He still loves you."

"I know, it's just…Dad's gonna be gone in a year. I spent most of my childhood wondering about the man, praying for him to find me. I'm gonna miss him, Uncle Sam."

Sam reached down and lifted his niece up onto his opposite side as he continued walking. "I'm gonna miss him, too, Peanut," he told her and kissed her cheek.

Sarah suddenly looked up and caught a glimpse of a young, blond woman following them. She disappeared when someone walked passed her, carrying a large box.

"What is it, Peanut?" Sam asked and looked back behind him.

"I thought I saw someone following us," she replied.

Sam looked at her, "What did she look like?"

She shrugged, "I only caught a glimpse of her hair. It was long and blond."

The two of them stared at where the woman had disappeared.

After doing some research, Sam and Sarah met up with Dean and Bobby in a bar parking lot. Sam decided to scare the crap out of his brother before opening the car door. Sandwiching Dean in the seat, he climbed into the backseat after letting Sarah climb in first.

"So John Doe's name is, uh, Walter Rosen," Sam explained what they learned. "He's from Oak Park just west of Chicago, went missing about a week ago."

"The same night I opened the devil's gate," Sarah added.

"So you think he's possessed?" Dean asked over his shoulder.

"It's a good bet," replied Sam. "So what, he just walks up to someone, touches them and they go stark craving psycho or something?"

"Those demons that got out of those gates, they'll be able to do all kinds of things we haven't seen," Bobby shook his head.

"You mean, the demons I let out," Sarah corrected him.

Dean interrupted them, looking over at Walter Rosen getting out of his car, "Guys." They watched him for a moment before he said, "All right. Showtime."

"Wait a minute," Bobby told him.

He looked over at the older man, "What?"

Bobby looked back at him, "What did I just say? We don't know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him till we know for sure."

"Oh, so he kills someone and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?"

"We're no good dead," said Bobby, sternly. "We're not gonna make a move until we know what the score is."

"Uh, then you should probably tell them that," Sarah said as she watched Isaac and Tamara walk into the bar, too.

The men looked at who the little girl was referring to. Bobby hit the steering wheel in frustration, "Damn it."

Bobby and Dean jumped out of the car and hurried up to the bar's main doors and started ramming themselves against it when they saw it was locked. When that didn't work, they got back in the car once the other two had cleared out the trunk and Bobby backed up to drive his car through the doors, crashing right through.

Dean and Bobby jumped out again and threw holy water at the demons while Sam grabbed Tamara, helping her inside where Sarah held the front seat forward for her. Once Tamara was safely in the car, Bobby jumped back in, shutting his door. Sam hurried his brother along which Dean knocked out the one they were trailing and shoved him into the trunk, a devil's trap drawn on the inside of the trunk lid. He then hurried over and jumped back into the car, himself before Bobby floored it, heading back to Isaac and Tamara's house.

Tamara argued to go back for her husband. Sam tried to tell her they couldn't go back but she insisted. Dean agreed to go with her.

"It's suicide, Dean," Sam said after him.

"So what?" Dean asked over his shoulder. "I'm dead already."

"So what?" Sarah repeated to her father, angrily. "We can't even have a damn year with you now?"

"Besides, how are you going to kill them?" Sam added. "You can't shoot them. You can't stab them. They're not just gonna wait in line to get exorcised."

"I don't care!" Tamara screamed.

Sarah stepped towards her, "Look, I'm really sorry about this but your husband is already dead. There's nothing you can do. There's probably fifty of them hanging around."

"No," Bobby stepped towards them at that point as he held a book in his hands, "more like seven."

The others turned to look at him. "Seven?" Sarah asked.

"That's right, it's the seven deadly sins," he explained, looking between everyone. "Live and in the flesh."

Dean scoffed, "What's in the box?" He laughed at his own reference while the rest of them just stared at him. It was awkwardly quiet except for a few crickets from outside. "Brad Pitt? _Se7en_? No?"

Bobby just shoved the book into his hands.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Classification of demons," Bobby told him, "In 1589, Binsfeld ID'd the seven sins. Not just as human vices, but actual devils."

Sarah was surprised to hear that, "Really?"

Bobby nodded at her, "Yes."

"The family," Sam realized, "they were touched by Sloth. And the shopper."

"Envy?" she guessed.

"You bet," Bobby replied, "the customer we got in the next room. I couldn't suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched with an awful gluttony."

"I don't give a rat's ass if they're the Three Stooges or the Four Tops," said Tamara, angrily. "I'm gonna slaughter every last one of them."

Bobby got up close to her, "We already did it your way," he snarled. "You burst in half-cocked and look what happened. These demons haven't been top side in half a millennium. We're talking medieval, Dark Ages. We've never faced anything close to this. So we are gonna take a breath…" Bobby paused to breathe in and raised his voice, "…and figure out what our next move is!"

Tamara shifted on her feet, trying to find something to say as her lower lip quivered.

"I am sorry for your loss," he said, calmly and walked into the other room where the demon, Envy was tied up in a devil's trap.

Tamara followed.

Dean looked at his brother and daughter who followed, too.

Envy laughed, "So you know who I am, huh?"

Bobby walked in front of him, "We do. We're not impressed."

"Now, why are you here?" Sam walked in next. "What are you after?"

Envy didn't respond.

Dean was the last to walk in, still holding the book Bobby had thrust at him. "He asked you a question," he told the demon and slammed the book down on a table. "What do you want?"

Envy smirked over at Tamara and laughed. Bobby looked over Dean who unscrewed a cap on a holy water flask and flicked some holy water on him. The water burned his skin as Envy yelled out in pain.

"We already have what we want," he grunted with his head down and looked over at Dean.

Dean turned his head sideways, "What's that?"

Envy looked forward, "We're out." He looked around at the group. "We're free. Thanks to you my kind are everywhere." Envy looked back at Dean again. "We are legion, for we are many," he said and chuckled.

Sam looked over his right shoulder behind him. Sarah wasn't doing so good, herself. It was bad enough she let over two hundred demons get out, but to let out the seven deadly sins? She didn't know anything about them as demons, but by the sound of Bobby's voice, she knew it wasn't good. Not to mention she knew how bad sins were by themselves.

"So me, I'm celebrating," Envy continued, looking over at Sam. "Having a little fun."

Sam asked, "Fun?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Fun. See, some people crochet, others golf. Me…" he smirked. "I like to see people's insides…" Envy twisted his head to the side. "On their outside."

Bobby looked over at Tamara as she stepped towards Envy. "I'm gonna put you down like a dog," she snarled at him.

He only smirked, "Please" and laughed, looking around at the hunters. "You really think you're better than me? Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh?" Envy looked over at Dean, "What about you, Dean? You're practically a walking billboard of gluttony and lust." He switched over to Tamara. "And Tamara, all that wrath. Ooh. Tsk, tsk, tsk," he shook his head. "It's the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn't it? It's so much easier to drink in the rage…" Envy breathed in through his nose. "Then to face what really happened all those years ago."

Tamara suddenly lashed out at the demon, punching him twice in the jaw before Dean and Bobby held her back.

Envy tried to pop his jaw from the pain and laughed. "My point exactly. And you call us sins."

Dean let go and stepped towards him.

"We're not sins, man," Envy laughed. "We are natural human instinct." He looked over at Sam. "And you can repress and deny us all you want but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny, greedy…"

"We don't have horns, idiot," Sarah spat at him.

Dean tried his best to stifle a grin at his daughter's innocence. One had to love that kid.

"I would think living with your dad, you would know that word already," Envy told her. "Just look at you alone. You can try and label yourself, a Christian, Sarah. But I can see all that's inside you. Lust for daddy's approval, gluttony. And even some envy."

Sarah clenched her fists at her sides, feeling the same as Tamara had. Dean could sense what was coming and pulled his daughter away before she too latched out at him.

Envy just grinned as he watched then looked around the room. "The others," he said and sat back in his chair. "They're coming for me."

Dean was keeping a firm grip on Sarah's upper arms. He looked over at Envy, "Maybe…" and shrugged, "but they're not gonna find you because you'll be in hell." Dean stared at the demon and turned to lead Sarah out of the room. "Someone send this clown packing."

Sarah tried to break from her father's grip. "I will," she volunteered with passion.

"No, it'll be my pleasure," Tamara spoke up, glaring at the demon.

Sarah understood, what with Tamara's husband dying in the hands of those guys so she didn't argue. She wanted to so badly though and fought the urge to argue as her father continued to lead her from the room.

Sam and Bobby followed the two of them out of the room as Tamara started the exorcism. "I don't think we're gonna have to worry about hunting them," Bobby said once they were in the other room.

"What does that mean?" Sam asked.

"I think this joker's right," he nodded once. "They're gonna be hunting us, and they're not gonna quit that easy."

Dean looked over at Sam, "Guys, why don't you take Tamara and head for the hills. I'll stay back, slow them down, buy some time."

Sarah turned, swiftly to look up at her father. "What is with you all of a sudden, Dad? Are you that ready to jump in the pit?"

"There's six of them, Sarah," he told her. "We're outmanned, we're out gunned. We'll be dead by dawn."

"Maybe," Bobby shook his head, "but there's no place to run that they won't find us."

"Look," Sam added, "if we're going down, we're going down together, all right?"

Dean nodded at Bobby, "Let's not make it easy for them."

At that point, they heard Envy scream and a sudden wave of air blew the candles out behind Dean, shaking the house. Tamara slammed the book closed and headed over to the Winchesters and Bobby, letting them know the demon was gone and that the guy Envy was possessing did not make it.

They prepared for the next demon attack. Sarah loaded a salt-barreled shotgun up. She glanced up at her father who was doing the same. She couldn't believe he was checking out already. It felt like he didn't care anymore. Sarah had lost so much as it was and she couldn't bear to think her father was next. How could Dean just not care anymore?

Dean caught his daughter looking at him and looked back at her. He desperately wanted to talk to her, right then and there but not with Sam in the room, and Bobby close by. No, it had to be just the two of them. That's how it had been before. Sarah was the only one he was willing to share his feelings with.

His heart ached to see the pain and sadness in her eyes as she continued to stare at him. Dean did not want to leave his little girl all alone in the world but putting his brother ahead of her, he just couldn't forgive himself.

An old fashioned radio turned on by itself, making the Winchesters look over at its direction. Dean cocked his gun and stood up, "Here we go." The three of them walked over to the boarded-up window and peeked out through the boards.

Isaac's voice called out through the night for Tamara, pleading for her. Sarah turned around and pinned herself to the wall under the window. This must have been hard for Tamara to have to listen to. Sarah tightened her grip on her shotgun as it continued.

Suddenly, the three of them heard Tamara scream and saw her jump out the front door and tackle her husband down the steps, plunging the wooden stake into his chest. With the door open and the salt line broken, the other five demons rushed in. One went after Bobby while four of them hurried up the stairs.

It had taken some arguing but Dean had to agree to the three of them splitting up in hopes of getting a better chance of taking on the demons. Sarah stayed in the same room while Sam and Dean headed elsewhere.

The door burst open and in came two of the demons. "Here's Johnny," it smiled.

Sarah stood her ground, clutching the shotgun in her hands. "That is so old, dude," she told it. "Plus you didn't even do it right. You're supposed to bust a hole in the door, not bust down the whole thing."

The demons walked towards her, slowly. The one in front that had spoken raised his hand for the other one to stop. He looked up at the ceiling, smiling and then turned back to Sarah. "Come on," he said, his eyes black. "You really think something like that is gonna fool someone like me? I mean, me?"

"You must be pride," she guessed.

Pride smiled at her, cocking his head to the right as he raised his hand towards the ceiling. A large crack cut through the ceiling, breaking the devil's trap. "Mm. The root of all sin. And you…are Sarah Winchester." He took a few steps towards her.

Sarah stared at him, surprised he knew her name.

"That's right, I heard of you," he said. "We've all heard of you. The prodigy. The Girl Queen. Looking at you now, I gotta tell you, don't believe the hype. You think I'm gonna bow to a cut-rate, piss-pour human like you?" Pride raised his eyebrows at her, "I have my pride, after all."

"Why would a demon bow down to me?" Sarah questioned him.

"Well, with your yellow-eyed demon friend dead, I don't have to do a damn thing, do I? So it doesn't matter. You're fair game now and it's open season."

Sarah backed away, holding the shotgun up to the demon. He lunged towards her but Sarah dodged out of the way. This was not going as she had pictured it. Pride lunged at her some more until he was able to pin her to the wall, his hand around her neck. No one noticed the same girl Sarah had caught a glimpse of before, coming into the room and drew a knife from her right leg hoister.

The other demon had heard it and turned on the spot. His throat was slashed and died instantly as if he had been shot with the Colt, a glow illuminating from the wound and his mouth and eye sockets.

Sarah stared in amazement at a knife that could kill demons and began to wonder who this woman was. Her thoughts didn't stay focused for too long when Pride tightened his grip on his neck. That is, until he was stabbed in the back, releasing Sarah. She fell onto the floor, crouched as she tried to catch her breath.

She looked up at the mysterious woman that had helped her. "Thank you," Sarah told her and slowly stood up, reaching for her shotgun she had dropped. She wasn't about to drop her guard just yet. "Who are you?"

The woman looked back at her, "I'm the girl who just saved your little ass."

"I know that, but what's your name? You must be a hunter, right?"

The woman didn't respond. "See you around, Sarah." She turned and walked out of the room.

She also knew her name? What the heck? Was Sarah that famous? "Boy, now I know how Harry Potter feels," Sarah muttered to herself and tried to run after her. "Hey, wait up. You don't just save a person's life and then walk out on them. How do you know me? Who are you?" Sarah got out into the hallway and saw the woman was nowhere in sight.

Sarah continued down the hallway but all she found was her uncle finishing up his exorcism, sending another demon back to hell. There was no way that woman could up and disappear. Unless she wasn't human. Sarah didn't understand one bit of it and could not shake, thinking about it all the way through till the next morning as the adults laid out the dead bodies of the ones who didn't make it, into a large grave they dug.

Dean thought it was odd that the demons his daughter dealt with had stab wounds and tried to ask Sarah what had happened but Sarah didn't tell him anything. She wasn't sure what to make out of what had happened and wasn't sure she should tell her father either.

Sam and Dean poured gasoline over the corpses as Bobby walked up to them and looked over at Tamara, who was burning her husband's corpse.

"You think she's gonna be all right?" asked Sam.

"No, definitely not," Dean replied.

Bobby stopped on Dean's right side.

"Well, you look like hell warmed over."

Bobby ran his hand down his face. "Well, you try exorcising all night, see how you feel," he told him.

Sam asked, "Any survivors, Bobby?"

"Well, the girls, and the heavy guy, they'll make it," he answered. "Lifetime of therapy bills, but still."

Dean took out a set of matches. "That's more than you can say about these poor bastards," he said, taking a match out.

"I've been thinking," Sam said.

Dean asked, "About what?"

"If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else did we let out?"

"You mean, what else did _I_ let out?" Sarah corrected him.

"Peanut, stop it. We're all to blame for what happened, okay?" Sam told his niece. "You're just a kid. It wasn't just your fault."

"But I let the demon talk me into it. I stuck the Colt in the devil's gate and opened it. I let the demons get out," she argued with him.

Dean hated having to hear his daughter tear herself up over this. "Sam's right, Baby Girl. You thought everyone was dead. The demon lied and tricked you to do it. You did what you thought was right," he told her.

Sarah looked over at her father. "The last time I checked, hell was paved with good intentions, Dad."

"That's enough, Sarah Lynn. I don't want to hear any more of this. We are all responsible for something, not just you. You understand me?"

She looked down at the corpses.

"Do you understand me?" Dean repeated with more sternness.

"Yes, sir," Sarah glanced up at her father long enough to answer.

Dean lit all of the matches and tossed them down into the hole. All of the corpses caught fire and started to burn.

A little bit later, Tamara said good-bye to the Winchesters and Bobby, and headed off in her van on her own before Bobby turned to head for his own car. Sarah hugged his legs as Sam asked, "We can win this war, can't we?"

Bobby couldn't answer that and leaned over to kiss the top of Sarah's head before he walked over to slide into his car and drove away, waving at them. The Winchesters waved back.

Dean was the first to start walking towards the Impala, rubbing his hands together. "So where to?" he asked.

"Uh," Sam replied, walking beside him with his hands in his jeans pockets. "I don't know. I was thinking Louisiana, maybe."

"Little early for Mardi Gras, isn't it?" Dean asked.

Sarah was walking behind her father on his other side.

"Yeah," Sam muttered. "Listen, I was talking to Tamara and she mentioned this hoodoo priestess outside Shreveport that might be able to help us out, you know, with your…your demon deal."

Sarah looked up from staring at the ground, hopeful.

Dean shrugged, "Nah."

"'Nah?' What does that mean, nah?" he questioned his brother.

"Sam, no hoodoo spirit is gonna break this deal," Dean shook his head. "It's a goose chase."

"We don't know that."

"Yes, we do." Dean shook his head again. "Forget it, she can't help."

"Ain't it worth a try?" Sarah asked in a pleading manner.

"Sarah, we're not going and that's that," he told her.

"But…" she tried to plead.

"But, nothing. How about California, huh? We can visit Disneyland and ride the rides until we puke," he gently hit Sarah in the upper arm and headed for the Impala again.

Sam grabbed him by the arm, "You know what?" He threw up his hands. "I've had it."

Sarah agreed with her uncle.

"I've been bending over backwards trying to be nice to you and…" Sam shrugged, "I don't care anymore."

"That didn't last long," Dean replied.

"Shut it, Dad," Sarah told her father off.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "Excuse me, young lady?"

"I mean it, Dad," she said. "I understand how much you care about Uncle Sam and I, but how can you care so less about yourself? I saw you broken up over Grandpa. Shoot, that's the main reason why I had come clean. Because I knew you both deserved the truth. But after hearing that speech of yours that it wasn't natural or right and you go and do the same? That's called being a hypocrite, Dad. Not only that but now that you know I'm alive, you won't even give a crap that you're dying and I'm sorry for sounding selfish here, but…" Sarah's voice cracked, "but in a year, you will be gone and I'll still be here without you." A tear ran down her right cheek. "The one person that I can turn to with whatever and the one I look up to the most, is gonna be gone. What about me, huh? What am I supposed to do?"

Dean stared down at his daughter as she spilled out her feelings towards him. He could see just how broken up she was and hated having to leave her. Dean slowly kneeled down to her level, resting his right arm across his leg. "Listen to me, Baby Girl," he said, "I wanted to wait until no one else was around to talk to you. I know I'm your hero and all, but…" he looked down at the ground, squeezing his eyes shut as he tried to stifle his own tears. Dean slowly looked up, "I love you, you know that. But to think that I chose my own brother instead of thinking there was a chance you were alive. It's been eating me, inside and out. I deserve hell for the decisions I've made. Got it? I tried to be a better dad than mine was but in the end, I failed. Bottom line."

Sarah stared back at her father. She couldn't believe how her father felt. "But Dad…" she tried to argue.

"There's no other option, Baby Girl," he shook his head at her. "This is my last year. You can be mad all you want but I want to at least make it up to you."

"But can't we at least try and save you?"

"If we trap the crossroads demon. Trick it, try and welch our way out of the deal in any way, Sam dies. Okay?"

"Uncle Sam is supposed to be dead, though," Sarah pointed out, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Yes and I have considered that, but I still have to live with my decision and I can't live with that," he told her.

"Well, it's stupid," she replied, bitterly.

"Think what you want, but I'm not changing my mind."

Sarah looked up at her uncle, who gave her a painful smile that said he agreed with her. She looked down at the ground, her right fist clenching and suddenly, out of nowhere, Sarah socked her father in the side of the face. The brothers were shocked by what she had done.

Dean was knocked back, taken by surprise, landing on his right hand, staring at his daughter.

Sarah glared back but didn't say a word. Instead, she turned around and walked over to climb into the backseat, holding her monkey to her as she cried into its head.

Dean slowly rose to his feet as he watched his daughter walk away. He looked over at his brother before staring down at the ground. It hurt to watch his daughter feel the way she was feeling. Dean knew Sarah loved her uncle but Sam was supposed to be dead. Dean couldn't live with himself anymore. What's done is done and he had to pay for it.


	81. Chapter 81- The Kids are Alright (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 81

Sam and Sarah sat in a restaurant waiting on Dean. Sam had his laptop open trying to decipher an ancient ritual he and Bobby found that could break Dean's deal. Over the last few weeks, the two of them secretly continued to find a way to save Dean without Sam having to die again. Nothing seemed to work though. Sarah hated having to say it but she kept going back to the possibly of Sam just accepting death. Sam wouldn't have any of it. They were going to try every single, possible thing in the book before they even considered it.

Meanwhile, there had been no communication between Dean and Sarah. They each slept on two different sides of the bed when they slept in motel rooms. Somehow though, they always seem to wake up with Dean's arm wrapped, protectively around her and Sarah snuggled up against him.

Dean wasn't angry or upset with his daughter in any way, but Sarah just felt hurt by how her father was feeling. How little he valued his own life and how he couldn't forgive himself. Sarah tried to be angry with him but the more she thought about losing her father to hell, the more she longed to hug him. So Sarah didn't give up, she kept helping her uncle and Bobby figure out a way to break Dean free of the deal. There had to be a way. There just had to be and Sarah prayed on it, day in and day out.

Dean tapped on the glass next to the table to get their attention and walked into the restaurant, asking Sam who he was talking to on the phone.

"Oh, I was just ordering pizza," Sam quickly answered.

Sarah slowly turned to look at her uncle as if to ask, "Really? That's the best excuse you can come up with?"

Dean stared at him, strangely. "Dude, you do realize you're in a restaurant?"

Sam tightened his folded arms, leaning on them. "Yeah. Yeah, oh, yeah," he said. "I just felt like pizza, you know?"

Sarah covered her eyes as she shook her head at the table.

Dean looked between the two of them and looked over at Sam, "Okay, Mister Weirdy McWeirderton." He sat down in his own chair and pushed it closer to the table. "So I think I got something."

Sam looked at him with eagerness, "Yeah?"

Dean opened a newspaper. "Cicero, Indiana," he read and tossed it over in between Sam and Sarah. "Guy falls on his own power saw."

Sarah looked at the newspaper then over at her father. "Okay, that doesn't sound anything supernatural. Maybe the guy's just clumsily, you know. Or could be he's just suicidal. He could have even tripped and fell on it by accident. Not really much to go on for it to be called a case."

"Okay, fine. There's something better," Dean admitted.

"What's that?" she asked.

"An old friend, we'll leave it at that," he told her.

"Let me guess, another old girlfriend?"

Dean leaned back against his seat, placing his right arm across the back of the chair next to him, "No, why would you think that?"

"Because the last time we met one of your old friends, it turned out to be an old girlfriend that broke up with you," Sarah reminded him of Cassie.

"That was one time," he replied. "How could you possibly think this was an old girlfriend?"

"Because you don't have any guy friends," she said, "and all you do is flirt with every girl that comes into contact with you. I swear you remind me of a rabbit I saw once when Mark took me camping the summer before he was deported."

Dean sat there for a moment before he said, "Remind me why I decided to have the talk with you already?"

"Because you were frustrated with all the questions I was asking you," Sarah reminded her father.

Sam laid his right arm across the back of Sarah's chair, "So let me get this straight," he said. "You wanna drive all the way to Cicero just to hook up with some random chick?"

"She was a yoga teacher," Dean corrected him.

Sarah crossed her arms, "How long ago was the last time you saw her?"

"Uh, about eight or nine years," he replied. "Why?"

"Okay, what if you get there and she's married to a jealous man who doesn't know about her past?" she asked and raised an eyebrow at her father.

"Kid's got a point there," Sam pointed out.

"Come on, you two," Dean pleaded with them. "Have a heart, huh. It's my dying wish."

"Yeah, well, how many dying wishes are you gonna get?" he laughed, looking down at the table.

"As many as I can squeeze out," he said.

Sarah leaned back with her arms still crossed. "I'd say let him. I bet fifty bucks she's married with a family now."

Dean shrugged, "Fine. I will take you on that bet." He held his hand over the table for his daughter to shake on, sure of himself. From what he remembered of her, there was no way the girl was married.

Sarah leaned forward and accepted the handshake. "Uncle Sam's the witness," she shook her head over in Sam's direction.

"Where are you gonna get fifty dollars if your dad wins the bet?" Sam asked his niece.

"Uncle Bobby gives me money for helping him out with the cars when I stay with him," she replied.

Dean held his arms out, "Then why do you ask me for an allowance then?"

Sarah looked over at her father. "Really, Dad? I'm with you guys more than I stay with Uncle Bobby."

"Yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes, smiling as he looked away. "Con artist."

After grabbing a bite to eat, the Winchesters hit the road again. On the way there, Sam had Sarah work on some of her homeschool stuff the whole way. They started on math but Sarah breezed right through the division and fraction pages. Sam also had Sarah read another chapter of the book, _Holes_ they had been working on and came up with questions for her to answer afterwards. Sarah ended up finishing the book.

Once they drove into Cicero, Indiana, Dean dropped the two of them off at a motel and took off for his "special" friend's house as Sarah was calling her. Sam rented a room for the three of them and dropped their stuff off in their room.

"Peanut, before you get comfortable, we're gonna run across the street to the gas station," Sam told his niece. "Grab the drinks then we'll come back here and I'll order pizza for dinner."

"I'm tired though. Can I stay here while you go?" she asked.

Sam stood there with his hands on his sides and looked away. "You know how your dad feels about you being alone," he reminded her, looking back at her.

"Yeah, but I'm older now and know how to protect myself. Come on, nothing bad will happen. Did you look at this town? It's Suburban City out there. Please," she begged.

Sam started biting a part of his lower lip, contemplating it in his head. He didn't want to leave his niece all alone. It was just across the street and he would only be gone for ten minutes. "Fine, you can stay." Sam held his left hand out, pointing at her, "but do not tell your dad I let you stay by yourself."

"Trust me, there's a lot of things Dad doesn't know," she assured him.

"Like what?" he asked, folding his arms at her.

"Uh…I mean, I love you, Uncle Sammy," Sarah smiled when she realized she had basically ratted on herself and tried to butter her uncle up.

Sam just rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss his niece on the forehead. "I will be right back, okay? Lock the door and don't answer it for anybody." He stood up and headed for the door. "And no TV until that book report is finished."

Sarah stood up and slumped after her uncle to lock the door behind him. "Yes, Uncle Sam," she told him in monotone. She was really hoping to be able to watch some TV.

"I'll be quick as I can," he told her and closed the door.

Sarah locked both locks and wandered back over to the beds to sit down on the edge, digging into her duffel bag for her homeschool spiral notebook, taking the pencil from inside the spiral and opened it to where she had started her book report.

"Hello, Sarah," a woman's voice greeted her from the other bed.

Sarah looked up from her notebook to see the woman who had saved her back on the last hunt. She jumped up and started inching her way towards her uncle's backpack. Sam usually kept a knife or two in there. "It's you again. How did you get in here? Why are you following me?"

The woman ignored her, looking around the motel room. "I've been waiting to get you alone so I could have a chat with you."

"Why?" she asked still inching over to the bag while keeping an eye on the woman lying there.

The woman shrugged, "I have a soft spot for the kiddies." She watched Sarah for a couple seconds. "You can stop, you don't need a weapon."

"How can I be sure? My dad says never to let your guard down until you're one hundred percent sure you're in the clear."

"I'm here to help you, Sarah." The woman told her.

Sarah eyed her, suspiciously, "Help me with what?"

"For starters, I can break your dad out of his deal."

Sarah whipped her uncle's knife from the backpack. "How do you know about that?"

"Word gets around fast these days," she shrugged.

"By who? Tell me who you are," Sarah demanded.

She shrugged, "The name's Ruby. There, satisfied."

Sarah shook her head, her fingers twisted around the handle of the knife. She didn't want to kill a living, human being but if her life was at stake, she would. Sarah was learning fast. "Are you a hunter?"

"I guess you can say that," Ruby shrugged again, sitting up straight, now.

"Where did you get that knife?" she asked. "I never once read about any knife that could kill a demon like the Colt can."

"That's because it's my own weapon."

There was a short silence. Sarah stared at the blond woman sitting on the bed, smirking at her. Finally, Sarah said, "Well?"

She asked, "Well, what?"

"How can we break my dad's deal? You said it, now start talking." At that point, a cough came up. For the past couple of days, Sarah's throat had been feeling a little sore, and now and then, a cough came through. Sarah didn't think anything of it. Rarely, did she get sick. It was probably a common cold that would pass soon.

Ruby leaned forward on her forearms, "All you have to do, Sarah, is a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"From time to time, I check in. Help each other, that kind of thing." Ruby leaned back on her hands.

"Help with what?"

"You're a special kid, Sarah. Yellow Eyes may be dead but there are still big plans for you," Ruby explained.

"What kind of plans?"

"I don't know, I've been trying to figure that myself. But if we work together, we might be able to. How about it? Deal?"

"I don't even know you. Why should I automatically assume you're safe to trust? Just because you can help my dad? No thanks. After recent events, I don't trust that easily anymore," Sarah scowled at her.

"Fine, don't trust me. Let your dad get mauled by hellhounds and take a one-way trip to hell," Ruby told her. "Like father, like son. Am I right? And you will be able to have front row seats, so you'll see everything." She smirked at the little girl.

"Not anymore," Sarah said. "Ever since Yellow Eyes died I haven't had any nightmares or visions. My mind thing's even gone."

A sound of a key unlocking the door was heard, getting both their attention.

Ruby looked over at Sarah and smirked, "I know you hate your cousin's guts right now, but why don't you give him a call. I have a hunch it might help with the night Yellow Eyes first met you as a baby. And one more thing, you do realize there's a job here, right?" And with that, Ruby was gone, right as Sam came through the door, carrying a plastic bag of drinks.

Sam stopped, holding the doorknob in his right hand and stared over at his niece, who was standing in between the beds, holding his knife in her hand. "Everything okay, Peanut?" he asked, worried.

Sarah was looking at him. She looked down at the knife and tossed it onto the bed. "Yeah," she replied and leaped back onto the bed behind her. "I just thought I heard something outside."

"It sounded like you were talking to someone in here. Was someone here?" Sam asked, shutting the door behind him and walked over to set the bag of drinks on the table.

"Uh, nope. Just me. I was…talking to myself. I do that sometimes when I'm alone," she lied.

Sam looked at his niece, strangely. "Okay, Peanut," he told her, letting it go.

Sarah let out a quiet breath of air, relieved. She then thought about what Ruby had told her, not really sure she could trust her. But Sarah was curious though and as much as she hated the idea, her mother did tell Mark everything. They were pretty much best friends, after all. The question was, though, if Mark knew something then why didn't the yellow-eyed demon kill him, too like he had killed her mother?

Sam ordered the pizza which the two of them didn't have much time to wait. Dinner was in silence as Sarah contemplated the idea of calling her second-cousin. A couple times, Sarah would cough again, concerning Sam.

He reached over and felt Sarah's forehead. "You feeling all right, Peanut?" he asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, probably just a minor cold. I'll be fine." Sarah continued eating.

Towards the end of the meal, Dean called Sam's cell phone, telling him there was a job in town. Dean explained how there were more freak accidents that didn't even make the paper, all of men.


	82. Chapter 82- The Kids are Alright (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 82

The next morning, Sam and Dean split up to gather research to figure out what they were up against. To Dean's surprise, Sarah went with him. They drove to a couple of the victim's houses and talked to the mothers and inspect where the accidents took place. Sarah asked questions along with her father but on the car ride she was quiet except for a minor cough or two.

Dean looked over every time she coughed. "What's wrong, Baby Girl?" he asked, switching back and forth between Sarah and the road. "You're been coughing quite a bit since last night."

Sarah coughed again. "I'm fine," she assured her father. "Just a minor cold."

"Minor cold, my ass." He reached over to feel her forehead. "Those are getting more and more hoarse as you keep coughing." Dean pulled his hand back, not feeling a fever. "Maybe you should sit this job out. We can head back to the motel."

"I said I'm fine, Dad," Sarah repeated, annoyed. "It's nothing, I swear."

Dean looked between the road and Sarah, "You sure?"

"Yes."

Dean let it go but decided to keep a watchful eye on her. Not only that but he couldn't help stare at his daughter like he was trying to examine each of her features and mannerisms. It had turned out that Sarah was half right. The girl he came to see wasn't married but she had a son a year younger than Sarah. Both kids loved classic rock like Dean did, both of them loved cars like he did. Did he have two kids instead of one? Was it possible Sarah could have a half-brother?

Dean pulled up to the side of the road and parked. The two of them got out and went over to another victim's house and spoke to her, pretty much hearing the same story as the first.

On the way back to the Impala, Sarah coughed the biggest cough she had so far, concerning Dean more.

"Baby Girl, I really think you should sit this out. I think you're getting sick," he told her.

"It's just a cough, Dad. That's it. I'm fine, okay," she said.

"You're not fine, Sarah. It sounds like you're trying to cough up a lung."

Sarah kept walking, ignoring her father. When she reached the Impala, she happened to look over at a kid around her age, sitting on a bench. His head was down. Sarah could feel something was wrong and wanted to see if she could help. "I'll be right back, Dad," she told her father and walked over to the kid.

Dean looked over at where she was heading and recognized the kid as his friend's son he met the day before and followed after his daughter.

Sarah sat down on the bench beside him. "Hi, I'm Sarah," she introduced herself.

"I'm Ben," the kid replied.

"What's wrong, Ben?" Sarah asked, concerned as Dean walked up.

"Hey, Ben," he greeted the kid.

Ben looked over at Dean. "Hey," he said, "you were at my party."

Sarah looked between her father and Ben. Dean hadn't told Sam or Sarah what had happened when he met up with his friend. It was strictly job-related. "You two know each other?"

Dean walked over to sit on Sarah's other side. "We met yesterday," he told her and turned his attention to Ben. "I'm Dean."

Ben looked down for a second before he stared over at a group of kids. Sarah knew that look anywhere, from being bullied once or twice, herself. She looked over where he was staring and looked back at him, noticing the empty carrying case in his hands.

"Those kids over there steal your game, huh?" Sarah nodded at the case.

He nodded. "Ryan Humphrey borrowed it. Now he won't give it back."

"Want me go get it for you?" she asked.

Dean offered, too.

"No, don't go over there," Ben told them suddenly. "Only bitches send a girl or a grown-up."

Dean raised his eyebrows at him, "You're not wrong," he said, receiving an elbow to the stomach. It wasn't too painful though.

Ben shook his head, leaning back, "And I am not a bitch."

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other before they looked over at the group of boys again. "Is Ryan the one who needs to lay off the chocolate cake?" Sarah asked Ben.

Ben looked up at the boy, smiling a little and nodded.

Sarah explained to Ben what her father had taught her about using their small size to their advantage. Dean threw in a few suggestions, too. When Ben understood what to do, he stood up and walked over to the group of boys. He looked back one last time where Dean and Sarah gave him a thumb's up before he looked forward and got Ryan's attention.

The two of them watched as Ben asked for his game back. When Ryan stepped closer to him, Ben didn't say a word and acted like he was going to walk away before he kicked Ryan in the private area and pushed him down. Once Ryan was on the ground in pain, Ben took his game back and hurried back over to Sarah and Dean.

"Dude, that was awesome," he said, cheerfully.

"Up high," Dean told him, exchanging high fives with him.

Sarah held her hand up to him, too which Ben accepted. "Nice one, Ben," she praised.

Suddenly, a woman walked over as Ben sat down in his same spot, "Benjamin Isaac Braeden. What's gotten into you?"

"He stole my game," Ben tried to protest.

"So you kick him?" she asked of him. "Since when is…?" She looked over at Dean, realizing who was sitting there. Dean looked away which Sarah hadn't noticed.

"Please, ma'am," Sarah tried to stick up for the kid. "It was my idea. Ben didn't want my dad or me to go over there so I told him about sticking up to a bully."

Ben's mother looked between Dean and Sarah. "Please don't teach my son anything," she told Sarah and turned on Dean, grabbing him up to talk to him privately.

Sarah or Ben couldn't hear what the adults were saying but Sarah tried, leaning forward a little and tried to play it cool when Ben's mother walked over to take a hold of his hand.

Dean tried to call out to her, "Lisa."

"Please, leave us alone." Ben and his mother walked away.

Sarah watched them go as she stood up until Ben suddenly bolted back to hug her and Dean, thanking them. Sarah couldn't help feel a sense of protectiveness for the kid. Something about Ben made her wonder but could not figure out why.

Dean noticed Sarah watching Ben walk away to rejoin his mother. When Ben and his mother, Lisa was gone he told Sarah to sit down and kneeled in front of her. "Baby Girl, you know how we came here so I could see an old friend of mine?" he began.

Sarah nodded, "Yeah. Was that her?"

He nodded. "And remember when I said it had been eight years since I last saw her?"

"Dad, where are you going with this?" she asked, looking at him, suspicious.

Dean looked at the ground as he sighed. "She said he wasn't but there might be a chance that…." He paused.

"A chance for what?"

"Ben could be your brother," he finally let out.

Sarah sat there in shock. Her eyes grew wide at what her father just told her. "I might have a brother? Like…like you?" she asked.

"Well, half-brother," Dean corrected her.

Sarah looked over her left shoulder where Lisa and Ben had gone.

"Look, I understand if you're angry but don't take it out on them, okay?" he continued. "Maybe Ben isn't your brother. Maybe I'm over thinking the whole thing, who knows. But what I do know is that nothing will ever change between us. I am still your dad and no matter what I will always love you. Even if I do have another kid, I wouldn't love you any less than them, I swear."

Sarah looked forward again and up at her father. Her thoughts were slowly wrapping around the possibly of having a brother, that she wasn't an only child.

"You probably won't have to share me though. I don't think Ben's mom appreciates me being here." Dean forced a smile for his daughter.

Sarah coughed to the side, into the side of her fist. "I know it sounds selfish and I hate myself for thinking it but I don't want to have share you. I mean, I have to share you with Uncle Sam… I don't know, it's different," she looked down at her lap.

Dean wrapped his arms around her, on the bench. "You just don't want someone else calling me, dad," he smiled. "You're still my baby girl though and you always will be."

Sarah looked up at her father again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry about being distance from you the last couple of weeks and pushing you away when all you wanted was to spend time with me. And I'm sorry for hitting you. It's just…it…it's hard to accept the fact you're gonna be gone in a year. How can I have all this fun with you when I know it'll be over this time, next year? How can I live with that?"

Dean held his daughter in his arms, trying to fight off his own tears. "I know, Baby Girl. I know," he assured her. "It'll be alright, I promise. You'll have Sam and Bobby, and Ellen, maybe Jo. You have so many others who love you, too and will take care of you."

"But what about you?" she sniffed from his left shoulder, wiping her eyes. "I love everyone, too but I want my dad."

He held onto her tighter. He couldn't do it anymore, the tears were just too strong and they fell from his eyes.

Sarah could tell her father was crying by the sound of his breathing and tried to lighten the mood. "It would be kind of cool having a little brother to pick on and watch out for," she tried to say with a slight grin.

Dean couldn't help smile either and let go to look at her. "If it's any consolation, I think you'd make a great big sister," he told her.

Sarah smiled at her father and hugged him again. "I love you, Dad," she said from his shoulder.

"I love you, too, Baby Girl," he replied and held her once more, finally noticing three kids staring over at him, creepily.

After a long day of research, Dean decided to grab a bite to eat from a local diner, finally spending some quality time with his daughter. They talked and laughed through the whole meal, grossing out the other people eating with a burping contest. The way Dean and Sarah were laughing though, one would think they were the only two people there. It felt great to Dean to be able to laugh again and have some fun with his daughter. It ended when Sam called to ask where they were and to let them know what he had found.

While Dean paid the bill, Sarah headed for the restroom. However, she was gone for an awful long time, worrying Dean. He walked over to the restroom and knocked, putting his ear to the door.

"Sarah, what's taking so long?" he called through the door.

The door opened and Sarah walked out, smiling up at him. "Sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to take so long," she told him and hugged his legs. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too, Baby Girl," he told her, taken by surprise. Sarah wasn't the one to suck up like that. Dean could sense something was wrong but couldn't put his finger on it. "Come on, Sam's waiting for us."

The two of them headed out to the Impala and drove to the motel. The whole time, Dean kept noticing how much Sarah was smiling at him and not in a cute, adorable way.

When they returned to the motel room, Dean unlocked the door to find Sam on his laptop at the table. "Something's wrong with the kids in this town, including this one," he said as Sarah walked inside the room and went over to sit down on one of the beds.

Sam glanced over at Dean then over at Sarah who glared back at him. "Hey, Peanut, something wrong?" he asked his niece.

Sarah stayed silent.

Sam shared a look with his brother who was removing his jacket, tossing the keys on the table. "So, what do you know about changelings?" he asked Dean who had gone into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. So Sam had to wait. He couldn't help feel some tension coming from his niece who was still glaring at him, giving him a sinking feeling in his gut.

Sam looked back at his screen, quickly scanning what he had been reading. It was the mothers getting chomped on in that town, not the fathers. Sarah's mother wasn't around so there was no way she could be affected. Unless….Sarah was close to Dean. Sam jumped from his seat over to the window, throwing it open. He looked down to try and spot any kind of blood but everything was clean. Although, Sarah was just fine, this morning.

Sam turned back to his niece to see her standing now. "Go away, Daddy and I don't want you here," she told her uncle. "It's all your fault."

"You're not Sarah," Sam realized.

"Go away!"

Sam did not know what to do.

Sarah started towards Sam, staring him down as he backed away. When she walked past a duffel bag one of the brothers had left on the floor, Sarah reached inside and pulled out a knife, holding the blade out towards Sam. "We don't want you here. It's all your fault Daddy's going to hell."

Sam swallowed hard, trying to remind himself that it wasn't really his niece. When Sarah lunged for him, he grabbed her wrists, firmly. Sarah tried with all her strength to shove the knife towards the towering giant of a guy but Sam wouldn't budge.

"You're not my niece," he told it.

At that point, Dean came rushing out of the bathroom, spotting his little girl holding a knife to his brother. "What the hell?"

Sarah quickly stopped, dropping the knife on the floor. She rushed right over and hugged her father's legs to her. "Make him go away, Daddy," she cried into his right leg. "He was mean to me. Make him go away."

Dean looked from his daughter to Sam, then back to her. "It looked like you were trying to stab him," he pointed out.

"I had to," she sniffed. "He was trying to hurt me first. I don't want him here. Make him go away."

Dean unhooked her arms and kneeled to her level. "What's gotten into you?" he asked of her.

"I want it to be just the two of us. Nobody else. I want Uncle Sam to go away forever."

"You don't mean that, Sarah. You know Sam loves you and you love him, too."

"It's not Sarah, Dean," Sam told his brother, glancing at him as he stared at what looked like his niece. "It's a changeling."

Dean stared over at Sam. "But I thought changelings were babies."

"Not necessary. Changelings can perfectly mimic children. According to lore, they climb into the window and snatch them. There were marks on one of the kids' houses, looked to me like blood, and I'm guessing if we look at the windows where you and Sarah just were, we would probably see one there, as well."

Dean stood up. "So the changeling grabs the kid, assumes its form, joins the happy fam just for kicks?"

"Not quite. Changelings feed on the mom usually."

"But Sarah's mom not around, why would it snatch her up?" he asked.

Sam shrugged, "Beats me. Maybe how close you guys are. You got any odd bruises on the back of your neck?"

Dean reached back, feeling around the back of his neck. "No, I don't feel anything." He looked down at Sarah who was staying back at him. "What did you do with my daughter?" he asked, coldly.

"He's lying, Daddy. I am your daughter. He's the changeling."

"Yeah, right. Where is she, you son of a bitch?"

Sarah just hugged his leg, once again.

"How can we be sure if it's her or not?" he asked Sam.

"Its true form will show in a mirror," Sam said.

Dean moved back into the bathroom, dragging Sarah along with him, pulling her in front of the sink. Sure enough, her reflection showed a corpse-like face with a hole where her mouth should be.

"Daddy, you're hurting me," she told Dean, who's gripped had tightened when he saw it wasn't his little girl's reflection.

"Sam, how do we waste these things?" Dean asked.

Sam had grabbed the keys from where Dean left them and was already rushing out to the Impala.

Sarah was trying to plead with him. "Daddy, please don't let Uncle Sam hurt me. Please, Daddy." There were actual tears in her eyes.

"You're not my little girl," he said, bitterly. "Where is she?"

"Daddy," she continued to plead. This was not easy on Dean.

Sam rushed back inside, carrying one of their fire canisters and a lighter. "Dean, we need to get it outside. Fire's the only way to kill it."

Dean looked from his brother back to the changeling, who looked at him with his daughter's puppy-dog expression. He had to remember that it wasn't really his little girl and quickly lifted the changeling up, carrying her outside to the parking lot. No one was around as they stood in the middle, away from any cars.

Dean set the changeling down on its feet, stepping back.

"I love you, Daddy."

He stared at the changeling. Not taking his eyes from it, he reached out towards where Sam was standing behind him. "Let me see it," he said in a serious tone.

"Are you sure, Dean? I can do it," Sam assured him.

"I'm your baby girl, Daddy. I love you so much. Really, I do. Please don't let him hurt me."

Dean took the canister. "Don't worry, I won't…" he flicked the lighter on. "…because I am. No one impersonates my baby girl and gets away with it." Soon, flames lit up the parking lot, burning the changeling to nothing. Dean flinched when he heard his daughter's screams but told himself that it wasn't really Sarah. It helped his nerves when Sam assured Dean that Sarah was still out there, hidden underground somewhere.

Sarah slowly sat up, holding her head. She peered around through the darkness, trying to figure out where she was and realized she was in some sort of cage. There were other cages around too, with dark figures huddled inside. She quickly took out her flashlight and turned it on, shining it into the other cages.

"Are you all okay?" she asked when she saw they were all kids like her, sitting on her legs. They whimpered, nodding their heads at her when Sarah shined the light on each of them. "Don't worry, my dad, uncle, and I, we're gonna get you out of here. Have you seen what took us?"

"It's a monster," one of the kids replied, wanting to cry.

"Sarah? Is that you?" a familiar voice said in the cage behind her.

Sarah turned around and shined the flashlight inside the cage. It was Ben. "Ben?" she asked, surprised. "They took you, too?"

He nodded. "What's going to happen to us?"

"Nothing, Ben," she tried to assure him. "Everything's gonna be just fine, I promise." Sarah stood up onto her knees to dig out her father's lockpick she swiped from him, one time. Sometimes, being a pickpocket really did pay off.

Sticking her hands through the cage, Sarah started picking at the lock that held her cage closed, holding the flashlight upward, between her knees. After five minutes, the lock finally clicked and Sarah was able to crawl out. She hurried over to Ben's cage first and picked at his lock.

After forty minutes, Sarah had every lock picked. With Ben's help, surprisingly, she kept the kids calm as they figured out how to bust out. She noticed a window but wasn't sure how they would reach it. It was Ben who pointed out a bucket they could stand on. Sarah and Ben carried it over and set it down underneath the window where Sarah stood on it and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.

Sarah jumped down and looked around for something to break the window. There were some tools inside a toolbox in one of the corners so Sarah grabbed a hammer out of it and rushed back to jump onto the bucket again.

"Back up!" she ordered the other kids who listened, including Ben before she smashed the hammer through the window, shielding her own face and used it to knock the rest of the glass out.

At that point, Dean was there at the window. "Sarah? Is that you?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, Dad. All the kids are here too," she told him and removed her jacket to lay it on the window. Sarah jumped down and helped the first kid up. Ben jumped in to help, too, making sure they got up where Dean could pull them out. Dean couldn't help notice how similar the two of them were at that moment.

When the last of the kids were out, Sarah told Ben to go first. As Ben climbed up, Sam hurried in. "Dean, there's a mother," he yelled.

Sarah looked back at her uncle, quickly. "A mother what?" she asked.

"Changeling, that's what took you and the other kids," Sam quickly explained.

"Uncle Sam, there's a woman over in that cage. I picked the lock but she can't move."

"Where?" he asked, looking around.

Sarah pointed to a cage at the far end, "There." Sam turned around to find the changeling standing there.

The changeling knocked Sam back. Once Ben was outside, Dean squeezed through the window and lifted his daughter up from behind her, up to the window and pushed her through.

"Dad, I can't help?" she asked of her father.

"Help keep the other kids safe. Go, Sarah!" he ordered her.

Sarah nodded. She grabbed her jacket and jumped to her feet and hurried over to where the kids were standing, throwing her jacket back on. "Everyone still okay?" she asked.

They nodded.

One of the girls screamed when she saw a changeling that looked exactly like one of the boys. Sarah jumped in front of the other girl and shielded the kids, but didn't know what to do. Of all the monsters she read about, Sarah didn't recall coming across anything on changelings.

"It's okay, everything's gonna be just fine." Sarah assured them. She glanced over and noticed her father's duffel bag on the ground but it was over by the window. She didn't want to leave the other kids unprotected. Plus, she wasn't even sure if guns would work on the changeling.

Suddenly, the changeling burst into flames and was gone. Sarah blew a sigh of relief and turned around to check on the kids again, making sure they were all right. Soon, Sam and Dean joined them, carrying the real woman out and set her on the ground.

Sarah ran over and jumped into her father's arms.

"Oh, Sarah. Thank God you're all right, Baby Girl," he said, squeezing her tight and kissed the side of her head before putting her down. "Are the other kids okay?"

Sarah nodded, "Terrified out of their mind and I'm sure there will be weeks of nightmares after tonight, but they're just fine."

Ben was standing there, too.

Dean smiled over at him and touched the side of his head. "You okay, Ben?" he asked.

He nodded, "Thanks to Sarah."

"You helped, too," Sarah pointed out to the boy.

"But you did most of it."

Dean smiled at the two of them. If only….He shook his head from his thoughts and stood up, straight. They made sure the kids and the woman got home, safely before taking Ben home.

On the drive to Ben's house, Sam who was driving this time looked over, between him and Dean, to see Sarah and Ben asleep. What surprised Sam was the fact she had her arm wrapped, protectively around him like Dean used to do when they were kids.

"Dean," he said, quietly, getting his brother's attention and nodded down at the kids.

Dean looked down at the kids. It was the most amazing sight he had ever seen, aside from Sarah's first target practice back at Bobby's house. He smiled. Neither of the men disturbed the kids until Sam pulled into the driveway of Ben's house and Dean woke both of them up.

Lisa was running towards them as Ben was sliding out of the front seat. Dean shut the car door after Sarah. Ben ran to his mother who hugged him to her.

"What the hell just happened?" she demanded of Dean.

"I'll explain everything if you want me to," he told her. "But trust me, you probably don't. Important thing is that Ben's safe." Dean touched the boy's head again.

Lisa looked at her son and over at Dean again. "Thank you," she said and hugged him. "Thank you."

Sarah cleared her throat, loudly, or tried to until another cough came up.

Lisa stepped back when Sam said, "I'm gonna give you guys some time. Come on, Peanut." He gestured for his niece.

Sarah looked over at her uncle and then over at her father. She didn't want to leave but her father gave her a nudge towards the car.

"I'll be there in a little bit, Baby Girl," he assured her. "We're not staying long, you know that."

Sarah gave in and turned to Ben to say good-bye, hugging him before walking back to the Impala. Sam pulled out of the driveway and headed back to the motel where he headed into the bathroom first.

While he was in there, Sarah remembered what Ruby had said and went over to grab the phone, dialing her second cousin's phone number, making sure to dial *67 first to block the number.

Mark picked up on the third ring. "This is Mark," he said.

Sarah hesitated at first. "Mark, it's Sarah."

"Sarah? Where are you? We've been looking everywhere for you," he said, suddenly.

"Not important right now." Sarah got down to business but kept her voice down and alert for her uncle. "You and Mom were best friends. I want to know about what happened the night Aunt Kyra died or anything Mom told you that would be linked to it."

"Why?" Mark questioned.

Sarah tried to hold in her frustration. "Just tell me, Mark. I don't have a lot of time here," she hissed. "Did Mom say anything about it? Did she know it would happen?"

She could hear Mark sigh. "I told your mom to get an abortion and I thought I had finally talked her into it, too."

"Gram said someone talked her out of it," Sarah said.

"Yes, some guy with yellow contacts. He said he could sense something special about you. I told your mom he must have been loony to be talking about what sounded like fortune teller stuff but she said she had no choice. You had to be born. Guess maybe God has something big planned for you or something. Hey, who knows, maybe that was an angel." Mark laughed a little.

"Trust me, that was no angel," Sarah mumbled to herself.

"What was that, Sarah?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, quickly. "Did Mom say anything else?"

"Okay, what is this sudden thing with your mom? I mean, you don't ever call us, your dad moves you around to where we can't find you. Now, out of the blue, you're calling and asking about her?"

"Look, I can't explain it, okay. Just tell me what Mom told you," she told him.

"There isn't anything else, really. Your mom only knew so much, herself," Mark replied. "To tell the truth, I don't even think she told me everything. She always said she was afraid of you."

"Well, duh, I basically figured that one out," Sarah rolled her eyes, sarcastically.

"She sometimes called you a demon child," he added.

Sarah froze. So Emily knew about Yellow Eyes and the demon blood? Made sense why she would be afraid of Sarah.

"I couldn't believe it," he said. "I mean, you can be obnoxious and a brat at times, but you were still the sweetest and thoughtful kid I know. What kid like that could cause the end of the world? I'm telling you, Sarah, I tried getting your mom some help. We all did, but she was messed up. Of course, I would be too if an unexpected pregnancy ruined my life plans too so…"

"Screw you, Mark," and with that, Sarah hung up the phone.

Sarah jumped when she heard her uncle, "Did you just call your cousin?" he had asked.

Sarah made to stand up, fast and felt a dizzy spell. Since her father woke her and Ben up, Sarah had been feeling weak but continued like everything was fine. She felt hot and flushed now, though and fell back onto the other bed and coughed once more.

"Okay, Dad was right. I think this is more than a cold," she admitted.

Sam hurried over and felt her forehead. "Peanut, you're burning up," he told her. "Here." Sam pushed back the comforter of the bed Sarah was sitting on before and lifted his niece up to lay her down. He removed her shoes and covered her up before calling Dean.


	83. Chapter 83- The Flu

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 83

Dean had rushed to the motel once Sam had called him about Sarah and immediately took her to the hospital. The nurses took down Sarah's information and checked her temperature while in the meantime, Dean was a nervous wreck. He held his daughter the whole process before they were finally led to a room where they waited for a doctor to come in. Dean paced the floor, continuing to hold Sarah as he sang their favorite _Led Zeppelin_ song to her.

Sam sat in one of the chairs, checking his text messages. When he finished, Sam looked up. "Dean, will you calm down? It's probably just a cold or the flu."

Sarah was holding onto her monkey as she kept her head on her father's right shoulder. Dean was sweating from the heat that was coming off her. She felt so weak Sarah could barely lift her head as she coughed more frequently.

Dean rubbed her back up and down, resting his head against hers, ignoring his brother. It pained him to listen to his little girl cough and shake slightly which had started up on the way to the hospital.

Eventually, after a fifteen minute wait the doctor walked in. "Sorry about that, it's been busy around here. What can I do for you…" the doctor quickly looked at her chart, "Sarah?"

Dean started to speak but seeing how he was still in a panicking state, Sam stepped in. "For the past few days, my niece had this cough that started out small and turned into a dry, hacking sound," he explained to the doctor. "And just this morning, a fever started."

"Well, let's take a look." The doctor set her chart down on the counter and walked over to the examination bed.

Dean didn't want to put his daughter down but followed the doctor anyway, placing Sarah on the foot of the examination table, staying close to her side while the doctor got the ear thermometer ready and placed it into her right ear.

"How long has she had the fever, this morning? Did she wake up with it or did it start after she woke up…?" the doctor asked while they waited for the thermometer to beep.

"We're not sure, my brother here discovered it over an hour ago," Dean was able to say before his brother could cut in. Last he checked, until the year was up, Sarah was still his.

"But the cough started a few days ago," she said.

He nodded. "Sarah's been healthy the last two years she's been with us."

"Colds and the flu can strike anyone, regardless if you're healthy or not. Some kids avoid it one year and catch it the next. It depends on what they are exposed to." The thermometer beeped which the doctor removed it from Sarah's ear to read the screen. "A hundred and two," she said and walked away to throw the plastic ear cover away in the trash and mark the temperature on her chart.

Dean tried to hold down his worry. "Is that bad?" he asked, urgency in his voice.

The doctor shook her head, "It's not in the danger zone. Sarah will be fine." She walked back over to Sarah and used her stethoscope to check her heart and lungs before doing the rest of the procedures. "It does seem like the flu though." The doctor turned her attention to Sarah, "does your tummy hurt at all? Like you're going to throw up?"

Sarah looked at the doctor from where she was resting her head against her father. "I'm nine years old, ma'am," she told her, weakly, "please don't talk to me like I'm five."

"I'm sorry," the doctor told her, politely. "Does your stomach feel upset?"

She shook her head. "No, but my whole body aches all over."

The doctor nodded and turned to Dean, looking back at Sam, too, "Yeah, it's definitely the flu. There's nothing I can do unfortunately."

Dean glared over at the doctor, "What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" he asked. "Can't you give her some medicine?"

She shrugged, "You can give her some acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help reduce the fever but the flu is a viral infection and can't be cured with antibiotics. Just make sure she gets lots of rest the next few days and drinks plenty of fluids. All you can do is wait it out, I'm afraid."

Dean looked over at Sam, who nodded back to show what the doctor said was true. He calmed down a little before he thanked the doctor. She offered to give Sarah something now to reduce the fever but Dean told her they had a bottle of ibuprofen in the car. The doctor finished her routine and had Sam sign a couple forms before the Winchesters could leave.

Dean carried his daughter out to the Impala and drove around to find a motel with a kitchen this time. When the motel was picked, Sam drove to the nearest grocery store on a supply run to pick up some stuff for Sarah, and beer and other stuff for him and Dean.

While Sam was gone, Dean placed Sarah down on one of the beds and helped remove her boots and jacket before covering her up with the comforter. He then walked over to the small kitchen area to take a glass from one of the upper cabinets and filled it with water, washing it first. Next, Dean unscrewed the cap off of the ibuprofen bottle and dumped an already broken pill into his right palm. He took the water and pill over to his daughter and set the water on the nightstand so he could help her sit up.

Sarah took the pill halve from her father and placed it in her mouth and gulped down the water so she could swallow it before falling back onto the pillow. Dean took the glass over and set it in the sink before grabbing the remote off the top of the TV and went back over to sit beside Sarah, turning the TV on.

"What your TV preference right now?" he asked her. "Cartoons?"

"Sure," she replied, snuggling against his left side and stared over at the TV.

Dean channel-surfed until he came to _Cartoon Network_ and stopped on that channel. Once Sam returned, Dean got started on lunch, making tomato-rice soup. There may have been some things Dean had purposely forgotten about his childhood but there were just a few things he couldn't and his mother making him tomato-rice soup was one of them. He remembered watching her once make it and made it a couple times for Sam when they were older and Sam had gotten sick while John was out on a hunt.

While Dean cooked, Sam wet a washcloth in the bathroom sink and wrung it out and brought it over to place it across Sarah's forehead. Once it was there, Sarah motioned for him to move closer with her right hand. He lowered his left ear to her so Sarah could whisper, "I need to talk to you, privately about something. When Dad's not around, okay."

Sam glanced over at his brother, who had his back to them, stirring the soup and looked back at his niece. "Okay, Peanut," he told her. "Want some juice? I got grape and orange."

She nodded, slowly at him, "Orange, please."

Sam reached down to kiss her head above the wash cloth and grabbed the glass from the sink. He grabbed the carton of orange juice from the bag on the table and poured some into the glass, taking it back to his niece. Sam helped prop her up against the headboard, placing the pillow against her head and back since the soup was almost ready, and handed her the glass of juice. Sarah took it and drank some before setting it on the nightstand and continued watching cartoons.

When the soup was cooked, Dean poured some into a bowl and took it over to his daughter, holding a potholder underneath, sitting on the edge of the bed. He, very carefully, handed the bowl to her. "Careful, it's hot," he told her.

"What is it?" Sarah asked and took a bite, blowing on it first.

"Tomato-rice soup, just like my mom used to make when I got sick," he smiled.

"It's good," Sarah complimented.

"Thanks," he said and looked over at his brother, "There's more if you're hungry, Sam."

"Uh, no thanks," Sam told him, politely. "We can save the rest for Sarah's dinner tonight. I bought a few things for us to eat." He turned back to his niece, "I got some saltines, Peanut. Want some to eat with your soup?"

"Yes, please," she replied, politely.

Sam stood up to walk back to the table and took out a box of saltine crackers from one of the grocery bags and opened the box, and then one of the packages, taking it over to set on the nightstand where Sarah could reach them.

"Thank you, Uncle Sam," Sarah told him, reaching for a cracker.

Sam smiled, "You're welcome, Peanut."

Right as Sarah dipped the cracker in the soup a huge cough came up, making Dean immediately place his hands around the bowl so it wouldn't spill. It burned his hands in the process but it didn't bother him. If the soup had spilled, Sarah would be the one burned and he didn't want that.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" he asked, concerned when he removed his hands, rubbing them on his jeans.

Sarah nodded, coughing a little now.

"Maybe Sarah should eat at the table," Sam suggested. "That way nothing will spill on the bed or on the floor."

Dean agreed and took the bowl from his daughter to carry it over to the table, carefully. Sam pushed the comforter back and was going to lift her up but Sarah wanted to walk over there, herself. Sarah slowly made her way over to the table with her uncle walking behind her and sat down on one of the chairs as Sam set the crackers and her juice beside her bowl.

Sarah picked up her spoon again and tried to fish out the cracker she had dropped. Sam had gone over to sit on his bed, turning on his laptop but Dean sat down at the table across from his daughter. When she ate half of the soup, Dean decided to run a warm bath for her, making sure it wasn't too hot and left her alone to get undressed and relax for a while.

While Sarah soaked in the tub, Dean poured what was left of the soup Sarah didn't eat in the trash and washed the bowl and spoon in the sink. The soup still in the pot, he covered with the pot lid and placed in the fridge, along with the groceries Sam had bought.

"You couldn't put the groceries away?" he questioned his younger brother.

Sam was checking his email. "Hey, I bought them and carried them all inside from the car. I figured you can put them away," he said, not lifting his eyes from the screen.

Dean walked over to the other bed, "Bitch," he told Sam.

"Jerk," Sam replied.

Dean flopped down on the bed and picked up the remote so he could find something else to watch. "Man, I hate daytime TV," he thought out loud to no one in particular as he flipped through a dozen channels.

"Want to rent a movie, tonight?" Sam suggested.

"Tonight? What about right now? There's nothing on," Dean said, annoyed.

Sam sighed up at the ceiling and looked over at his brother, "Okay, do you want me to go rent a movie now?"

Dean looked at him, too. "The last time I let you rent a movie you came back with a lame one. No thanks." He turned back to the TV to continue channel-surfing.

He shrugged, "I can stay with Sarah while you rent a movie."

"Sarah may need me while I'm gone," he said, quietly, not removing his eyes from the TV.

Sam sat there, watching his brother before he replied, "Sarah's gonna need you the rest of her life but you don't seem to want to be saved."

Dean didn't respond. He stopped on a cooking show, going into his thoughts.

"I don't get you, Dean," he continued. "You act like this overly protective father that wants your daughter's safety but you won't let us help you out of this. So what if you made a mistake, no dad is perfect. Hell, our dad is living proof of that."

"You don't understand, Sam." Dean was staring down at the bed in front of him.

Sam waited for his brother to continue but Dean didn't say anything else. "What don't I understand? About being a dad?" he asked. "'Cause I'm pretty much a second father to Sarah with how much I'm helping you raise her. I get you screwed up and didn't think she could still be alive, Dean. I get the whole not wanting to live without her. Trust me I felt the same way, pretty much when Jessica died. But you gotta forgive yourself, Dean. At least for Sarah."

He shrugged, "There has to be some way to let you out of the deal without me dying. And if there's not, I'm…" Sam trailed off in mid-sentence.

Dean looked over at him, "What?"

He hesitated at first, "…I'm willing to die again so Sarah can keep her dad."

Dean looked away again. "I can't do it, Sam. I just can't forgive myself," he said after a while."

Sam placed his laptop on the bed beside him and turned around to face his brother, leaning forward on his knees. "Yes, you can, Dean. You're human and sometimes our fears get the best of us. That's okay," he told him. "Besides, what's more important? Punishing yourself or taking care of your daughter?"

He didn't respond or look at his brother.

Sam sat up, straight when he knew his brother wasn't going to answer. "You won't be punishing just yourself, you know. You will also be punishing Sarah." He moved back to lean against the headboard and placed his laptop back on his lap.

Dean finally looked over at him again, "How?" he asked.

"By willingly going to hell and leaving behind your only kid to grow up without her dad."

Dean looked away, thinking on what Sam was telling him. He didn't want to go to hell and leave his daughter behind, he really didn't.

Before long, Sarah came out of the bathroom, wearing her pajamas and climbed into the bed her father was sitting on and curled up into his lap, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Dean kissed the top of her head. "Did the bath help?" he asked her, softly.

"A little, but I still feel like crap," she replied. Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Uncle Sam."

"What, Peanut?" Sam said as he looked up from his laptop.

"Did you mean it when you said you feel like a second father to me?" Sarah asked him.

Sam smiled at his niece, "You heard that, huh?"

"Well, you weren't exactly whispering out here," she said, sarcastically.

"You're sick as a dog and you're still a smartass?" he asked her.

Sarah snickered into her father's chest, making Dean, smile at her before she answered, "Pretty much."

Sam dropped his head and laughed, quietly to himself. "Come here, Peanut," he told her.

Sarah climbed out of her father's lap and off the bed to make her way over to her uncle's and crawled over to sit in his lap. Sam wrapped his arms around his niece and repeatedly kissed her left cheek.

Dean had eventually fallen asleep so Sam took the remote and started searching for something for him and Sarah to watch together. Sarah pointed out _Cheaper by the Dozen_ that was just starting and wanted to watch it. He set the remote on the bed beside him and lied down to cuddle with his niece, propped up against his pillow as they watched the movie together. Sarah kept getting annoyed by the commercial interruptions especially when it interrupted the good parts.

"If it wasn't for commercials, we wouldn't even have TV," Sam reminded her.

"Oh yeah? What about PBS?" she pointed out. "You don't see any commercials on there."

"And once or twice a year, they have to hold a telethon and cancel half their programming to pay to keep everything on the air," he added.

Sarah stuck her tongue out at him, which Sam did the same.

When a particular scene came up, Sarah lifted her head towards the TV. "Uncle Sam, is it me or does that guy look and sound an awful lot like you?" she asked, referring to the bully on the TV.

Sam looked closely at the bully, too and shook his head, "Nah, I don't see it."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "He has the same hair and everything."

"Peanut, I think I would recognize if someone looked like me," he told her.

Sarah shrugged and just continued watching the movie, resting her head on the side of her uncle's torso, holding onto her monkey in her right arm. Sam kept his right arm around her. After fifteen minutes, she started feeling drowsy but tried to fight it, wanting to finish the movie. Towards the end of the movie, both she and Sam were sleeping.

The three of them slept through the rest of the day and into the night. Around two in the morning, Sarah woke up, feeling nauseous. She sat up and made to climb out of the bed. Once her feet hit the floor and she took the first step towards the bathroom, her stomach decided it couldn't wait until she got to the toilet and released its contents all over the floor, between the beds.

Dean instinctively woke up on the spot. A foul smell reached his nostrils, causing Dean to reach for the light on the nightstand and sit up on the edge of the bed to stand and help his daughter to the bathroom before another round hit. And it did.

The minute Dean led Sarah into the bathroom and lifted the seat round two erupted from her stomach and into the toilet. Round three was half as much as the first two and four was the rest. Dean sat on the edge of the tub, rubbing her back during the process as Sarah was keeled over the toilet, trying not to look at it, pressing his nose into the crook of his arm. When it was finally over with, he flushed the toilet and reached over to tear off some toilet paper and wiped around her mouth and her nose.

"Dad, I can clean myself off," she moaned. She was feeling a little worse than before now.

Dean continued, moving down to her bare feet, lifting her pant legs so he could wipe them off, grabbing more toilet paper off the roll. "I don't care," he simply stated as he did so. When he finished and threw the soiled toilet paper into the toilet, Dean said, "I'm going to grab another pair of your pajama pants from your duffel bag."

He stood up and left the bathroom, returning with another pair of pajama pants, passing them to Sarah and shut the door so she could change while he cleaned up the vomit on the floor. He looked around the motel room for any cleaning solution but didn't find any. Instead, he had to hurry over to the main office and ask for some.

The manager offered to send someone to clean up the mess for him but Dean declined the offer, explaining it was his kid who threw up and was his responsibility to clean it. He would have loved to let housekeeping clean it but they never let housekeeping into their motel rooms. There was no telling what they would find and Dean didn't want to uproot his daughter in the middle of the night while she was fighting the flu and expose her to the chilly night air.

He came back to the motel room with the cleaning solution and started scrubbing up the mess with a rag in one hand, while holding the front of his shirt over his nose with the other, trying not to vomit himself.

Sarah sat on hers and her father's bed, watching him. "Sorry, Daddy," she apologized ashamedly.

Dean looked up at his daughter for a second and returned to scrubbing. "It's not your fault, Baby Girl," he assured her and added, "I don't know how your uncle is sleeping through the smell. Oh God, bleach and vomit stinks."

Sarah lied down, diagonally on the bed and hugged one of the pillows to her, "My stomach still feels nauseous."

Dean looked up again, "Does it feel like you're gonna throw up again?" he asked, worriedly.

She nodded from the pillow.

He stood up and removed the latex gloves he was wearing to lift his daughter up into his arms and carried her back into the bathroom and set her on her feet in front of the toilet. Dean sat on the edge of the tub to rub Sarah's back again as they waited.

Nothing came.

Dean sighed, "I wish I had told Sam to get you some ginger ale or Seven-Up."

Sarah looked up from where she was leaning on the toilet, at her father, "I saw a soda machine when we were getting out of the Impala."

"Wait here then," Dean told her and stood up. He hurried from the motel room and over to the soda machine. All it had closest to Seven-Up or ginger ale was Sprite. It was close enough and Dean whipped out his wallet he still had in his back pocket and pulled out a dollar bill.

He slipped the dollar bill into the slot and went to push the button for the Sprite. The dollar bill slid back out. "Come on," he muttered and grabbed it to smooth the dollar bill on the corner of the machine and unfolded the corners. The dollar bill came out a second time. "Son of a bitch," Dean muttered some more and tried to smooth it out again.

When the dollar bill came back out a third time, Dean tried another dollar bill, a newer one, this time. When the dollar bill went in, successfully, he forcefully pushed the Sprite button. A can popped out. Dean grabbed it and rushed back to the motel room, finding Sarah kneeled in front of the toilet bowl with her forehead resting on the edge.

"You look like you're recovering from a hangover there," he smirked in the doorway of the bathroom, nodding towards her.

"That's so not funny, right now, Dad," she moaned at him.

"Nothing yet?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head against the toilet bowl. "Guess it was a false alarm," she shrugged.

Dean went over and lifted her up, slowly. Any swift movement and he could be her stomach's next target. He carried Sarah over to the bed and laid her down, covering her up.

Sarah tried to protest, "I don't want the comforter on me, it's too hot."

"You have to, Baby Girl. It'll help break your fever," he explained and kissed the top of her forehead. Dean went over to the cabinet and grabbed a couple crackers and grabbed the soda he left on the counter. He took them over and sat on the bed beside her, handing Sarah eat the crackers first. "Here, eat this first."

Sarah took the crackers and took a bite from one of them as Dean opened the can of soda. When she finished both crackers, Dean handed her the soda. Sarah took a drink and paused to see if her stomach was going to accept both the crackers and soda. Dean rushed over to grab the trashcan and brought it over just in case. When nothing happened, Sarah took one more drink and passed it back to her father, who took it as she coughed.

Dean told her to lie down as he stood up to place the soda in the fridge for later. The moment she lied down, a coughing fit started, forcing her to sit up again. Dean filled a glass up with water and brought it over to her. Sarah drunk it down as her father placed the pillow he was going to use on top of hers and propped them up, halfway.

"There," he patted the pillows, "Try to lie down now."

Sarah lied back against the pillows. She coughed once but that was about it.

Dean kissed her forehead again and returned to finish cleaning the vomit up. He got up as most as he could and washed his hands before climbing back into bed, himself. Dean reached over his daughter to shut off the light and lied down next to her, wrapping his arm around her. Just as he was falling asleep, Dean realized he should have given Sarah a dose of ibuprofen to get her through the night.

Reaching back up, Dean turned the light on and gently shook his daughter awake, long enough for her to take the children's ibuprofen Sam had also gotten for her when he went to the store. Sam never felt right watching his brother give Sarah the adult ibuprofen they kept on hand, even if it was just half a pill.

Once Sarah had drank down the medicine from the small cup that came with the bottle, she fell back to sleep. Dean placed the bottle on the nightstand and turned out the light. Hoping his daughter would be able to sleep straight through the rest of the night, Dean fell back to sleep, himself.


	84. Chapter 84- Bad Day at Black Rock (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 84

The following morning, Sarah woke up worse than the day before. She didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. In fact, all she did was sleep the whole day. Dean woke her up twice to take her medicine but she fell right back to sleep, afterwards. He woke her up to eat dinner, too but it wasn't long before her stomach pushed it back up.

By the third day, Sarah had some strength back but wasn't one hundred percent feeling better. She still stayed in bed and tried to teach Sam how to play the _Pokémon_ card game. It wasn't as fun as playing against her father. Sam was losing badly and to top it off, he played a really weak card against one of Sarah's strongest ones.

"That was a bad move, Uncle Sam," Sarah told her uncle.

"Why is that a bad move?" Sam asked.

The two of them were sitting on Sarah and Dean's bed with the game laid out between them. Dean wandered over, curious.

"It's HP is low and my Celebi can take it out easily," she explained and got up on her hands and knees to get a closer look at Sam's bench Pokémon. "You have three Pokémon that stand a very good chance against beating my Celebi."

"Yeah, Sammy," Dean teased his brother. "Get with the program already."

Sam just scowled at him and asked Sarah, "Okay, can I change my Pokémon?"

"In a real game, no, but since this is only practice, you can," she told him.

Sam took his card back and placed the strongest card he had of his bench Pokémon in its place.

"What attack do you want to use?" Sarah asked him.

"Uh," Sam leaned over to read the attacks that were on the card. "Wreak Havoc, I guess."

Sarah leaned forward on her legs to read it and leaned back. "You have to flip a coin until you get tails." She grabbed Sam's quarter they were using for the game and handed it to him. Sam took it and flipped it twice before the coin landed on tails. "Okay, the first two cards of my deck get discarded," Sarah explained and took two cards from her deck and placed them in the discard pile, facing her, looking at them first to see what she had lost. "Now it's my turn again." Sarah drew another card from her deck and placed it on the end of her bench Pokémon, and had to cough into her fist.

When the game finished, Dean took over, telling Sam to let him show him the correct way to play. He and Sarah had their own battle with Sam watching. It was a very close match but Sarah won that one, too.

"Brat," Dean teased his daughter, acting like he was angry about losing when he really wasn't.

Sarah shrugged, "What can I say? I'm the Pokémon champ," and laughed as she picked up all her cards.

"Oh yeah?" Dean stood up onto his left leg and pinned his daughter down on the bed to tickle her all over. Sam joined in, too. Both brothers tickled Sarah until she was laughing so hard, she had tears coming out of her eyes.

"Stop it…you…guys," Sarah said in between laughs as she kept rolling over, trying to protect herself. The brothers kept right on tickling the little girl. Sarah tried to escape when Dean scooped her up, pulling her towards him.

"Nice try, kiddo," he told her with a grin while he held her in his arms, and raised his left hand to grab her stomach and tickle it. Sarah tried to protect her stomach but Dean worked his way around her arms and continued before he finally stopped. He wrapped his arms around his daughter and hugged her, tight.

Sam had found some board games in the motel room so they sat at the table and played those for the rest of the day, watching a movie that night Dean found on one of the movie channels. The only best part of Sarah getting sick was the three of them spending quality, family time with each other but all good things hardly last, especially when you're a Winchester.

Once Sarah was feeling better, another job was started when they received a phone call on John's old cell phone Dean kept charged up in case one of his old contacts called. It had seemed like a storage unit John had kept outside of Buffalo, New York was broken into.

Dean drove all the way there, getting the key from the owner of the building before heading down to John's storage. He unlocked it and slid the heavy, metal door open. Sam and Sarah shined their flashlights inside. Sarah was the first to notice the demon trap on the floor.

"Grandpa wanted to make sure demons didn't get in here," she said.

"There's blood, too," Sam added, eyeing the bloody footprints leading into the storage unit.

They walked inside where Dean noticed a trip wire before they continued inside, looking around until he found a dusty old soccer trophy, "1995."

Sam looked back, surprised. "No way," he said, moving back to take it from his brother. "That's my division championship soccer trophy." Sam dusted off more of the dust. "I can't believe he kept this."

Sarah looked over at the brothers, "Don't you have to stay in one place for a few months for that? I thought Grandpa moved you around like we're doing?" she asked. "My little league lasted the whole summer so soccer should last just as long, right?"

Dean shined his flashlight over at his daughter, "You played little league?" he asked.

"Yeah, when I was six. Mom didn't want me sitting around all summer, doing nothing so Papa suggested getting me into sports. I wanted to do Martial Arts but he told me to choose something else so I chose baseball."

He smiled, "Wish I could have been there to see a game. Did you get a home run?"

"You bet," she smiled, proudly, standing behind Sam, looking around a desk. She came across a sawed-off rifle and picked it up. "Hey, did someone make this?" she asked as Sarah looked it over in her hands.

Dean walked around his brother over to her and took it, looking it over, himself. "Oh, wow," he had said. "It's my first sawed-off. I made it myself," he proudly told his daughter. "Sixth grade."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at that, "In school?" she said in disbelief. "I got suspended for two days from school for just drawing a picture of a gun."

"What kind of school was it?" Sam asked her.

"Papa got me into a private school since he hates public schools and didn't want me going to one," Sarah explained.

"That's why. Private schools are usually stricter than public schools, especially back when we were in school." Sam was walking around again. He came to an envelope with a P.O. Box marked to John from… Greg Holden? It was thick and heavy when Sam picked it up. "Peanut, what was your grandfather's name again?"

"Greg Holden, why?" she asked, looking over at her uncle. She and Dean were looking elsewhere now.

Sam looked inside the huge, white cardboard envelope to find dozens of photos. He took out one and shined the flashlight on it, looking at one of a three-year-old girl. On the back it said, _Sarah Lynn at age three_. "Sarah, your grandfather mailed photos of you to our dad," he said, surprised again.

"What?" Sarah was also surprised.

Dean rushed right over, almost knocking his brother over by accident. He grabbed the envelope from him and pulled out a small stack of photos, passing the envelope back to Sam so he could look through them. Sam shined his flashlight over them so the brothers could see. There were photos of Sarah at different ages from three to seven years old. There were also some from the day she was born until Sarah was six months old but after that, until she was three, there wasn't any.

Dean couldn't help stare at a photo of the day Sarah was born, in her mother's arms. It was only of Sarah, though, staring back at the camera, in newborn fashion. She looked so beautiful to him that it almost made him want to cry. Dean masked it though as he continued through the photos.

The next one was of a five-year-old Sarah looking up at the camera from reading what looked like one of those books she has now, sitting crossed-legged on the floor.

"I don't get it," Sam finally spoke as Dean kept looking through the photos. "Why did Sarah's grandfather send these to Dad and not give them to you when you first picked her up?" He looked over the envelope.

"The more important question is why didn't Dad give them to me?" Dean added.

Sam shrugged, "Maybe he forgot?"

"Oh yeah, it's forgettable to give your son pictures of his own kid," he said, sarcastically.

"I don't know, Dean," he said.

Dean continued looking through the photos, stopping at Sarah's little league photo, by herself, holding a bat on her shoulder. "Found your little league picture," he smiled down at Sarah and showed it to her.

Sarah smiled, too. "It would have looked better if they didn't schedule the pictures after a game. Gram wasn't too cheerful when I slid into home plate and dirtied up my uniform."

"Isn't that the whole point of sports?" Sam asked. "Getting dirty?"

"You don't know my Gram. She was the only one against me, playing sports and the reason why my mom wasn't thrilled about me being a tomboy," she explained, her arms folded.

"You never told me that," Sam told her.

"I thought I did," Sarah raised an eyebrow, jerking her head back.

"No, that was me the day we met, remember? And I told you can be anything you want to be," Dean reminded her.

"Oh yeah," Sarah remembered.

Dean moved onto another photo to one of Sarah in the bathtub at age three. "Aw," he smiled and Sam did the same when he saw it.

"What?" she asked. Dean showed Sarah the photo which she quickly grabbed from his hand as her face turned beet red from embarrassment and ripped it up.

"Come on, that was my favorite, so far," Dean told her. "It was so adorable I wanted to send it to Bobby."

"Yeah and the hellhounds would be coming for you early if you did," she threatened.

"You're no fun, Sarah." Dean returned to looking at the photos.

"As much as I would like to finish looking at cute photos of Sarah, shouldn't we finish figuring out what those thieves took?" Sam asked, remembering why they were there in the first place.

Dean waved his hand at his brother, "Yeah, yeah. Knock yourself out, Sam," as he looked through them some more.

Sam just shook his head as he smiled. His brother was a father after all and let him have his fatherly moment while he and Sarah continued looking.

"If there are any more naked photos of me, I'm burning them," Sarah called over her shoulder, back at her father.

"Then I won't tell you," Dean replied with a smile, not looking up. He was loving what his brother had found. It was as if he was given a second chance of seeing his little girl growing up, or at least highlights of it. There were so many, Dean wondered if Greg had sent his father all of them. There was even one from Sarah's kindergarten graduation, wearing a paper version of a graduation cap and holding up a diploma. He began to realize again that he had missed so much of his daughter's childhood that he was gonna miss even more of it. That it was Sam and Bobby, who were the ones who would watch her grow up and become a woman.

Sam called over to him and Sarah, "Hey, I think I found something."

Dean looked back at his brother and joined him, along with Sarah.

"See these symbols?" Sam pointed out to them with his flashlight.

"What are they for?" Sarah asked.

"They're binding magic," Sam told his niece. "These are curse boxes."

"Curse boxes?"

"Curse boxes," Dean repeated, "They're supposed to keep the evil mojo in like the Pandora deal."

"Pandora? You mean the online radio thing?" Sarah asked.

Dean looked down at his daughter, "How do you not know about the Pandora tale? You know, built to contain the power of a cursed object."

"Well, excuse me for not reading up on everything," she snapped up at her father.

"All right, all right, I'm sorry, okay? No need to bite my head off," Dean mumbled the last part, returning to the boxes, shining his flashlight over all of them. "Dad's journal did mention a whole bunch of stuff, you know? Dangerous hexed items, fetishes. He never did say where they ended up."

"Yeah," Sam agreed. "Well, this must be his toxic waste dump." He noticed one of the boxes was missing from a clean spot on one of the selves that didn't hold any dust. "One box is missing. Great."

Dean turned back to look for himself. "Well, maybe they didn't open it," he shrugged. The Winchesters left, locking the storage back up. Dean, of course, took the envelope of photos with him since technically they were rightfully his to begin with. The photos were of his kid, not John's, though Dean wished he could be in some of them. He was starting to wish he had paid attention to his phone when Emily was supposedly trying to call but he had been still an immature kid who probably would have shunned the role of being a father.

Checking the security camera for any possible suspects, they found one with a Connecticut license plate. Getting back into the Impala, Dean laid the envelope on the seat between him and Sam which Sarah quickly stole before he could stop her.

Dean smiled, looking back at her. "Looking for more adorable, embarrassing photos?" he teased her.

Sarah ignored him and took all the photos out of the envelope and started to go through them. It brought back so many memories for her as she went through them on the drive to the thieves' apartment. Sarah came across one of her the day she won an essay contest. She personally didn't enter it, herself but her second grade teacher had assigned her class to write a story on what they would wish for if they could have anything they wanted and Sarah ended up writing a beautifully written piece of if she was given one wish, she would wish to meet her father. It had won first prize and was one of the reasons why they had decided to place her in third grade instead of finishing second.

Sarah leaned over the front seat and held out the photo to show her uncle, "Did you ever win an essay contest, Uncle Sam?"

Sam had been staring out the window when his niece interrupted his thoughts and looked over at her before looking at the photo. "What's this?" he asked, taking it from her.

She sighed and repeated herself.

"No, but I remember writing a story in high school, one of my English teachers really liked," he told her.

"Really? So you got an A then?" Sarah asked, curious.

Sam nodded. "Yours must have, too," he smiled at the photo of his niece as feelings of being a proud uncle washed over him.

"I'm still curious as to why Dad would keep those photos for himself. I am also curious as to why Sarah's other grandfather didn't just hand them over to me while I was there," Dean said, bitterly.

Sam passed the photo back to Sarah. "Maybe Sarah's grandfather wasn't thinking about the photos at the time until it was too late so he sent the photos to Dad, hoping they would eventually get to you," he guessed. "And since it was addressed to him, Dad took it as they were for him."

"If the guy wanted me to have them, he would have put my name on the envelope, don't you think?" Dean pointed out.

"Are you really having an argument about who these were meant for?" Sarah asked, sitting back again. "Who cares? We have them now. What difference does it make who they were meant for?"

Sam leaned back with his arm on the back of the front seat. "You're right, Peanut. It doesn't matter. The point is, they're ours now," he agreed.

Dean scowled over at his brother but didn't say anything. He wanted the photos to be just his but he guessed since they were of his niece, they were rightfully Sam's, too. Sarah continued looking at the photos, mostly looking for any other photos that might be embarrassing. Her grandmother was usually pretty good at getting those kinds of pictures and Sarah figured there was a high chance she was the photographer of the one Dean had found. Well, they weren't going to find anymore, not if Sarah could help it.


	85. Chapter 85- Bad Day at Black Rock (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 85

The Winchesters very carefully and quietly walked inside the thieves' apartment with their guns out and when the time was right, jumped out, pointing their guns at the thieves. The thieves jumped, bolting around to face them. Dean pinned one of them to a wall and demanded if they had opened the box or not. It was Sam who noticed the box was open.

The next few minutes were a blur as the Winchesters fought for the box's curse object. When it soared through the air, Sarah quickly reacted and leaped forward to catch it in her hands, sliding on her stomach into the wall. She protected herself upon impact though. When she jumped to her feet again, one of the thieves was pointing her father's gun at her. Luckily, it had stalled and Sarah took the opportunity to punch the guy in the gut, knocking the wind out of him as it sent him to his knees.

"That was a lucky break," Dean said, relieved his daughter was okay. He noticed the object in her hand. "Is that a rabbit's foot?"

Sarah looked down at the object and looked it over. "Looks like it," she replied.

Dean raised his eyebrows at that, "Huh," he let out a breath of air.

While one of the thieves was knocked out and the other one was in pain on the floor, the Winchesters grabbed the box and their guns, and got out of there. Dean stopped at a convenient store, buying several scratchers while Sarah picked out a soda and her Cheetos. Sarah didn't think anything of it until they returned to the Impala where Sam was waiting for them and Dean turned in his seat to face her.

"Today, I am gonna teach you a very important life lesson," he told her.

"What's that?" she asked, opening her hot Cheetos.

Dean pulled a scratcher from the brown paper bag and held it to show her. "Scratchers," he replied.

Sam looked up at that and rolled his eyes. "Nice, Dean," he told his brother, sarcastically.

"What?" Dean shrugged, innocently.

"Exploit your own daughter for money."

"I am not exploiting my daughter for money, I am teaching her the value of a dollar," he explained, thinking up the best excuse he could.

"How are scratchers going to teach her the value of a dollar?" Sam asked.

Dean sat there, looking towards the ceiling with his eyes, "Well, uh….It helps to…"

"You have no idea, do you?"

"Come on, can't I have a little fun with my daughter? The money she wins can go towards her…her college fund. Yeah, that's right. I'm doing this for Sarah so she can go to college."

Sarah was leaning her elbows on the back of the front seat. "Dad, I heard those things have a very low percentage of winning," she told him.

Dean held the scratcher out to her, "How sure are you of those odds?" he smirked.

She glared at her father and grabbed it out of his hand. Sarah didn't know much about the lottery but she seen Mark scratch them off once in a while. Dean handed her a penny, too which she took. She scratched it off and passed it back to her father.

Dean couldn't believe it. "Twelve hundred dollars. Sarah, you just won twelve hundred dollars," he looked back over his right shoulder." Dean laughed, feeling like a proud father and reached back to plant a huge kiss on his daughter's cheek.

Sarah pushed her father away, annoyed. "That was a lucky break," she said.

"Exactly my point, Baby Girl," he cocked a grin at her. "Here, try another."

"Dean, that object has to be cursed or something. Otherwise, Dad wouldn't have locked it up," Sam tried to tell him.

"Doesn't seem that cursed to me," he shrugged, waiting for Sarah to take the next scratcher from him.

"Dad, have you ever heard the old saying, if a deal's too good to be true, it probably is?" Sarah asked her father.

"Come on, stop being wusses, you two and take the scratcher, Sarah," he said.

Sarah took it. While Sarah scratched all the scratchers off, Sam made a call to Bobby for help.

"Look, Bobby, we didn't know," Sam was telling the older hunter when he was finished explaining.

"And you let Sarah touch it?" Bobby demanded of him. "Damn it, Sam."

"Well, Dad never told us about it," Sam tried to protest. "I mean, you knew about his storage in Black Rock?"

"His lock up?" he asked, "Yeah, I knew. Hell, I built those curse boxes for him. Listen, you have got a serious problem. That rabbit's foot ain't no dime-store notion. It's real hoodoo. Old World stuff."

Sarah was sitting on the passenger's side of the hood while Sam talked on the phone and Dean counted the scratchers amount up. A Pokémon card blowing across the asphalt caught her eye. She jumped down and stopped it with her foot and picked it up to look at it. It was a Pokémon card she always hoped would be in a package she got but never was.

She hurried over to show her father, "Dad! Dad! Look what I found!" Sarah showed him the Pokémon card.

Dean looked at it. "Wow, is that a really powerful guy?" he asked, excited for his daughter.

"Yeah, I've wanted Mewtwo for a long time and I finally found one," she told him.

He smiled at her. "Well, want to know something else?" he asked.

"What?" she asked.

"We're up fifteen grand."

Her eyes grew wide, "That's a lot."

At that point, Sam hung up with Bobby and walked over to them. "Sarah, where's the foot?" Sam asked her.

She lifted her left foot, "Right here," she grinned at her uncle.

Sam wasn't amused. "You know what I mean, Sarah Lynn," he told her, sternly.

Sarah dug into her leather jacket pocket and pulled out the rabbit's foot to show her uncle. "Fine," she told him, "it's right here, why?"

"You cannot lose that, Peanut. Bobby says if the foot gets lost then your luck turns on you and it'll eventually kill you."

That pretty much drained everything from Sarah's face as she stared up at Sam. "What?" she questioned and stared at the rabbit's foot in her hand until she eventually shrugged. "Eh. I don't lose things, so that shouldn't be a problem."

Sam looked at his niece, sadly. He didn't even want to mention that Bobby told him that eventually everyone loses the rabbit's foot. Sam exchanged looks with Dean who seemed like he wasn't enjoying their newfound luck anymore.

Feeling hungry, the Winchesters decided to head over to a restaurant to grab something to eat while they wait for Bobby to find a way to break the spell and keep Sarah alive. Dean already had hell and leaving his daughter on his conscious, he didn't need his daughter dying, too.

The moment the three of them stepped up to the front counter, the Winchesters were bombarded by balloons and streamers falling from the ceiling as the host placed a large, cardboard sign in Sam and Dean's arms. There was a flash as one of the employees took their picture while others blew on noise makers. Once the commotion died down, the Winchesters were seated at a booth where they ordered their drinks first.

Sarah sat on the outside, next to her father. Once they ordered their food, Sarah stared at her newfound Pokémon card. "I can't believe I have Mewtwo in my collection now."

Sam looked up from where he was turning on his laptop. "Just be careful, Peanut. We don't want anything to happen to you."

"Will you relax, Uncle Sam," Sarah patted her jacket pocket that held the rabbit's foot. "It's right here, safe and sound. Like I said before, I don't lose things."

Dean was drinking his coffee. "What about when you lost your game?" he reminded her.

"That was not my fault," Sarah told him, pointing at her father. "It had fallen out of my pocket when I fell."

"The point is you lost it," he said.

Sarah went silent when she couldn't think of a good comeback to that and drank her root beer. Their food came and the three of them started eating while Sam researched more about the rabbit's foot.

"Bobby's right," he said as Sarah and Dean had finished their meal and was on dessert now. "This lore goes way back. Pure hoodoo." Sam closed his laptop and leaned back in his seat. "You can't just cut one off any rabbit. It has to be in a cemetery, under a full moon, on a Friday the thirteenth."

Both Sarah and Dean seemed to really enjoy the ice cream. Sarah had a little more self-control about it so she wouldn't catch a brain freeze. Dean, on the other hand, was another story and placed his dish down on the table to clutch his forehead, painfully.

He sighed. "I say from now on," Dean told Sam, "we only go to places with Biggerson's." He groaned, grasping his forehead again.

Sam and Sarah chuckled at Dean's predicament. Sarah had gotten the urge to go, letting her father know she was going to the restroom. She stood up and wandered over to the restroom, going inside. When Sarah was coming back out, she had accidently bumped into their waitress as she was going in.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah apologized, quickly.

"No, no, it's all right," the waitress assured the little girl with a gentle smile.

Sarah moved to the side, holding the door for the waitress as she walked inside the restroom. Once she was inside, Sarah let go of the door and walked back over to her family's table. Unfortunately for Sarah, a younger kid was sticking his feet out of the booth and she tripped. When she stood up, Sarah bumped into an old man who was standing up at that point.

Sam had seen the whole thing. "Oh crap," he said.

"What?" Dean quickly turned to see what Sam was looking at. He had missed it though, but could see Sarah apologizing over and over to the old man before she finally headed back to their table. "Baby Girl, what happened?"

Sarah reached inside her jacket pocket and felt for the rabbit's foot but could feel nothing. "Oh, shit," she said in realization.

"Please tell me you didn't lose the foot," Dean told her, hopeful.

"You want me to lie?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

Dean smacked his hand to his forehead as Sam held the bridge of his nose.

"Wait." Sarah turned back to the restroom. "That woman."

Sam asked, "What woman?"

"Our waitress. I had the foot when I was leaving the restroom. She must have taken it when I bumped into her." She ran back to the restroom to check to see if the waitress was still in there but she was nowhere to be seen. Not even in the kitchen or behind the counter.

The Winchesters hurried out of the restaurant with Dean in the lead. As they ran, Sarah tripped on an empty soda can and landed on the asphalt. Both Sam and Dean stopped suddenly to look back as Sarah pushed herself up with her hands, and went back to help her up.

"Wow, you suck," Dean teased his daughter.

Sarah brushed herself off, brushing off her hands last.

"So what, now your luck turns bad?" he asked.

"Looks like it," she replied, looking up from where she had ripped a hole in the knee of her jeans.

With the waitress nowhere in sight, they decided to head back to the thieves' apartment, walking straight in, very slowly.

One of the thieves was sitting in a chair, looking at a photo and holding an almost drank bottle of beer. "Oh man," he said when he saw the Winchesters. "What do you want?"

"Heard about your friend," Dean told him. "That's bad luck."

"Piss off," the thief told him, bitterly.

"We know someone hired you to steal the rabbit's foot. A woman."

Oh, yeah?" he replied, sarcastically. "How do you know that?"

Dean was standing there, stiffly as he stared at the guy, holding his gun at his side. "Because she just stole it back from us."

The thief laughed.

Sarah glared at him and started to walk towards the thief to knock him in the head when she tripped on the edge of a rug, falling face down on the floor, beside Dean.

Dean kneeled down to help his daughter up, "You okay, Baby Girl?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Dad," she answered, rubbing her nose.

When he knew Sarah was all right, Dean stepped towards the thief, "I want you to tell us her name."

The thief leaned forward to say, "Screw you."

"It wasn't a freak accident that killed your partner," Dean explained.

"What?"

"It was because of the rabbit's foot," Sam spoke up from behind Dean.

The thief chuckled at that. "You're crazy, man," he grinned.

Dean grinned, too. "You know I'm not. You saw what happened, what it did. All the flukes, all the luck. When you lose the foot, that luck goes sour. That's what killed your friend."

He just stared up at Dean.

Dean shook his head down at Sarah, "My little girl here is next. And who knows how many innocent people after that. Now, if you don't help us stop this thing that puts those deaths on your head. Now, I can read people. And I get it. You're a thief and a scum bag. That's fine. But you're not a killer. Are you?"

The thief looked down like he was thinking. Finally, he told the Winchesters about a woman named Lugosi he and his friend worked for. That was all the information he knew so the Winchesters left the apartment.

Outside, Dean's cellphone rang. He answered it, his foot barely missing a wade of gum that was stuck to the ground. Sam stepped over it, too but Sarah stepped right on it, making her stop in her tracks.

"Dean, great news," Bobby told him over the phone. "It wasn't easy, but I found a heavyweight cleansing ritual that should do the trick."

"Bobby, that's, uh, great," Dean told him and looked back at his daughter who was pointing her eyes directly up at the night sky and lifted her foot up to look at it. "Except, Sarah, uh…" He looked forward again, "Sarah lost the foot."

"She what?" he spat.

"Bobby, listen, Sarah was coming out of the restroom and ran into our waitress who was going in. She barely saw the woman in time when she bumped into her. I'm serious. She's in her mid-twenties. And she only gave the guys she hired a name, probably an alias or something." Dean looked over at Sam who was standing next to him. "Luigi or something."

"Lugosi," Sam corrected him.

"Lugosi," Dean repeated it to Bobby.

Bobby asked, "Lugosi?" and thought on why that name sounded familiar. "Lugos…Oh, crap. It's probably Bela," he realized.

"Bela Lugosi? That's cute," Dean shrugged.

"Bela Talbot's her real name," Bobby explained. "Crossed paths with her once or twice."

"She knew about the rabbit's foot, is she a hunter?"

"Pretty friggin' far from a hunter," he told him. "But she knows her way around the territory. She's been out of the country. Last I heard she was in the Middle East some place."

Dean exchanged looks with Sam, "Well, I guess she's back."

Bobby nodded, "Which means serious bad luck for you."

"Great," Dean shrugged.

"But if it is Bela…at least I might know some folks who know where to find her."

"Thanks, Bobby," Dean shrugged again. "Again."

"Just look out for your kid," Bobby told him. "Ya idgit."

While Dean was talking to Bobby, Sarah tried rubbing her foot along the ground to get the gum wade off. When that didn't work, she sat down on the ground and untied the shoestrings, taking her boot off and took it over to a storm drain to use it to scrap the gum off. Sarah kept trying until her boot slipped out of her hands and down into the storm drain.

"Oh, shit," Sarah muttered as she looked down at it. She quickly lied on her stomach and tried to reach down inside. Her arm just wasn't long enough. Sarah looked around for anything that could help her but there wasn't anything. Finally giving up, she stood up, knowing her father was going to kill her. Not literally, of course.

When Dean had finally hung up, he and Sam looked behind them where Sarah was standing there, rubbing the back of her head. "What?" he asked of her.

Sarah hesitated. "I, uh…" She wrung her hands together, looking at the ground. "I lost my shoe."

Dean looked down at her feet to see one of her boots missing. "Seriously? Sarah, Ellen just bought you those shoes a few months ago. It hasn't even been six months yet."

Sarah stole a look up at her father, "I'm sorry, Dad," she told him, quietly.

He sighed, "I know. It's not your fault." Dean walked over to his daughter to place his hand on the side of her head to kiss the top of it to show he wasn't mad and lifted her onto his side to carry Sarah over to the Impala.


	86. Chapter 86- Bad Day at Black Rock (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 86

Dean drove to a motel and rented a room. He decided if he was going to keep Sarah alive through this whole thing she was going to have to stay back with Sam. Pulling a chair from the table and setting it in the middle of the room, Dean told Sarah to sit right there and not to move an itch.

"Don't do anything, Baby Girl," he told her and turned to his brother, "Sam, watch her. Make sure she doesn't do anything that could cause bad luck."

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

"I'm going after the rabbit's foot," Dean replied and headed for the door. He looked back long enough to point back at his daughter, "Just sit there. Don't even scratch your nose." With that, Dean headed out the door, shutting it behind him.

Sarah glared after her father, folding her arms as she sat there. She looked around to see if the coast was clear and scratched her nose in defiance. After a few hours, Sarah was bored out of her mind, lying upside down, with her left leg over the back of the chair. "It's boring just sitting here," she whined.

"I know, Peanut, but you have to sit there like your dad said," Sam said from one of the beds, leaning against the headboard, on his laptop.

"I don't want to sit here anymore, Uncle Sam, my butt's numb. Can't I just sit on the bed?"

Sam looked up at her, "You can't get up from that spot without risking it. It's only for a little bit longer, I promise. And sit in the chair right."

"No," she told her uncle, defiantly.

Sam blew out an annoyed breath of air, remembering back when Sarah said how she was a troublemaker when she was bored. "Sarah, sit in the chair right," he repeated, sterner.

"But I said my butt was numb and it was starting to hurt."

"And it's gonna hurt more if you don't sit flat like you're supposed to," Sam warned his niece.

Sarah crossed her arms, looking at her uncle upside down, knowing exactly what he meant. "Ha, how are you gonna spank me if I can't get up from the chair?"

To prove a point, Sam stood up from the bed and went over to stand his niece on the chair and landed a firm swat to her backside before parking her back down on the chair, kneeling down to be eye level. "I'm not going to ask you again, Sarah Lynn. Sit in this chair the right way or after we get the rabbit's foot destroyed, I will put you over my knee. Do you understand me?"

Sarah tightly folded her arms across her chest as she glared at him. "You're not my dad."

"No, but once I tell him your dad will agree with me that you need one," he told her.

When Sam stood up to head back over to the bed, Sarah slouched in her seat, staring at the floor. It wasn't long before she decided to return to her upside down position which Sam noticed out of the corner of his eye.

"Sarah Lynn Winchester," he scolded his niece. "What did I just get done telling you?"

"It's not like I'm getting up off the chair. I'm still on it," she pointed out with a shrug.

"I don't care. I told you to sit right. I warned you before about holding your head upside down, and your dad had even backed me up on it. Now, sit right or else."

Even though, Sarah was already pushing it, she decided to somersault off the chair and stood up, going over to the other bed to lie down.

Sam let out another annoyed breath of air and shook his head, downward. "Go sit on that chair like your dad told you too, Sarah Lynn."

Sarah ignored him, lying on her back.

"One…" he started to count. "…Two…"

"I'm not four, you know," she told her uncle, not looking at him.

"You're acting like you're four," Sam pointed out, trying to hold down his frustration. "Now get back over there and sit your butt in that chair."

Sarah refused to move.

"If I count to five and you're not sitting in that chair, you're gonna be over my knee now."

She got up onto her legs, glaring over at him. "Then I'll tell Dad what you did," Sarah tried to threaten.

Sam shrugged, "Then you better tell him why I had to spank you."

Sarah turned around and folded her arms, tight again.

"I mean it, Sarah. Get your butt over there or you will be sitting there, uncomfortably."

But Sarah still did not move.

"One…" Sam started counting again. "…Two…three…four…."

She moved, but in the opposite direction, towards the pillows and laid her head down on one of them, her back to her uncle.

"…Five." Sam set his laptop on the bed beside him and stood up. He reached out for his niece who fought back against him. With Sam's size and him not giving in, he was winning.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

"No, Sarah. I gave you plenty of chances and you didn't take a single one," he told her as he held his niece, trying to wrestle her back to the bed he was sitting on. "You know your dad wouldn't have even given you that many chances either."

Sarah fought, trying to break free of her uncle's strong grip on her. "Okay, okay! I'll sit on the chair, I swear, Uncle Sam. Please don't! I promise I'll sit right!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. If there was anyone staying in the rooms next to theirs, they were probably awake now.

"No, Sarah," Sam continued to wrestle her back to the bed. He managed to sit down on the edge and tried to wrestle his niece over his lap. She had almost gotten away from slipping out of her jacket, but Sam quickly tossed it away and snatched her up again. It actually made it easier for him to hold onto her and held her on his lap. This was his first time having to spank his niece and was not looking forward to it. Dean had told him once, Sam was the only one he trusted besides him to discipline his daughter. Sam was just hoping it would never have to come to it.

Sarah tried to use both hands to cover her bottom but Sam forced them away and wrapped his left arm around her waist so she couldn't do it again and brought his other hand down, firmly. Sarah then cried into her uncle's left leg as he landed each swat until he stopped after the tenth one and had her stand up.

Sam held his crying niece by the shoulders, "Look at me, Sarah," he told her, a little gentler now. "I warned you and you didn't listen. I didn't want to have to do that but you left me no choice. Your dad told you to just sit there and not do anything. You know better than that, Sarah."

She stood there, listening to her uncle's lecture as tears and snot was running down her face. Sarah nodded when he finished.

Sam reached over to the nightstand between the beds and yanked a couple tissues from its box and used them to clean off Sarah's face, having her blow her nose into a fresh one, afterwards. Once she was cleaned up, Sam took his niece into his arms and comforted her. "It's okay, Peanut. It's all over now. I'm really sorry I had to spank you but you have to listen, okay?" he assured her as he rubbed Sarah's back up and down as she cried on his left shoulder.

"I want my dad," she cried, softly.

"He'll be back soon," he said. "I need you to go back and sit on the chair, though."

"It'll hurt more to sit now," she sniffed, not lifting her head from his shoulder.

"Should have thought of that before you decided to be defiant. Now, go sit down."

Sarah lifted her head, slowly and turned to walk back over to the chair, pitifully.

"You're okay, Peanut," Sam reminded her as she did.

She sat down, wincing from the minor pain in her bottom. It wasn't anywhere close as bad when her grandfather had spanked her, but it still hurt.

At that moment, two goons burst through the door with guns raised at both Sam and Sarah. The two of them immediately jumped to their feet, on guard. If things weren't bad enough, Sam never thought of grabbing a weapon of his own before Dean took off so both him and his niece were unarmed.

Sam rushed over and pushed his niece behind him to shield her as he stared at the two goons. With Sarah's bad luck though, even putting up a fight, Sam still managed to get knocked out, along with her. They awoke some time later, each taped to a chair.

"What the hell?" Sarah blurted out when she looked down at the grey, duct tape. "Dude, you're messing with the wrong person here. My dad will be back any time now and when he sees what you've done, he will kick…" One of them snapped his fingers at her while she was in mid-sentence. "Did you just snap…?"

"Shut up, Sarah," Sam told his niece and asked the goons, "Who are you?"

He smiled over at Sam, "I used to think your friend Gordon sent me."

Sarah and Sam both quickly exchanged looks between each other.

"Gordon?" Sarah questioned. "You mean, Gordon Walker? The guy we had arrested?"

"Yeah," the guy continued like Sarah hadn't said anything, walking away. "Because he asked me to track you down and put a bullet in each of your brains."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Great," he said, "that sounds like him."

The guy turned around and walked back over to them, "But, as it turns out…I'm on a mission from God."

Sarah raised an eyebrow at him. "You're not one of those loony people, who think they received a vision from God to smite some sinner, are you? Because I really don't feel like doing a Bible study right now on how that's so wrong, on so many levels."

He smirked at the little girl, "And what would a kid like you know about the Bible?"

She glared up at him. "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table for me…"

The other goon tried stepping forward to shut her up, but the first one stopped him. "Let the girl finish."

Sarah finished, "You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm twenty-three."

"Impressive," the first goon smirked. "But I don't believe you. Satan knows every word of the Bible."

"Believe me for what?" she demanded.

"You were part of that demon plan to open that gate." He looked over at Sam. "Both of you."

Sarah couldn't argue with him there. She was still beating herself up over opening the gate to hell though not as much as before. She looked away at the floor.

"We did all we could to stop it. My niece was tricked into opening it," Sam tried to explain.

The goon pointed a finger at Sam, "Lie, lie, lie."

Sarah spoke up, "Yeah, I did it. I opened the gate and freed a bunch of demons." She shook her head, "But I'm not proud of it. I begged for God's forgiveness already. It's still eating up inside me. If I could, I would take it all back."

He slapped her across the face. "Guess your daddy never taught you about telling the truth, now did he?"

A gun cocking behind the goons was heard, along with Dean's voice, "Step away from her, you arrogant dick."

The goon looked back over his shoulder and smirked at Dean. "Put the gun down, son or you're gonna be scrapping brain off the wall."

"Oh, this thing?" Dean held his gun up to show him.

He nodded, "Yeah, that thing."

Dean shrugged, "Okay," confusing Sarah and set his gun down on the table. "But you see, there's something about me that you don't know."

The goon turned to fully face him. "Yeah, and what would that be?"

Dean had picked up a blue, ball-point pen and grinned at the goon, "It's my lucky day." He tossed it up and the pen landed right inside the barrel of the goon's gun which he laughed, "Oh my God. Did you see that shot?"

Both Sam and Sarah raised their eyebrows at that, impressed. "Go, Dad!" Sarah cheered, happily as the second goon tried to slug him but ended up, running into a wall when Dean dodged him.

"I'm amazing," said Dean and quickly picked up the TV remote and tossed it at the first goon's head, knocking him out. "I'm Batman," he smirked over at his brother and daughter.

Sam sat there in shock. "Yeah. You're Batman," he replied, sarcastically.

"No, you're better than Batman, Dad," Sarah told him, proudly which made Dean smile before he went over and cut Sarah loose first. Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck to hug him, quickly before Dean cut Sam loose.

On the way to a cemetery to burn the rabbit's foot, Sarah decided to rat on her uncle. She leaned over the back of the front seat and whispered in her father's right ear, "This may not be the best time but before those goons showed up, Uncle Sam spanked me." She was expecting him to turn on Sam at that point, but got a different reaction and Dean wasn't quiet about it.

"What were you doing that Sam had to spank you?" he asked of his daughter.

Sarah didn't know how to respond. She looked at her uncle, who was now looking over at her.

"Tell your dad the truth, Sarah," he reminded her.

She retreated to the backseat, not saying a word.

"You started this, Sarah, now finish it," Dean told her. "Were you expecting me to yell at Sam or something? Tell him he can't punish you? I told Sam if the situation ever arises and I'm not there, he has my say on tanning your hide. So start talking."

"I…." Sarah stared down at the seat, curled up into a ball. "I was bored and the trouble in me comes out when I'm bored, unintentionally. So I started giving Uncle Sam a hard time when he told me about sitting in the chair."

Dean was glancing back at his daughter in the rear-view mirror and the road ahead. "And did I not tell you to sit in that chair and do nothing?"

Sarah didn't respond.

"Sarah Lynn Winchester, you better look at me and answer before I pull this car over and give you another one," he warned her.

Sarah looked up at her father and said, "Yes, sir."

"Yes, what?"

"You said to sit there and do nothing."

"For the next week, you are grounded. No TV when we stay at a motel. Do you understand me?" Dean told her.

Sarah nodded at him, "Yes, sir."

"Did you apologize to Sam yet?" he asked, more lenient this time.

"No, sir," she shook her head.

"Then tell him and it better be sincere."

Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Uncle Sam," she said, softly but where he could still hear her.

Sam shifted his attention from the window, back over his shoulder at his niece, "Yes, Peanut?"

"I'm sorry about giving you a hard time earlier."

"It's okay now, Peanut. All is forgiven," he assured her.

When Dean pulled up to the cemetery and parked, the three of them stepped out. Sarah closed her car door and held her arms out to her uncle who picked her up.

"I am really sorry," she repeated. "I wasn't just saying that because of Dad."

"I know you are, Peanut. I remembered you had said that before, about trouble coming out when you're bored and having to sit in a chair all night, surely wasn't fun, huh?"

Sarah shook her head. "No it wasn't," she agreed.

"You know I still love you, right?" he asked.

She nodded at him which Sam kissed Sarah on the cheek before setting her down on her feet, "Now let's break this curse off of ya, what do you say?"

Sarah smiled and helped the brothers set up the ritual Bobby had found. Right as Dean was about to drop the rabbit's foot onto the fire, a gun cocking was heard. They turned to see the waitress who turned out to be Bela, standing there, pointing the gun at them.

"I think you'll find that belongs to me," she told them in a British accent. "Or, you know, whatever."

The Winchesters stared over at Bela, not saying a word.

"Put the foot down, honey."

Dean turned fully around to face her, "No. You're not gonna shoot anybody. See, I happen to be able to read people. Okay, you're a thief, fine, but you're not…"

Suddenly, Bela aimed her gun at Sarah and shot the little girl in the left shoulder which shoved Sarah back onto the ground, crying out in pain.

"You bitch!" Dean roared at her as he tried to move towards Bela.

"Back off, tiger," she told him, firmly.

Sam was helping his niece to her feet, making sure she was all right.

"Back off. You make one more move and I'll pull the trigger. You got the luck, Dean. You I can't hit." Bela pointed the gun back at Sarah, which Sam protectively wrapped his right arm around her, glaring over at Bela. "But your daughter? Her I can't miss."

Dean quickly stole a look back at his daughter, who was clutching her shoulder, tears on her face, and looked back at Bela. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded of her. "You don't just go around shooting people like that!"

"Relax," Bela told him. "It's a shoulder hit. I can aim. Besides, who here hasn't shot a few people?"

Dean let out a breath of air, glaring at her.

"Put the rabbit's foot on the ground now," she ordered him.

"All right! All right. Take it easy." Dean slowly lowered himself to place the rabbit's foot on the ground but at the last second, tossed it over to Bela. "Think fast."

Out of reflex, Bela caught it in her hand as Dean stood up, smirking at her. "Damn," she muttered to herself and looked over at him.

"Now, what do you say we destroy that ugly-ass piece of dead thing?"

Bela huffed, annoyed and walked over to drop the rabbit's foot onto the fire. "Thanks very much," she told them as they watched it burn up. "I'm out one and a half million and on the bad side of a powerful, psychotic buyer."

Dean was holding his daughter now, staring stiffly at Bela. "Wow, I really don't feel bad about that," he told her. "Sam?"

Sam shook his head, looking at Bela too, "Nope. Not even a little."

"Sarah?"

"Normally I do but this time, I feel no remorse for her," said Sarah who was still clutching her shoulder.

Bela walked away and leaned on the headstone Dean had left his jacket. "Maybe next time, I'll hang you out to dry."

Sarah eyed her, suspiciously as her father told Bela, "Oh, don't go away angry. Just go away."

When Bela turned to walk away, Sarah motioned to be let down and hurried after her. "Hey, uh, Bela, right? I guess there's no hard feelings then?" And she gave the woman a friendly hug.

Bela removed the little girl from around her waist and walked away, not noticing Sarah grinning after her.

After putting the fire out and making sure they had everything, the Winchesters headed back over to where the Impala was parked.

"How are you holding up, Baby Girl?" Dean asked his daughter.

"It really hurts," she told him.

"We'll find a motel and I'll fix that for you, okay?" he assured her.

"Wouldn't a hospital be more proficient for this?" Sarah asked.

"Trust me, Baby Girl, I've removed more bullets in my time than any doctor has. With me, you'll be good as new and we won't have to deal with any doctors sticking their noses in where they don't belong."

Sarah nodded.

Dean looked forward as they continued to walk, "I guess we're back to normal now, huh?" he complained. "No good luck, no bad luck. Oh." He remembered the scratchers from the day before. "Forgot, we still have fifteen grand from your scratch tickets…" Dean checked both his jacket pockets and realized they weren't there.

Bela's car drove by in the distance and Dean realized he had been conned by a thief as he stared over at his brother, who stared back at him. "Son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed, angrily.

Sarah smiled up at her father, pulling something from her own jacket pocket. "Is this what you're looking for, Dad?" she asked, holding the scratchers up.

Sam and Dean stared down at the little girl, amazed how she could pull that one off.

"How…?" Sam tried to ask.

"What?" she asked, "you thought I was hugging her out of the kindness of my heart? Yeah, right."

Dean grinned at his little girl and held her head in his hands, giving her a huge kiss on the head. "I love you so much, Baby Girl," he told her, proudly.

Sarah smiled back at him, accepting the embarrassing kiss, this time.

"It was no problem, Dad. You deserve it."

"What do ya say, after we fix ya up, we buy you some new shoes?" Dean suggested.

"And probably new socks," Sam nodded down at his niece's socked feet.

Sarah looked down and smiled up at her uncle.


	87. Chapter 87- Pain and Relaxation

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 87

"Owww!" Sarah cried as her father used metal tweezers to dig the bullet out. The two of them sat on their bed with a first aid kit that looked like it had exploded. Sarah was sitting in front of her father, facing him with no shirt on, just her pajama pants and tears drenching her face.

"I can't get it out if you don't hold still," Dean told his daughter. He held a large, square piece of gauze over part of the wound while he stuck the tweezers into the wound to fish out the bullet, pushing on the wound to help release it.

"Oh, so you're normally calm when someone's doing this to you?" she snapped at him.

"I'm not asking you to calm down. I know it hurts like hell, but you're squirming around where I can't do anything."

Sarah sat there, trying hard not to move. As she felt the cold metal points go in her shoulder and pull on the bullet. More hot tears filled her eyes, making Sarah shut them tight.

Dean noticed. "Sam, come over here and let Sarah squeeze your hand," he looked over at his brother who was coming out of the bathroom, ready for a few hours rest before they had to hit the road again.

"No, it's okay," Sarah breathed heavily as he walked over to the bed. "Just hand me Chimchar over there."

"Are you sure, Peanut?" Sam asked of his niece, stopping beside her.

Sarah nodded and Sam passed her monkey over to her, and held it close to her, squeezing it.

"It'll be all right, Baby Girl," Dean assured his daughter and continued. "I'm trying to make this quick as I can."

Sarah nodded, squeezing her eyes shut again as she felt the intense pain once more. Blood kept leaking out which Dean caught with the gauze before continuing. Sarah couldn't help yelp a few times as he tried to dig the bullet out.

"Shh, shh," Dean coaxed his daughter, gently. He hated having Sarah go through this pain but was impressed by how much she was dealing with it. "I think I almost got it." Dean slowly pushed the gauze down and could see a glimmer of gold metal and tried to reach in with the tweezers to fish it out.

Sarah cried out when her father pushed on the wound, clutching her monkey even tighter to her.

"It's okay, Baby Girl," he assured her, softly and quickly mopped up more blood when it spilled. Dean pushed on the wound some more and was able to grasp the bullet better and tried to pull it out, quickly but still kept it slow so he wouldn't pull a vein or anything. The tug made Sarah cry out louder than she had and before she knew it, Dean had pulled out the bullet, catching it, quickly with the blood-soaked gauze. "I got it out, Baby Girl."

Sarah opened her eyes and looked over at the small bullet her father was holding in the gauze and tried to control her breathing. Dean wrapped it in the blood-soaked gauze and opened up another fresh packet, placing it over the wound and held it with his left hand while he grabbed a roll of medical tape and taped the gauze down to hold it in place.

He then started rubbing her back to help calm her breathing, "See, that wasn't so bad, right? I told ya I could patch you up, but I ain't kissing it though."

That made Sarah smile and laugh. "The last time I had an injury kissed, I was five and Gram was patching me up from falling off my bike. After that, I felt I was old enough to know that kissing it wouldn't medically work." She wiped her eyes dry and Dean reached over to yank out a tissue to wipe her face.

"You crack me up, Baby Girl," he told her, smiling and handed her the tissue.

Sarah used it to wipe off her face with one hand.

Sam came back over with pain medication and a cup of water, passing each one to his niece. "This will help with the pain, Peanut," he explained.

"Thanks, Uncle Sam." She took the small pill and swallowed it, washing it down with the water before turning back to her father, "And thanks for patching me up, Dad."

"Don't mention it," he told her, hugging her head to him and kissed the top of it. Dean cleaned up the mess he had made and the small family went to bed and was back on the road around sunrise.

Until they could replace Sarah's shoes, she had to wear a pair of flip flops she kept stashed at the bottom of her duffel bag for when she took showers in the motel rooms the three of them stayed in.

Once Dean entered into the next state over, in a small city, he stopped at a shoe store that carried kids' sized shoes. It took some time since they were trying to find the same pair. It came close and Sarah really seemed to like them. As long as they were boots like her father's, she was content.

After the shoe shopping trip, Dean headed straight for Sioux Falls, pulling up to the savage yard late into the night. Instead of waking her up, he carried his daughter inside and up the stairs to one of the spare bedrooms to lay her down and removed her new shoes and her jacket before covering Sarah up with the covers and kissed her forehead. Dean headed downstairs to join Sam and Bobby.

The next day, Sam headed off somewhere while the rest of them stayed back. Bobby and Dean was taking the Colt apart, trying to figure out how the weapon worked, with Sarah watching her father. Everything was quiet as the men busied themselves in their work.

"Isn't there something you want to do?" Dean asked his daughter after a while. "Have some fun?"

"No, not really. Why?" she replied, looking up at him, innocently.

Dean sighed. "Okay, fine," he told her, "if that's how it's gonna be then I order you to go have fun. Go find an adventure outside in the yard."

"But this is fun, too."

"No, it's not," Dean shook his head. "Trust me, we're doing all the work and it ain't fun. How can watching it be any? Now get your ass outside and be a kid, or I will..." He had to think up a good enough threat to make his daughter leave. "Or I will tie you to a chair and make you watch that purple, singing dinosaur over and over again."

Sarah crossed her arms across her chest. "And where are you gonna get that?" she questioned him.

"I know where the nearest video rental place is," Bobby spoke up from his magnifying glass.

She had looked over at Bobby then back at her father who gave her a devious grin. Suddenly, she bolted from her seat and hurried outside. Sarah wandered around the salvage yard, trying to think of something to do with her hands shoved into her jacket pockets.

When she came to the back of a rundown, rusted old car, Sarah quickly climbed up the bumper and up onto the roof to look around the yard. Not long after, she slid down the windshield and jumped off the car, landing couched down, and decided to explore, eventually finding a long stick and started pretending she was Link from the _Legend of Zelda_ games and had to go on a quest to rescue Zelda from the evil Ganondorf. It had been a long time since she played like that and had so much fun, she had lost track of time. Before she knew it, Sarah heard Bobby calling her and ran back to the house where the old hunter was standing on the porch.

"I got dinner ready if you're hungry," he told her when Sarah was in earshot.

Sarah tossed the stick over on the ground and hurried up the steps, following him inside.

"Why don't you go get washed up first," he suggested.

"Okay." The house seemed quiet to the little girl. She poked her head into Bobby's study and saw her father was gone. Moving more into his study, Sarah checked the kitchen and saw Dean wasn't in there either and neither was Sam. _Maybe they were upstairs getting washed up for dinner too_ , she thought to herself and ran up the stairs and into the bathroom.

The bathroom light was off which Sarah switched on and quickly washed her hands, drying them on her jeans. Sarah dashed back downstairs and into the kitchen where Bobby was waiting for her.

"Where's Dad and Uncle Sam?"

"They took a job in Ohio," he replied as Bobby poured some stew into a bowl and held it out to Sarah to set on the table.

Sarah stared over at the old hunter, stunned. They left without her? Her father left without her? "What do you mean they took a job in Ohio?" she demanded, a little hurt and angry at the same time.

"Sam had returned with word of a possible demon possession, said they would be back in a couple of days. Now hurry up and take this, would ya?"

"Oh, right. Sorry about that, Uncle Bobby." Sarah realized he was holding the bowl of stew and took it from him, placing it on the table while he poured more stew into another bowl and passed it to her to set on the table, as well.

After dinner, Bobby started working with the Colt again while Sarah borrowed his cellphone, calling her father.

Dean picked up on the third ring. _"Hello?"_

"Your grave is so deep right now, you're burning up from the molten core," she told him, heatedly. "Uncle Sam's too."

" _Oh crap,"_ she heard her father mutter. _"Look, Baby Girl, I can explain."_

"I'm listening," she told him.

" _Sam and I came out to let you know we were leaving but then we saw you were in the middle of some kind of game and it looked like you were having fun. We didn't want to disturb you so we just left. I didn't want to with how little time we have left together but we figured this wouldn't take long. I'm sorry, Baby Girl, I really am. We'll be back in a couple days, though. I'm gonna try and promise that. Okay?"_

Sarah let out a huff, glaring at the floor, "I hate being left out of a hunt."

" _I know you do, Baby Girl. I promise you can be a part of the next one. Just be a kid for a couple days, have fun. Just like your grandfather told you, remember?"_

"But…." She tried to protest.

" _Think of it as my next dying wish, how's that?"_

A tear appeared in the corner of her eye. "Okay, Dad," she finally gave in even though she didn't want to.

" _I promise I'll make it up to you somehow, me and Sam. I love you."_

"I love you too, Dad."

" _Be good for Bobby and I'll bring you back a surprise."_

"What?" she asked, curiously. Sarah couldn't help be intrigued at the word, surprise.

 _"If I tell ya, it wouldn't be a surprise, right?"_ he laughed.

"Yeah, I guess," she sighed.

 _"I'll see you soon, Baby Girl,"_ he told her, softly.

"Okay. Bye, Dad," she replied before they both hung up. Sarah closed the phone and stood up from the couch to place it on the desk, beside where Bobby was busy working. "How's the Colt coming along, Uncle Bobby?"

"Well, still got nothing but I'll get there," he said, not looking up from his work.

"Dad told me to have fun so I'm gonna go upstairs and play my Nintendo in my room, okay?"

Bobby smiled at the little girl. "Okay, little one," he said and waited for the annoyed response he usually got when he called her, little one.

Sure enough, it came. "I'm not that little anymore, Uncle Bobby."

He just snickered. "Sam used to tell me the same thing when I called him that as a kid."

Sarah's eyes widened. "No way, Uncle Sam was small when he was a kid, too?" she asked.

"Oh yeah," Bobby said. "I remember when he pushed a chair next to your dad to stand on just so he could be taller for a moment."

"My mom was short like Dad so I'm probably going to be small my whole life."

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"I'm gonna go play now." Sarah said after a few seconds and ran upstairs to the bedroom she was staying in. For the rest of the evening, Sarah lied on the bed, playing video games that used to belong to Mark before he went off to war, mostly _Super Mario 64_ and _Legend of Zelda_. Her eyes stayed glued to the screen until they grew heavy and fell asleep.

Bobby checked on her around eleven o'clock that night when he was going to bed. It was hilarious to find a little girl and a short, Italian man both snoozing away. He had thought the snoring was coming from Sarah until he looked at the TV screen and saw it was Mario who was snoring, now and then muttering about spaghetti.

Not sure how to shut off the game, Bobby just turned off the TV and placed a blanket over Sarah, moving the controller away from her and placed it on top of the game system. On the way out, he shut off the light and went to his own room.

The next morning, Bobby made pancakes with Sarah's help, both getting covered in flour when they had tossed it at each other. They cleaned up the kitchen and sat down to eat. After breakfast, Sarah headed outside again, finding where she had dropped her stick from the day before and ran around the salvage yard while Bobby finished the Colt.

While she pretended to fight Ganondorf, a voice startled her from behind. "Wild imagination you have there, kid."

Sarah turned on the spot to find Ruby standing there with her arms folded, loosely. "It's you," she said, lowering her stick to her side and watched her, closely. "I called my cousin. Did my mom know who I really was?"

"Yellow Eyes had told her you were special, someone he needed," Ruby told her with a shrug.

"Okay, who are you really?" Sarah asked. "You seem to know more about me than I do."

Ruby shook her head, "You don't want to know, kid, trust me."

"Yeah, well I'm starting to think you're more than just a hunter. What with you popping up places where you possibly couldn't. So tell me who you are, or…" Sarah raised her stick again, in attack position, gripping her hands around it. "Or I will beat you over the head with this."

"Fine, you want to know." Ruby's eyes flashed black for a brief moment before returning to normal.

Sarah immediately stepped back, now glaring at her. "Get out of here," she ordered, "before I send your ass back to hell."

"I can help you, Sarah," she reminded her.

"Yeah, right," Sarah scoffed. "I made the mistake of trusting a demon once. I won't do it again." Her left hand was reaching into the inside pocket of her leather jacket.

"You don't need holy water, Sarah. I can really help you."

"I'm not falling for that twice, you pathetic demon." Sarah pulled out a bottle of holy water and quickly tore off the lid.

"I thought you wanted to save your dad?" Ruby asked of her, unmoved.

"I do, but I'm not taking help from a demon. Not again." With that, Sarah splashed the holy water. However, Ruby disappeared. Sarah looked around, quickly but the demon was nowhere to be found.

"What is it with you hunters?" Ruby was standing behind Sarah now, standing the same way. Sarah quickly turned on her heels. "You strike first and don't even bother asking questions later."

"That's 'cause demons only lie. I want to save my dad but there's no way I'm letting a demon help. That'll only lead to trouble."

Ruby uncrossed her arms, dropping them at her side and stepped towards Sarah. "Should have known you'd be just like your dad."

"My dad taught me everything I know on defending myself," Sarah glared at her some more.

"If I wanted to kill you, Sarah, I would have done it already. Just remember, I saved your little ass once already. Without me, you'd be dead," she told her.

Sarah was gripping the stick and the bottle of holy water, defensively. "And I appreciate it but we all know you did that to get something out of it. All demons are alike, you know."

"Don't be raciest, Sarah. Not all demons are the same. I really do want to help you."

"And I told you, I'm not buying it." Sarah splashed more of the holy water. After that, Ruby was gone. Sarah didn't lower her guard yet. Ruby never reappeared. She had wanted to talk to Sam first before Ruby came back but they had never gotten around to talking. So Sarah just took in her instincts of what her father had taught her and what she had learned from a couple months ago. No way was she letting a demon use her again, not even to save her father. Sarah was going to be smart about everything, this time.


	88. Chapter 88- Sin City

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 88

That afternoon, Sarah trailed after Bobby when he was taking the Colt out to test it out on a sack of sand hanging from a tree. Bobby took a couple shots and let Sarah have one since she asked so nicely.

"Lucky shot," the old hunter muttered where Sarah could hear him when he took the Colt back. He scrapped at the back of the gun with a metal pick before aiming it at the sack again and fired. Repeating the progress, Bobby aimed once more until Ruby appeared yet again.

"Cute piece," she grinned, her arms folded like before.

Bobby slowly lowered the Colt, "Who are you?"

Sarah jumped in at that moment. "Careful, Uncle Bobby, she's a demon," she warned him and went into her jacket pocket to retrieve what she had left of the holy water from earlier.

"Shut it, kid, the grown-ups are talking now," Ruby told her, coldly.

Bobby moved, protectively in front of Sarah. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, not happy with the way she was talking to Sarah.

"For starters, I can help you out with that gun."

Sarah tried looking around Bobby, "I told you, we don't need your help."

"I'm trying to prove to you I'm on your side. Just give me the benefit of the doubt here."

She glared at the demon, "I wouldn't even give you the time of day, you demonic, son of a…."

"Sarah!" Bobby interrupted her before she could finish her father's favorite phase. "What is it you want, exactly?" he asked Ruby.

Ruby walked towards them which Bobby started nudging Sarah backwards with his arm, protectively pushing her, "Peace on earth. Now, do you want me to help you out with that gun or not?"

"Or not," Sarah exclaimed, angrily.

"Will you excuse us a moment," Bobby nodded at the demon and dragged Sarah out of earshot. Keeping their voices down, he told her, "Maybe we can use her, Sarah."

"Are you insane?" she asked in a whisper. "She's a demon. Dad wouldn't give her the time of day, why should we?"

"Look, Sarah, we don't really have a choice here. We need a weapon that can kill demons easily and she may be our only chance," he told her.

"Come on, Uncle Bobby," Sarah urged him. "Are you listening to yourself? Working with or helping demons never leads to good things so why would you want to let her help us?"

Bobby kneeled down to her level, in the dirt. "I'm not saying to give into her demands and work for her, all I'm saying is that we can use her to fix the Colt then after that if she tries anything, we'll just exorcise her back to hell. Okay?"

Sarah glared over at Ruby out of the corner of her eye, and then looked back at Bobby. She didn't like this plan at all, not one bit. "Fine. But as soon as we have the Colt fixed, it's adios Ruby," she gave in. "And if Dad asks, it was your idea."

"Fine." Bobby stood up and turned to face Ruby. "So what do we need to fix the Colt with?"

Ruby smirked when she heard that.

The whole time, Ruby was fixing up the Colt, Sarah stood back, against a wall with her arms folded. Sarah didn't trust the demon one bit and knew her father would be pissed if he knew a demon was helping them. Hell, she was pissed, herself.

When the Colt was finished, Bobby drove up to Elizabethville, Ohio where the boys were. Bobby parked on the side of the house and the three of them jumped out. Sarah followed after Bobby who suddenly stopped and aimed the Colt at a middle-aged man who was dressed as a priest. Bobby missed, hitting a statue instead and was thrown to the side. Sam was then thrown onto the hood of a car that was sitting there. The man threw Sarah back as well when she tried to make a run towards him.

Sarah quickly got to her feet, painfully and met her uncle over where Bobby was lying on the ground.

"How did you two know where we were?" Sam asked of them.

Bobby handed Sam the Colt and told him to go after the demon. Sam stood up and turned around.

"You heard the man," Ruby told him. "Go."

Sam was confused who she was but felt small hands pushing on the back of his legs.

"Come on, Uncle Sam, we have to save my dad!" she exclaimed as she tried to move him along. "I will explain about her later."

Sam agreed and ran after the demon. Sarah followed after him. They hurried down into the basement of the house just as the demon inside the priest was holding Dean up by his throat. Sam fired, making the demon drop him and it dropped dead.

Sarah hurried around her uncle and dropped beside her father, helping him to sit up. "Dad, you okay?" she asked, worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Baby Girl." Suddenly, Dean noticed Sam had the Colt pointing at the girl and tried to stop him but it was too late. Sam shot her, too. Both of the demons lied dead, beside each other. The look in Sam's eye seemed different to Dean. It seemed more determined and colder. Dean watched his brother as Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck.

The next day, Dean, Sarah, and Bobby walked out of a bar. "Well, what do you think, Bobby?" Dean was asking. "About what we did here. Do you think it made a difference?"

"Why wouldn't it?" Sarah asked her father, walking between the men.

Bobby stopped walking and shrugged, "Two less demons to worry about. That's not nothing."

"Yeah, but Trotter's still alive," said Dean.

"Humans ain't our job."

Dean started walking across the street, "Yeah, but do you think anything's really gonna change? I mean, maybe these people do wanna destroy themselves. Maybe it is a losing battle."

"That you or the demon girl talking?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, it's me." Dean stared at the ground as he walked. "Demon is dead. So is that hot girl it was possessing."

"Too bad, I would have liked if those people could live," Sarah added into the men's conversation.

"Well, had to be done," Bobby told them. "Sam was saving your daddy's life."

"Yeah, but you didn't see it, Bobby," said Dean. "It was cold."

Sarah looked up at her father, "What do you mean?"

Dean didn't answer his daughter, he was thinking about the night before. "Bobby," he stopped the old hunter.

Bobby turned to look back at him when they were across the street.

"You ever get the feeling like…like maybe when I brought Sam back, he was different?"

Bobby asked, "Different how?"

"I don't know. Just something in his eyes….you think something's wrong with my brother?"

He shrugged, "No, I'm sure Sam's okay."

"Yeah," Dean looked away. "Yeah, me too." After a moment, he asked, "You mind taking Sam and Sarah back to your place? I have an errand I have to run by myself. I will meet you up there."

"Sure," Bobby replied.

Sarah didn't feel excited to hear her father had to go somewhere else. "You're leaving again?" she asked, sadly.

Dean kneeled to her level, resting his left arm on his knee. "It's just for a little while longer, okay? I promise. I just need to take care of something."

Sarah nodded, "Okay, Dad."

"That's my girl," he smirked at her. "How's your shoulder, by the way?"

"It still hurts a little but not like it did before."

Dean continued to smile, "That's good. I'll tell ya, if I ever see that bitch, Bela again, I'd kill her. Looking back, I shouldn't have let her get away without justice being served."

"But she was armed and you weren't. I'm glad you didn't do anything, otherwise I would have lost you sooner than a year." With that, Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck once more. "You were the bigger person by not doing anything to her."

"I know but it would have been better if I could have punched her in the face for shooting you," he replied, holding her in his arms.

Sarah moved her head to face him and gave her father a kiss on the cheek. Dean smiled at that and gave her one right back before they squeezed each other, tight and stood up. As they waved good-bye for a moment longer, they went their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Sam was packing up his backpack when Ruby walked in. "Hello, Sam," she told him.

Sam jumped and turned his head to look at her. "Who are you?" he asked.

"The name's Ruby," she told him. "I'm a hunter just like you."

"What do you want?"

"I want to help you, Sam."

"Help with what?"

"I know how to save your brother, for one."

"How?"

Ruby was leaning in the doorway. She stood up and walked closer to him. "I'll tell you what, you help me and I will help you," she smiled at him.

"Why do you want to help me? What's in it for you?" Sam demanded of her.

"I swear, you and your niece are so much alike. I mean, everyone says Sarah and her father are alike but I have to say, I think you have your brother beat in that department. Like I told Sarah, you're special, Sam, and I could use someone like you," she explained.

"Wait, you talked to my niece? When?" Then it dawned on Sam. He remembered that Sarah had wanted to talk to him about something. "You're the reason Sarah wanted to talk to me, aren't you?"

Ruby smirked again. "Nothing gets passed you, does it? Yeah but now Sarah refuses to give me a chance even if it's to save her dear ol'daddy. So how about it, Sam?"

Sam watched her carefully. If his niece wasn't giving this woman a chance to help, there must have been a reason. Although, Sarah was a kid and came from a history of trust issues. Maybe this could work, and Sam still hasn't found a way to save his brother anyway. "Give me a reason that I can trust you," he finally told her.

Ruby shrugged, "Well, I told Sarah to start gathering information on her mother. Maybe you should look into your own mother's past, considering what happened to all her friends."

Sam stared at her, confused. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Just look into it and give me a call." Ruby gave him her phone number and was gone.

He stared at the number. His niece calling her cousin made so much sense now. Sarah wasn't doing it just to say hello, she was finding answers and now it was Sam's turn. What did Ruby mean by what had happened to his mother's friends?

Dean waited for nightfall and drove for a few hours before he came to a crossroads. After spending a few hours, trapped in a basement with a demon, he learned a few things. For starters, Sarah was never supposed to be born in the first place. In fact, Sarah being born had thrown off everything. It was Sam that was supposed to be in her place and lead Yellow Eyes' army of demons. He was supposed to be the most special one of all, not Sarah. But of course, Dean had to meet Emily Holden that night and decided to get some action. When her abilities awakened early and gained more than any of his special children has ever had, Yellow Eyes grew intrigued and kept an eye on Sarah from then on.

Dean had also learned that Yellow Eyes had been popping in when Sarah was alone and speaking to her, not just in her dreams but in reality, too. After the flu episode and the whole thing with the rabbit's foot, and feeling there was something wrong with his brother, Dean realized he had to set things right. He needed to be there for Sarah in case she got weak. He knew she could make wise decisions but also knew Sarah was easily manipulated. He couldn't leave her behind to let anything like that happen, even if he was beating himself over deserving hell for what he had done.

Dean parked on the side of a dirt road and went back to the trunk to remake another box, and took it over to the center of the crossroads to bury it. Standing up, he looked around at the quiet, deserted roads.

"Well, well, well," a familiar voice startled him from behind. "Look who's come crawling back." The same crossroads demon from before was standing there as she grinned at him.

He turned fully around and stared at her. "I want to call off the deal. Sam drops dead and I stay," he told her. "Those were your words, right?"

She shrugged, "They were."

"So let's do it. Come on, we don't have all night, you know."

"Hold on, sugar," the crossroads demon said. "Those were the terms before my boss got word that Dean Winchester had booked a seat downstairs. She was elated and can't wait until your time is up."

"What do you mean? That was the deal and I want it off. My daughter is alive, which a certain someone could have told me, by the way. She needs me. As much as I want my brother alive and care about the kid, Sarah is more important to me."

She shrugged, "Should have thought of that before, now it's up to my boss and she badly wants you so much."

Dean cocked a grin, "As flattering as that is, I have to say I'll pass. Please, just tear up the contract."

"No can do, sugar," the crossroads demon shook her head.

"You said if I tried to weasel my way out of this deal, the deal was off and Sam drops dead. Well, I'm weaseling my way out of this deal," he told her, angrily.

"That was before, this is now. You will have to take it up with my boss."

"Okay, where's your boss? Connect me to her," Dean said as if he was calling customer service or something.

"Sorry, she doesn't make house calls," she shook her head.

Dean stepped towards the crossroads demon, his fists clenching at his side. "Look, you bitch. Either you cut off the deal or I will send you straight back to hell." Suddenly, Dean pulled the Colt out from behind and pointed it at her. He used his thumb to cock it. "What's it gonna be?"

The crossroads demon was unmoved. "Shooting me won't end the deal," she assured him.

"No, but it'll help take out my frustrations," Dean pointed out with a smirk.

"Fine, go ahead but your contract will remain in tack and you will still have your one-way ticket to hell. Face it, Dean. You already dug your grave, now all you can do is lay back and accept the choices you made. Besides, I've seen kids grow up parentless and there's a chance Sarah will turn out fine." The crossroads demon grinned. "Of course there's also a chance she'll grow up, hating the world, bury herself into hunting, and be the lonely, incomplete person you were before the two of you met. Am I…." She was never able to finish her sentence. Dean had pulled the trigger and shot her in the forehead.

He watched as the crossroads demon fell back into the dirt. So much for that plan, Dean figured. He blew it. Dean absolutely blew it. What the hell was he supposed to do now? There was no chance of calling the deal off or saving himself from going to hell and Sarah was going to grow up without him, for sure. Dean couldn't help let a tear fall. Is there anything else he could possibly screw up as a father now?

When the three of them had gotten back to Bobby's place, Sam locked himself in one of the upstairs rooms and started trying to find information on his mother's friends. After calling the last person he could find, he learned that all of her friends, including Mary's doctor were dead.

Sam called Ruby back. "All of them are dead," he told her. "All of them. Her friends, her doctor, her uncle. Anyone who knew her systematically wiped off the map one at a time." He scoffed. "Someone went through a hell of trouble trying to cover their tracks."

"Yup, Yellow-eyed Demon," she replied, staring at him from the bed.

"But what about Sarah's other family? None of them were killed."

Ruby shrugged, "Sarah's mother wasn't as close to hers as yours was. Besides Sarah's cousin, her family didn't know about the demon. Being the "Christianly" type of people, they believed they couldn't be touched by demons and that there was something wrong with Sarah and her mother."

"So what's your deal?" Sam asked of her. "You show up wherever we are, you know a lot about Sarah and me, you know all about our moms."

She laughed, a little, "I already told you. I'm just a…"

"Oh, right. Right. Yeah. Just a hunter. Just some hunter who happens to know more about our own families than we do." Sam forced a smile as he shook his head, "Just tell me who you are."

Ruby scoffed at the floor, "I told Sarah who I was and that's when she decided she didn't want my help."

Sam was growing frustrated and tried desperately to keep his voice down so they wouldn't attract Sarah or Bobby but he couldn't help it. "Just…" he paused for a moment than moved closer to her. "Just tell me who you are."

"Fine." And like she had done with Sarah, Ruby's eyes shown black for a split second then returned to normal.

Sam stepped backwards in shock. Now he knew why Sarah had turned Ruby's offer down. Like his niece had done, Sam went straight to his backpack and started searching for the holy water.

"Like I told Sarah, Sam, you don't need holy water," Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, give me one good reason I can trust you," he told her, angrily.

"This stubbornness must run in the family, doesn't it?" she said. "Like I said before, I am here to help you, Sam. God's honest truth or whatever."

"You're a demon," Sam told her as he quickly rummaged through his backpack.

Ruby stood up and slowly walked over to him. "Don't be a racist either, Sam. I am really here to help you. And I can if you trust me."

"Trust you?" Sam flicked off the cap and held the flask of holy water out towards her. "Why should I trust you? Sarah couldn't."

"Sam, calm down," she told him.

He stared at her, his heart beating fast as he exhaled, rapidly. "Start talking. All those murders. What was the demon trying to cover up?"

"I don't know," Ruby said.

"What happened to my mother? What happened to Sarah's mother?"

"I honestly don't know. That's what I'm trying to find out. All I know is that it's about you."

Sam stared at her. "What?"

She scoffed, "Don't you get it, Sam? It's all about you. You originally, actually. What happened to your mom, what happened to her friends. They're trying to cover up what he did to you." Ruby shrugged, "And I wanna help you figure it out."

"Why would you want to help me?" he asked still not lowering the flask.

"I have my reasons. Sarah wouldn't buy it but not all demons are the same, Sam. Not all of us want the same thing. Me?" She shrugged again, "I want to help you from time to time. That's all." Ruby stepped closer to him when he had lowered the flask. "And if you let me," she gave a small laugh, "there's something in it for you." Ruby smiled at him.

"What could you possibly…"

"Like I said a million times before, I can help you save your brother."


	89. Chapter 89- Bedtime Stories (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 89

"Are you out of your mind?!" Sarah spat at her uncle when she found out Ruby had given up on her and went to Sam instead. She was leaning over the back of the front seat again.

When Dean met them at Bobby's place, he had brought Sarah the surprise he had promised. Not really sure what he should do, Dean just picked up stuff to make ice cream sundaes, leaving out the nuts since he remembered Sarah was allergic. Much to Sam's objection, that was their breakfast.

After breakfast, Dean decided to toss a football back and forth with Sarah, too before they hit the road again. Sam joined in, halfway through. He didn't say anything about Ruby until much later when they were driving and everything was quiet.

"Do you want to help your dad out of his deal or not, Sarah?" he asked of her, almost yelling.

"Yes, but I'm not gonna team up with a demon to do it. Do I need to remind you what happened the first time?"

"I'm not talking about trusting her, Sarah. I'm talking about using her," Sam argued with her.

Sarah just laughed, thinking about what Bobby had said before, too. "Man, I should have just sent her back to hell when I first found out she was a demon."

"Yes, you should have," Dean butted into the conversation as he drove. "You go for the holy water. You don't chat."

Sam rolled his eyes, "No one was chatting, Dean."

"Then why didn't you send her ass back to hell?" he demanded.

"I wasted half a bottle of holy water, trying to fend her off," Sarah told her father.

"At least someone did," said Dean which got an eye roll from his brother.

"Yeah? Well, it looks like I wasn't the only one chatting with a demon," Sam pointed out.

"I didn't go for it like you did, bonehead," Sarah snapped at him again.

"I didn't mean you, Sarah. I was talking about your dad."

Sarah stopped and stared at her uncle before she looked over at her father. "What is he talking about, Dad?" she asked of him.

Dean shrugged, "I have no idea, Baby Girl."

"I think you do, Dean. There's a bullet missing from the Colt and I only used two on those demons. What did you do?" Sam demanded.

"Nothing," Dean told him, defensively.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm sure. Now we all gonna drop this subject and leave it alone. That includes this Ruby girl, too. Do you understand me?" Dean was looking between Sam and Sarah.

Sarah nodded first, "Yes, sir."

Dean looked over at his brother, "Sam?"

Sam slumped in his seat, not saying a word.

"Dude," he warned.

"Yes," Sam finally replied, annoyed.

The car ride was silent for a long time before Dean finally broke it. "Tell me about the psychotic killer," he said as he watched the road and added, "Come on, Sam. Tell me about the psychotic killer," when Sam didn't say anything.

Sam forcefully grabbed a newspaper off the dash and read it out loud, "Psychotic killer: Rips victims apart with brute-like ferocity."

"Okay," said Dean, "Any mention of its razor-sharp teeth or his four-inch claws, animal eyes?"

Sam quietly stared down at the paper, "No." He flipped it closed. "The lunar cycle's right. Look, if it is a werewolf, we don't have long. Moon's full this Friday. That's the last time he changes for a month."

Dean nodded at the road, "Two days, no sweat.

The Winchesters spoke with the only survivor of the animal attack, asking the guy questions to decide if it was indeed a werewolf they were dealing with, while Sam tried to draw what the guy described. The guy thought they were nuts, stating the attacker was just a normal, human guy. Dean talked to the guy's doctor as well about the other two victims, if they were missing their hearts, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary which didn't help the Winchesters any.

It wasn't long before another attack happened. Speaking with another victim, a young woman this time, she explained how an elderly woman invited her and her husband inside her house and fed them a drugged pie. The young woman managed to escape by shoving the elderly woman, causing her to hit her head on the stove. The young woman also told them about a little girl with dark hair and pale skin, around eight years old, a little taller than Sarah.

So the Winchesters decided to check out the crime scene, wandering around the elderly woman's house.

"Well, there's no sulfur anywhere," Dean announced. "What about the EMF?"

Sam was over by a window, scanning the EMF meter along it. "Yeah, it's going nuts," he replied. "But only over here by the window. There was definitely a spirit here."

"Who stood outside the crime scene and watched?"

"Looks like," Sam shrugged.

Sarah was sitting at the kitchen table, looking through her books. "I've scanned through each book several times and I can't find anything that matches these attacks," she leaned back in the chair.

"Come on, Peanut, you should recognize these attacks better than we could," Sam told his niece.

"It's nothing I've read before," she shrugged.

"Really? Didn't your mom read you bedtime stories? Or your grandparents?" he asked.

Her right eyebrow rose, "You mean like fairy tales?"

"Yeah, you know, _The Three Little Pigs_ , _Hansel and Gretel_ , those types of stories."

"If it didn't involve some type of supernatural creature, or dragons, I wasn't interested. Besides, my mom read a bedtime story? I would have loved to see that."

"All right, what about old Disney flicks?" Sam asked.

Sarah crossed her arms across her chest. "Yeah, I've seen those. Why? What does fairy tales and Disney movies have to do with these attacks?"

"Well, I've been thinking about them," he shrugged.

Dean looked over at his brother when he heard Sam say he was thinking about fairy tales and Disney movies. "That's nice," he grinned over at Sam, "you think about those often?"

"No, Dean, I'm talking about the murders. A guy and a girl, hiking through the woods, an old lady tries to eat them? That's _Hansel and Gretel_. Then we have three brothers arguing over how to build houses, attacked by the big, bad wolf." Sam was walking over to the table to grab his jacket off the back of a chair where he left it and slung it over his left arm.

" _Three Little Pigs_."

Sam agreed.

Dean looked away for a second and smirked, "Actually, those guys were a little chubby."

"Wait, I thought those stories ended with fake, happy endings," Sarah asked. "That's one of the reasons I hated them and stayed away."

"You don't like happy endings?" Sam asked of his niece, confused.

"Oh no, I like happy endings," she corrected, nodding. "I just don't like the sappy, fake endings that fairy tales portray since life doesn't turn out like that."

"So you didn't check out the real versions by the Grimm brothers?"

Sarah looked up at her uncle, also confused, "There's real versions?"

"Yeah, you see, the Grimm brothers' stuff was kind of like the folklore of its day," Sam explained, "full of sex, violence, cannibalism. Then it got sanitized over the years, turned into Disney flicks and bedtime stories."

Sarah was intrigued now. "I am so borrowing your computer later," she told her uncle. "My kindergarten teacher read us fairy tales at story time but I always sat back in the corner of the rug and read my own folklore. Why didn't she tell me about this stuff?"

Dean walked around the table, towards the window Sam was checking out, "I think the answer is in what you just said. You know, the key word being, kindergarten, and you being only five years old." He shrugged, "I don't know but that that would be my guess."

Sarah rolled her eyes and mimicked what her father had said. "Okay, I see your point."

"So, Sam, you think the murders are, uh, what, a reenactment?" Dean asked of his brother and shrugged, "That's a little crazy."

Sam smirked, placing his jacket back on, "Crazy as what? Every day of our lives?"

Dean shrugged at the floor, "Touché." He walked back over to the table. "How's the creepy ghost girl involved?"

"Um," Sam tried to think as he started packing up their stuff. "She must've been here for a reason. I'm willing to bet you top dollar she was at the construction site, too."

"We gotta do research now, don't we," said Dean.

"Don't we always," Sarah reminded her father with a smile.

"Shut up," he teased her.

The Winchesters split up to do the research. Dean and Sarah took the public library to find out if any black-haired, pale-skinned little girls had died violent deaths or had gone missing over the last few years. Neither one of them found anything. While they were leaving the library, they met up with Sam right outside the door.

"Tell me you got something good because we've totally wasted the last six hours," Dean was telling his brother.

Sam laughed to himself. "Well, you ever hear of Lillian Bailey? She was a British medium from the 1930s."

"She got a thing for fairy tales?" he asked as they walked through a park.

"No, trances," he replied, staring at the ground. "See, she would go into these unconscious states where, um… Get this: her thoughts and actions were completely controlled by spirits."

"The ghost puppet master."

Sam agreed.

"So that kid could be in some kind of trance and is controlling people like the characters in fairy tales?" Sarah tried to make sense of everything in her head, walking in between the brothers.

"It could be," Sam replied and let out a breath. "You know, kind of a spirit hypnosis or something."

"Trances, I get," said Dean, looking away, "but fairy tale trances? That's bizarre even for us."

Suddenly, a croaking sound caught their attention. The Winchesters abruptly stopped walking and looked down to see a fat, croaking frog at their feet.

Sam looked off in the distance, "Yeah, you're right. That's completely normal."

Dean thought it over in his head. "All right, maybe it is fairly tales." He stared down at the frog that was just sitting there. "Totally messed up fairy tales. I'll tell you one thing, there's no way I'm kissing a damn frog."

"Can I catch it and keep it as a pet?" Sarah asked, looking up at her father. "I've always wanted a frog but my mom said no."

"Finally, something your mom and I agree on," he replied.

"So that would be a no then?"

"What do you think?" Dean nodded down at her.

"Come on, I got that shoe box now and I can gather leaves and stuff for it and I can feed it crickets…" Sarah tried to plead with her father.

"The answer is no. Frogs are disgusting and can give you warts. If you want a pet, go find a pet rock," he told her, sternly.

"Rocks don't do anything," she said.

"Exactly my point. Easy to take care of, and you don't have to worry about them dying on you."

Sam had been looking over at a house, across the street. There was a pumpkin sitting on the front porch and mice scurrying around it. "Hey, guys," he interrupted the father and daughter conversation. "Check that out."

Dean and Sarah looked over at what Sam was staring at.

Sarah shrugged, "So?"

"It's close to Halloween," Dean added.

"You remember Cinderella," he asked them, "With the pumpkin that turns into a coach and the mice that become horses?"

Dean slowly turned his head to look at his brother and asked, "Dude, could you be more gay?"

Sam looked over at his brother and shrugged, not saying a word before he looked back at the house.

"Don't answer that," Dean shook his head as he looked back at the house himself.

The Winchesters decided to check it out. Dean picked the lock on the front door before they headed inside. "Well who knows," he said, looking around the house. "Maybe we'll find your fairy godmother." Dean chuckled when Sam glared at him.

The three of them went three different ways until they heard a noise and got out their guns, heading in the direction Sam took, eventually walking into the kitchen where a young woman was handcuffed to the stove, beaten, battered, and bruised. She explained her stepmother had gone crazy and beaten her, chaining her to the stove.

It was Dean to notice the little girl standing back, watching them and got his brother and daughter's attention. The girl then quickly walked away. He made to stand up but Sarah grabbed his arm and stood up, herself. She slowly followed after the girl, looking around the house as she placed her gun back inside her jacket.

Heading back into the front room, Sarah saw her through an open doorway.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Sarah assured the girl.

The girl then turned and walked away again. Sarah continued to follow after her until she heard the wooden floor creak from behind and turned around. The girl was standing there, staring at her.

"What's your name?" Sarah asked, politely.

The girl didn't respond. She just stood there, staring. Suddenly, the girl disappeared, which surprised Sarah. All that was left behind was a small, red apple. Sarah reached down and picked it up to look the apple over. Little girl, red apple. That sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place it.

Her father interrupted her thoughts. "Find anything?" he asked her.

Sarah tossed the apple to him, catching Dean off guard. "She disappeared and left this. You know what that means or should we ask the fairy tale expert?" she asked.

"Well, Sam's taking care of the other girl right now, but uh…" he thought about the apple and the girl. "Yeah, I got nothing."

Dean and Sarah waited outside for Sam who walked outside when the young woman was taken care of. Dean tossed the apple to him, "So, little girl, shiny, red apple. I'm guessing that means something to you, fairy tale boy."

Sam caught it in his hands, "I think its Snow White."

" _Snow White_?" Dean thought about that. "Aw, I saw that movie." He walked around to his side of the Impala. "Well, the porn version anyway. There was this wicked stepmother, phew. She was wicked."

"There is a wicked stepmother," Sam leaned on the roof of the Impala, "and she tries to kill Snow White with a poisoned apple."

"But the apple doesn't actually kill the girl, right?" he asked.

"No," Sam replied, examining the apple, turning it over in his hands. "Puts her in a deep sleep. So deep it's almost like she's dead." He tossed the apple over his head, back at his brother who caught it in one hand before the three of them slid into the Impala.

"Yeah, now I remember," Sarah realized as she climbed into the backseat. "There's a Disney movie of it. That's the one where the girl basically walks right into someone's house when they're not home and cleans it without permission, and then seven little men come home and they're not mad at all. In fact, they let her live there."

"You know, you never evaluated _The Lion King_ like this," Sam pointed out.

"So, what's your point?" she shrugged at her uncle.

Sam was leaning his arm on the back of the front seat, "My point is I was under the impression that you liked Disney flicks."

"Oh, I do. Like fairy tales though, I hate princess movies. I mean, they're all the same, basically. Oh, someday my prince will come and I will be very happy," she mimicked the cliché movies. "News flash, it doesn't work that way either."

"Please tell me you didn't tell any of this to your cousin and destroy her childhood dreams," he said, hopeful.

"What and let her grow up, thinking she had to be pretty to be successful in life?" Sarah shook her head. "I don't think so. Unfortunately, she didn't buy it and told me I was jealous that I wasn't a beautiful princess like her parents brainwashed her to be."

Sam couldn't help but smile. "Sarah, that's what little girls like to pretend as. They want to think they could be a princess and grow up to marry a prince, it doesn't mean they will and they do eventually grow out of it."

"Yeah, into make-up painted woman who don't want to be seen without it in public," Sarah pointed out, her arms folded. "So tell me, growing up wanting to be a princess doesn't have any influence in that."

Sam looked over at his brother, raising his eyebrows at him.

Dean caught him out of the corner of his eye and looked at Sam, fully. "What?" he asked, defensively. "Kid's got a point."

"Oh really, Mister I-pick-up-pretty-girls-in-bars," he told him, matter-of-factly.

Dean tried to object to that but stopped, knowing his brother was right. "Well, at least my daughter has the right idea, at least."

Sam nodded in agreement. It felt weird having a niece not believe in the whole princess craze that other girls enjoyed but at least Sarah was being her own person and wasn't trying to be like the others.


	90. Chapter 90- Bedtime Stories (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 90

The Winchesters headed back to the hospital and asked one of the nurses if there were any comatose little girls staying there as patients. There were only elderly men and Callie, daughter of one of the doctors who refused to give up on her. The Winchesters exchanged looks between each other, figuring that may be the girl that's been forcing people to kill each other. After asking for directions to her room, they headed up there. The doctor Dean spoke to before was in the middle of reading a story to his daughter.

Sarah watched and listened. Even though she learned to read at an early age, Sarah would have liked if her mother had read to her, at least once. She looked up at her father who was standing there waiting for the doctor to finish and wondered if she was considered too old to be read to now. Callie there, lying stiffly on the hospital bed, looked like she was an adult and her father was reading to her. Of course, Callie didn't really have a choice. She was comatose, after all.

Eventually, the doctor noticed the Winchesters and stopped reading, walking over to them as he removed his glasses. "Detectives," he nodded at them. "Can I help you?"

Dean hesitated, not knowing what to say. "We just heard Callie is your daughter."

"And we wanted to say how very sorry we are," Sam added.

The doctor nodded at the floor with his hands on his sides. "Well, um, thank you." He paused for a second before he said, "If you'll excuse me," as he squeezed in between them.

"Oh, we're heading this way, we'll walk with you," Dean told him as they followed him. "How long has Callie been like that?"

Sam quickly added, "We don't mean to intrude. We can't possibly understand how hard it must be for you seeing her like this."

"Yeah, it's not easy," the doctor agreed, sadly.

Dean tried not to think about how it would be if Sarah was ever in that state. He'd probably hold on, too.

"She's, uh, been here since she was eight years old," the doctor explained.

Sam asked, "That's when she was poisoned?"

The doctor was staring at the ground with his hands in his pockets. "Yes, uh, swallowed bleach. Never figured out how she got her hands on the bottle."

The Winchesters were thinking about what the doctor was saying, over in their minds as he continued.

"My wife found her, brought her to the ER. Here, and I was on call."

"Your wife was, uh," said Dean. "Was that Callie's stepmother?"

The doctor stopped walking to look at Dean. "Actually, yes. How'd you know that?"

Dean shrugged, "Lucky guess."

"Well, Julie was the only mother that, uh, Callie ever knew. My wife passed away, last year and, uh…it's just me and my daughter now."

Sam and Dean exchanged glances between each other.

"She's all I got left." The doctor glanced at his watch. "Um, excuse me, I've gotta get back to work."

Dean nodded at him, in understanding, "Yeah."

The doctor then walked off, leaving the Winchesters alone. The three of them started walking as Dean said, "Well, you're right. It's _Snow White_ in spades."

Sam agreed, "Yup. Stepmom poisons the girl, puts her into a deep sleep. What's the motive, you think?"

Sarah shrugged, "I got nothing."

"Could be like Mischa Barton," Dean guessed.

Sam was staring at the floor until he looked up at his brother, confused.

" _Sixth Sense_ , not _The O.C._ "

"What?" Sam shrugged, still confused.

"Hey, you know fairy tales, I know movies. She played the pasty ghost."

Sarah realized what her father was referring to. "Oh, the ghost that kept throwing up because her mom was poisoning her soup, keeping her in bed?"

"Yeah, the mom had that thing where you keep the kid sick so you would get all the attention," Dean explained.

"Oh, yeah," Sam remembered as well. "Uh, Munchausen Syndrome by proxy. Huh, could be."

"Wait, there's a name for it?" Sarah asked.

"Pretty much. Anything these days has a medical term for it."

"So, all these years," said Dean, "Callie's been suffering silently because no one knows the truth about what Mommy Dearest did."

"And after all this time," Sam added, "her spirit just gets angrier and angrier until it finally starts lashing out." He stopped and turned back to look at his brother.

"Meanwhile, she has to listen to Dad tell her these deranged stories about a rabid wolf or a cannibalistic old lady. It's enough to drive anybody nuts."

"So, what?" Sarah shrugged, "We go in there and pull the plug when no one's looking?"

"Her father probably has her on high security," Sam replied.

"We can't exactly burn her bones either," Dean added right as the paramedics were bringing in a badly injured, elderly woman, looking like she was attacked by a wild dog. "What was the last story Dr. Garrison was reading Callie?"

" _Little Red Riding Hood_ ," Sam replied.

The three of them approached the head paramedic, who was looking over his chart as the doctors placed a sheet over the elderly woman. "Excuse me," Sam interrupted, politely before the Winchesters showed the paramedic their badges. "Was she the only victim?"

"She was found on the side of the road, barely alive," he explained. "Alone."

"We need to find her next of kin," said Dean.

The paramedic looked through his paperwork. "She has a granddaughter."

"Do you have an address?"

He handed Dean one of the forms, which Dean thanked him for, walking away. Sam and Sarah also thanked the paramedic before following Dean.

"You find a way to stop Callie, all right?" Dean told Sam when they were out of earshot.

Sam asked, "What about you?"

He stopped and turned to face his brother. "I'm gonna go stop the big, bad wolf. Which is the weirdest thing I've ever said."

"I'm coming too, Dad," Sarah spoke up. "If there's another kid involved, I want to help."

"The big, bad wolf's gonna be human, Sarah," Dean reminded her.

"I know, I can help the kid while you fight off the "wolf,'" she said, using air quotes.

Dean saw her point and gave in. They hurried out of the hospital to where Dean had parked the Impala and jumped in. Looking at the address, Sarah looked the elderly woman's house up in a U.S. roadmap booklet, directing her father there as he drove.

Eventually, they pulled up to the house and jumped out, hurrying up to the front door where Dean kicked it in. Both father and daughter burst in with their guns raised in front of them, waving them around. Dean closed the door behind Sarah and motioned for her to follow him, with his head. They hurried into the other room where a little girl around Sarah's age, possibly older was crouched behind an end table, terrified and crying. Dean and Sarah rushed to her side, making sure the coast was clear, kneeling down to her level on the floor.

"Are you okay?" Dean asked.

"Yeah," the little girl replied then suddenly screamed at a man standing behind him.

Sarah was the first to notice before her father, who immediately started to fight with him. The man tried to wrestle the gun out of Dean's hand, making it into a fist fight.

As Dean fought with the man, he yelled for Sarah to get the girl out of there. Sarah didn't hesitate at all. She quickly turned to the other girl and assured her everything would be fine and to follow her. The girl took Sarah's hand and allowed her to lead the girl to safety.

Taking the long way around, Sarah quickly and carefully led the girl towards the front door before Dean had to do something graphic, like kill him and have the girl witness something like that. Dashing down the front hall, Sarah told her not to look at the fight going on in the next room and threw open the front door, shoving the girl outside and shut it behind them.

Once outside, Sarah quickly put her gun away as the girls hurried down the steps before someone saw it and got the wrong idea.

"Thank you," the girl said once they were safe.

Sarah was staring over at one of the windows, trying to hear what was going on. She barely heard the girl thank her. "Oh, yeah. No problem," she told her.

"So, is that your dad in there?" she asked.

Sarah nodded, still not removing her eyes from the window, "Yes."

"Are you both cops or something? Because you look really young, younger than me even."

She sighed, letting out a long, annoyed breath. "I'm nine," she finally said. "Me and my dad, we help people." Sarah just left it at that as she continued to try and listen, to see what was happening inside. It felt like forever as Sarah listened to the sounds of her father and the other man grunt and fight against each other. Her heart was beating fast, every fiber in her body wanting, pleading for Sarah to run back in there and help her father. But Sarah knew she had to follow orders and stay out there with the girl. It wasn't an easy task though.

Soon, the noises stopped and everything was quiet inside. Not long after that, the front door opened and both men walked outside. Sarah, protectively shielded the little girl when she saw the man, her right hand inside her jacket, wrapped around the handle of her gun. Dean assured her everything was fine now, that Sam must have succeeded at getting Dr. Garrison to let go of his own daughter. Sarah then rushed right over and hugged her father around the legs, glad he was okay.

Taking the girl with them Dean drove back to the hospital where they met up with Sam again, assuring him and Dr. Garrison that the girl was fine.

"So it's finally over," the doctor nodded at the floor.

Sam was staring at the hard, tiled floor. He looked up to answer, "Yeah. All thanks to you," nodding his head.

"Callie was the most important thing in my life," the doctor took in a deep breath, looking between the men since they were eye level, "but I should have let her go a long time ago."

Dean looked down at his own daughter when the doctor had mentioned letting his own daughter go, hoping Sarah was paying attention even though it was painful to hear. "See you around, doc," he managed to say when the doctor turned to leave.

The doctor let out another breath of air. "I sure hope not," he said and forced a small laugh before walking away.

The Winchesters watched him go until he was out of sight then Dean turned towards his brother and daughter, "You know what he said? Some good advice."

Sam scrunched his eyebrows together while Sarah quickly looked up at her father. Finally, he asked, "Is that what you want us to do, Dean?"

Dean looked away, trying to hold a tear back as he tried not to think about leaving behind his daughter.

"Just let you go?"

Dean tried to look his daughter in the face but couldn't so he looked at his brother. It was much easier to face Sam then it was Sarah because he knew Sarah was on the verge of tears again and that, in turn would make him bust out, crying. So after sharing a quick look with his brother, Dean headed towards the exit.

Sam and Sarah just stood there, not saying a word. Sarah stared down at the floor before she felt her uncle staring down at her and looked up, meeting his eyes. They shared a saddened look between each other and both looked down the darkened hallway at Dean's back as he walked away. A tear drifted down Sarah's cheek. She finally moved, wrapping her arms around her uncle's legs and buried her face in them. Sam reached down and lifted his niece up onto his left side and slowly followed after Dean.

Later, that night, Sarah had finished getting ready for bed. She came out in her pajamas, which were sky blue, plain pajama pants and a darker blue, faded Pikachu T-shirt. She stuffed her dirty clothes inside her duffel bag, along with her hygiene stuff. She noticed one of her _Pokémon_ graphic novels in there and pulled it out, looking at the cover before looking up at her father who was sitting up in bed, checking his phone.

Sarah decided to crawl over to her father and dropped herself down next to him. "Dad, I know I'm old enough to read to myself and all," she held the backwards graphic novel out to him, "but can you read this to me like Dr. Garrison was reading to Callie?"

Dean looked at the graphic novel then over at his daughter. "You're not gonna control people and make them battle each other, are you?" He snickered at his own joke.

Sarah couldn't help but smile, too. "No, of course not, Dad."

Dean closed his phone and tossed it onto the nightstand on his right side of the bed before taking the graphic novel from his daughter and flipped to the first page. He wrapped his left arm around her and started to read out loud. As he read, he tried to have each character have a different voice, trying to match their voices from the TV show but failed. He tried though and Sarah appreciated it.

About halfway through the book, Sarah's eyelids started feeling heavy and soon she was asleep. Dean saw out of the corner of his eye when he noticed her steady breathing. Putting the book on the nightstand with his phone, he turned off the lamp and lied down with her, falling asleep, as well, his daughter in his arms, protectively.

"I love you, Baby Girl," he yawned, sleepily as he drifted off to sleep. "No matter where I am, you will always be in my heart." Dean didn't care how cheesy that sounded or even if his brother was awake to hear it, that was his little girl and he really did mean it.


	91. Chapter 91- Red Sky at Morning (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 91

The Winchesters were the middle of yet another argument as they headed for their next hunting gig. This time, Sam was trying to push Dean into trying to figure out who holds the contract to Dean's deal but since Dean had shot the only lead they had in finding that out, there was nothing left to do and Dean didn't want to talk about it anymore. Sam tried to press the matter further but Dean wouldn't budge. If the crossroads demon couldn't do anything about it now, what else were there? This Ruby chick? No thanks, nothing good came out of trusting demons. If something did turn up that could help them, by all means, Dean would be up for listening but other than that he didn't even want to think about any of it.

They finally arrived near the coast and spoke with the aunt of one of the mysterious drownings' victims. During the conversation, they learned of someone named Alex who she had spoken with already and was told it was already solved. Sam assured her it wasn't and the aunt continued explaining to the three of them about her niece. She explained how her niece had mentioned seeing a boat that suddenly appeared then disappeared just as quickly, and how this Alex person thought it was a ghost ship.

Also, during the interrogation, the woman couldn't help see how attractive Sam was and Dean and Sarah found it hard to hold their laughter in while keeping a straight face. By the time the Winchesters left the woman's home, Sarah couldn't hold it any longer and the minute they were alone and heading towards where the Impala was parked, she started teasing her uncle.

"So Uncle Sam," she giggled up at him, barely able to get the words out without cracking up. "Is…is that my future aunt?" Sarah started laughing.

Sam kept walking, looking away. "Ha ha," he told her, sarcastically. "Very funny, Peanut. You're so funny."

Sarah tried to contain herself but continued to grin. "Hey, I think you two make a lovely couple. So when will I expect an invitation to the wedding?"

Dean was grinning, as well. "She was a crazy, old broad."

Sam asked, "Why, because she believed in ghosts?"

"Look at you, sticking up for your girlfriend, you cougar hound," he laughed.

"Both of you bite me," Sam told his brother and niece.

Sarah asked, "Shouldn't you bite her? I mean, that what Dad said you're supposed to do when you were spying on Meg, that one time."

Sam suddenly stopped and grabbed his niece up and held her upside down on his left shoulder. "You asked for it, Peanut," he gave a smirk at her and tickled her stomach.

"No, Uncle Sam," she laughed, trying to protect her stomach. "Dad, help."

Dean shrugged, walking ahead of them, "You're on your own, kid."

When Sam couldn't get to her stomach anymore, he switched to her back and switched back when Sarah removed her hands to protect herself there. Sam kept tickling her for a minute before he stopped and put his niece down on her feet again.

"I'm gonna get you back for that," she threatened her uncle with a grin.

"Oh really. Well, good luck with that, Peanut," he smiled in return.

Dean looked back over his shoulder as he continued walking, "I've been meaning to ask you, Sam. Why do you call Sarah, peanut? I find it ironic, seeing how she's allergic to peanuts and can't even eat them."

Sam shrugged, walking beside his brother again. "Compared to my size, Sarah's tiny like a small peanut. I thought it was cute," he explained.

"Yeah, I'm going to let that comment slide since you're my uncle. You and Dad are the only ones that can get away with the short remarks now," Sarah told him, walking in between the brothers with her hands shoved in the pockets of her dress pants.

"Anyway, who is this Alex?" Dean changed the subject as they continued walking. "We got another player in town?"

"If we do, I hope he's nothing like Gordon was." Dean brushed his right hand along the top of his daughter's head when she said that, smiling.

"It doesn't change our job," Sam added.

"We're thinking ghost ship, right?" he said, staring at the ground.

"Right, and not the first one to be sighted around here, either."

He looked up at his brother, "Really?"

"Yeah, every thirty-seven years, like clockwork," Sam explained. "Reports of a vanishing three-mast, clipper ship out in the bay."

Sarah was staring at the ground, listening to her uncle. "I thought ghost ships only appeared out in the middle of an ocean, after a huge storm?"

"They can appear anywhere, any time, usually at night, and with this one, a rash of weirdo dry-land drownings."

"So whatever's happening is just getting started?" Dean asked.

Sam replied, "Yeah."

"What's the lore?"

"There are apparitions of old wrecks sighted all over the world. The _S.S. Violet_ , the _Griffon_ , the _Flying Dutchman_ ," he listed a few.

"Best _Spongebob_ character ever, by the way," Sarah pointed out. "Well, besides Patrick, anyway. That Flying Dutchman was the reason I started looking into ghost ships. I never really finished that research after I got grounded from the computer and just never went back to it."

"Couldn't stay off those dating sites, could ya?" Dean laughed, teasing her.

Sarah made like she was going to kick her father in the leg until he ducked out of the way. "Anyway, what I did find out was that a ghost ship could be a death omen, right, Uncle Sam?" she looked back up at Sam.

"Right," he replied.

"So what happens?" Dean asked, looking at the ground again. "You see the ship, then a few hours later you pucker up and kiss your ass good-bye?"

"Basically."

"What's the next step?"

"I gotta ID the boat," said Sam.

Dean shrugged, looking forward, "Shouldn't be too hard. How many three-mast clipper ships are wrecked off the coast?"

Sam snickered to himself. "I checked that out, too, actually. Over one hundred and fifty."

Dean stared at his brother, shocked to hear there were that many ship wrecks and looked forward again. "Wow."

Sam agreed.

"Crap."

He agreed again.

"I'll help you, Uncle Sam. That sounds like a lot of research," Sarah assured her uncle.

Sam smiled down at his niece. "Thanks, Peanut."

The Winchesters walked a few steps and over to where Dean had parked the Impala. However, the Impala wasn't there.

"This is where we parked the car, right?" Dean asked his brother and daughter.

"I'm pretty sure, Dad," Sarah told him. "Did you feed the meter?"

"Yes, I fed the meter," he replied, close to having a panic attack. "Where's my car?" Dean stepped back onto the sidewalk and yelled out, "Somebody stole my car?"

"Hey, hey," Sam held his hand out to his brother, "Calm down, Dean."

Dean kept walking past them, his anger rising. "I am calm down. Someone stole my…." He suddenly keeled over, holding onto his knees like he couldn't breathe. Sarah was frantically looking for the Impala as well since she loved that car as much as her father did and was also close to a panic attack.

Sam had been looking the other way until he heard their heavy breathing, and tried to calm the two of them down

"The '67 Impala?" a woman's voice asked. "Was that yours?" The Winchesters looked over to see none other than Bela walking towards them, a grin on her face.

"Bela," Sam said, not amused to see her, especially after what she did to Sarah.

She stopped in front of them. "I'm sorry, I had that car towed."

Dean had made to go after the woman but Sam kept him from doing so, holding Dean back. "You what?" he demanded.

"Well, it was in a tow-away zone."

"No, it wasn't," Dean told her, angrily, bitterness and pure hatred in his eyes as he stared at the woman responsible for shooting his daughter.

Bela was very calm. "It was when I finished with it," she smirked.

Sarah made a move towards the woman until her uncle grabbed her in one arm, holding her back. "Look, _Hermione_ ," she growled, just as angry as her father, "I'm usually a very forgiving person and all, and I rarely don't hate that often but you, you're on my hate list, right now."

It got to where it was a challenge for poor Sam, trying to hold back his brother and niece, who both wanted to rip Bela to shreds. "Peanut, that's enough," he told her, sternly.

"Do you not remember what she did?" she asked of him.

"Yes, I do and trust me when I say I would like to do something, myself." Sarah stopped struggling against her uncle, making it a little easier to hold back his brother who wasn't about to let up, or at least until he could get one good punch in. Really thinking about it, Dean realized he shouldn't have let Bela just leave that easily but he had just wanted her out of his sight. "Set a good example for your daughter, Dean."

"Oh I will," Dean said, still eyeing Bela.

"And how is punching her in the face a good example?" Sam asked.

"By showing Sarah that no bad deed goes unpunished."

"Is that what you teach your kid, Dean?" asked Bela. "Not a very subtle parent, are you?"

None of the Winchesters said a word. They just glared at her.

"What the hell are you even doing here?" Dean demanded of her.

She shrugged, looking away, "A little yachting."

"You're Alex," Sam realized, making Dean and Sarah look at him. "You're working with that old lady."

"Gert's a dear old friend."

Sam was able to release his grip on his brother but still kept his guard up in case Dean decided to lash out again.

Dean nodded over at Bela, "Yeah, right. What's your angle?"

"There's no angle. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats."

"So, in other words, you're scamming those innocent, old ladies," Sarah spoke up, her arms folded, tightly across her chest.

"I provide them with comfort." Bela then turned and walked away.

"How do you sleep at night?" Sam asked her, amazed.

Bela turned around, smiling, "On silk sheets, rolling naked in money."

Surprisingly, that didn't bring one thought to Dean's mind. He was completely turned off from Bela for what she had done to Sarah and the pain she put her through.

"Really, Sam. I'd expect the attitude from them. But you?"

Sam stared at the woman in disbelief, "You shot my niece."

"I barely grazed her," she told him like it wasn't a big deal.

"Yeah?" Sarah nodded at the cold woman. "The pain in my shoulder said otherwise, you wretched, old…"

"Sarah," Sam cut her off, still staring Bela down.

Sarah shrugged, "What? I was gonna say witch."

"More like bitch," Dean also eyed her, wanting so badly to hit Bela.

"I'm not allowed to say that word, remember?"

Dean glanced at his daughter for a second. "I would have given you a freebie."

She threw up her hands out to the sides, "Now you tell me that."

Dean turned back to Bela, "You do know what's going on here? This ghost ship thing, it is real."

Bela looked over at him, "I'm aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way."

"It's not," Sarah spat at her.

"She didn't know that." Bela stared at the little girl, coldly but Sarah didn't flinch. She looked at the brothers. "Now the old bag's stopped payment and now she's demanding some real answers." Taking a deep breath in, "Look, just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble."

"We can say the same to you."

Bela just ignored Sarah, sliding her hands into her pockets. "I'd get to that car if I were you before they find the arsenal in the trunk." She then turned and walked away.

The Winchesters watched her leave. "Can I shoot her?" Dean asked.

Sam shook his head and took in a deep breath, wanting so badly to say yes, "Not in public."


	92. Chapter 92- Red Sky at Morning (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 92

Unfortunately, the Winchesters ran into Bela again the very next day after they learned of another victim who drowned. Showing his badge, Dean released Bela away from the victim's brother and apologized to him. Sam placed an assuring arm around the man's shoulders, walking the other way. The man described the ship in full detail as a Yankee Chippers ship and that he had saw it with his brother when they were night diving. The Winchesters had to leave though when they saw Bela talking to the police.

The three of them headed back to the Impala which they were able to retrieve from the impound lot in time, and started loading up their shotguns with salt ammo.

Bela walked up behind the Winchesters. "I see you got your car back."

Dean looked forward, wanting so much to shoot the woman right then and there. "You really wanna come near me when I have a loaded gun in my hands?" He looked back at her.

"Now, now," she told him, calmly. "Mind your blood pressure. Why are you even still here? You have enough to ID the boat."

Sam finished loading the shotgun in his hands. "That guy back there saw the ship," he told her as he placed it in the trunk and closed it. The three of them turned around to face Bela.

"Yeah, and?"

"And he's next on the list," said Sarah.

"So we have to save him," Sam added.

Bela grinned at them, "How sweet."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"You think this is funny?" Dean asked of her.

She turned to Dean, "He's cannon fodder. He can't be saved in time and you know it."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks of disbelief between each other as Sarah shot back, "We still have to try."

"Come on, Baby Girl," Dean led his daughter away from the cold-hearted woman. "She's not even worth the argument anymore."

"I'm gonna find the ship and put an end to it," Bela called out to them as they walked over to slide into the Impala. "But you have fun."

Dean had opened Sarah's door for her and looked back at Bela before exchanging another look with Sam who let out an annoyed sigh. He walked back over to Bela, "hey, Bela, how'd you get like this, huh? What, did Daddy not give you enough hugs or something?"

"I don't know," she replied, stiffly. "Your daddy give you enough?"

Dean smirked at her.

"Don't you dare look down your nose at me. You're no better than I am."

He looked away for a second. "We help people," he told her.

She scoffed at that, "Come on. You do this out of vengeance and obsession. You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer."

Sarah stormed back over to Bela. "You don't even know who we are so how can you just stand there and judge us like that. We do this so people can live their lives, not having to fear the dark. We kill monsters who are killing innocent people."

"You're deciding who gets to live or die. Deep down, killing's still killing, am I right?" Bela smirked at her.

Sarah couldn't respond at all, she knew Bela had her cornered.

Dean stepped in, "All right, that's enough." He led his daughter away from Bela again and made sure she got into the Impala, this time before closing her door and slid into his seat, shutting his. Sam slid into the front seat. Twisting around in his seat, Dean assured Sarah, "Hey, don't let her get to you, all right? You and I and Sam, we know what we do. She's just trying to make herself look better because she's a stone cold, little bitch."

Sarah was staring at the plastic figurine of Yoshi, Sam had bought for her as his surprise Dean had promised her for ditching Sarah at Bobby's, and nodded.

He leaned over the front seat to kiss the top of her head before sitting back in his seat and moved the Impala around so they could keep an eye on the latest victim's brother. Dean tried to cheer Sarah up by asking who Yoshi was. Sarah scooted towards the edge and leaned against the back of the front seat, standing the green dinosaur with a red saddle on its back on it, explaining who he was.

"You have to show me the next time we're at Bobby's," he said with a smile when Sarah was finished.

"He's really good in _Mario Kart 64_ and _Double Dash_ ," she explained, her spirits lifted now. On top of having a Nintendo 64 that Mark had given her, he also gave her a Nintendo GameCube. Both of them she kept at Bobby's house since Dean figured they'd be better off there then kept in a trunk all the time.

The Winchesters waited there until way after nightfall, keeping a watchful eye for anything suspicious, like a ghost ship while Sam looked through information on the brothers, trying to find a connection. They couldn't really figure out why any of them, including Gert's niece, saw the ship.

The man had noticed they were watching him and came outside, calling for them. Sam and Dean tried to assure him they were there to protect the guy but he wouldn't believe them and got into his car and drove away. The guy's car suddenly stalled before he even left the driveway. Realizing something was wrong, Sam told Dean to run back to the trunk and grab the shotguns. Sarah ran after her father to help him while Sam climbed over the fence and over to the guy's car. The three of them tried desperately to rescue the guy in time but had gotten there a little too late. At least they were able to see the spirit for themselves so they knew what they were dealing with but the guy was dead just like his brother and Gert's niece.

Later, Dean drove down a deserted highway while a weatherman explained about a sudden change in the weather that evening. The family was quiet which no one said anything for a long time. Sarah leaned back in her seat, sideways as she made Yoshi jump across the car door. Now and then, Dean would watch her in the rear-view mirror and looked at his brother who was staring off into space, beating himself up over not being able to save the guy.

Finally, Dean switched off the radio and broke the silence. "Any one of you want to say it or should I?"

Sam and Sarah looked at him. "What?" Sam asked, bitterly.

"We can't save everybody," he said.

Sam looked away for a few seconds, shrugging his shoulders, "Yeah, right. So what, you feel better now or what?"

Dean focused on the road, driving with his left hand at the very top of the steering wheel. "No, not really," he shook his head, as well.

"Me neither," Sam agreed, quietly.

"I wish we could save everyone," Sarah spoke up, not lifting her head. She had moved her eyes towards the brothers instead.

"I know, Baby Girl but you gotta understand…."

Sam interrupted his brother, "Lately I feel like I can't save anybody." He shook his head once at the dash, in front of him. Dean looked over at his brother, still keeping an eye on the road. Sarah watched her uncle, too until she finally sat up and moved over to the other side of the seat to wrap her arms around Sam's neck from behind, assuring him everything would be okay and reminded him about the last few hunts they went on that they were successful on saving. Afterwards, she kissed him on his left cheek and stayed like that for a while until Dean found a place they could crash for the night.

When they did, it was an old, abandoned house. When Sam lied down on one of the old, worn out beds, Sarah came in and climbed up beside him, holding her monkey in her left arm.

"What are you doing, Peanut?" he asked his niece, surprised.

"I figured you could use the company tonight, if that's okay with you, Uncle Sam," she replied, softly.

Sam couldn't help smile at his niece. "Okay, come here."

Sarah moved even closer and lied down beside her uncle, snuggling against him which Sam wrapped his arm around her. Out of nowhere, she started to sing the _Dumbo_ song she sang for her father, to her uncle, changing the word "baby" to "Sammy." Sam smiled some more as she sang the words to him, touched how his niece used a song she normally would sing to her father, to him. It almost brought tears to his eyes and he could feel them welding up inside. Before they knew it, uncle and niece were fast asleep, with Sam's arm wrapped protectively around her like Dean would.

A few minutes after the two of them had fallen asleep, Dean wandered in, looking for Sarah. He stopped and noticed where she was and couldn't help smile at the scene. He moved closer to the bed, grabbing a blanket off the foot of it and shook it out before covering both his brother and daughter with it. Dean leaned over to kiss Sarah good-night on the side of her forehead and slowly stood up, straight, still watching the scene. With how close those two were by now, Dean figured, maybe Sarah would be okay…eventually. Okay so Dean wasn't one hundred percent sure on that one but he could only hope.

After realizing how creepy and stalker-ish it looked, watching his brother and daughter sleep, Dean left the room and headed right across the hall to the room he and Sarah was going to stay in, and lied down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He thought about the last couple of years he spent together with the three of them, especially he and Sarah. Thinking about it made his insides turn and his face feel hot like he was going to start crying any minute. The truth was Dean was scared. Scared of hell and scared of leaving behind his daughter. He wasn't really sure how Sarah would deal with him being gone. He kept imagining the Holdens finding her and taking Sarah away and him not being there to help her.

Finally, a tear drifted down from his right eye as he stared up at the dark ceiling. Dean wished he had a beer at that moment because he could really use a drink. Out of nowhere, he couldn't help but open his mouth and utter something he never thought he would do, "I don't know if You're really there or not. I'm still questioning You but Sarah, I watch her do this every single day. I don't know what to do. I'm a horrible father for making that deal and leave behind my only kid even after the hell she grew up with. Please, if You are there, help us. Help my little girl. Sarah carries so much for a kid…." Dean tried to keep his voice steady but it wasn't an easy task. He couldn't believe he was doing this. He wasn't even sure if anyone was listening. "If I do have to go to hell, take care of Sarah and Sam," he shook his head at the ceiling, "don't let those sons of bitches find her. Sarah needs family, our family. In what way are those people a family to her? She doesn't need them." Dean also tried to keep his voice down. If word got out that Dean Winchester was praying, he wouldn't hear the end of it. In fact, he felt this was a one-time thing.

Dean lied there, still and quiet until his eyes felt heavy and he drifted off to sleep. It wasn't a restful sleep either. It was filled with nightmares of what hell may look like and being, literally dragged away from his daughter as they tried to hold onto each other. He tossed and turned all night until he was suddenly bolted out of a sound sleep, into a sitting position as sweat beaded down from his forehead.

Sarah was sitting beside him on the bed, sitting back on her legs as the morning light shined through the windows of the room. "Are you okay, Dad?" she asked, concerned for her father as she watched him try and catch his breath like he just ran the Detroit Marathon.

Dean wiped away the sweat with his right arm and took one last, deep breath. "Yeah, I'm okay, Baby Girl," he assured her.

She then hugged him, assuringly for comfort. Dean immediately wrapped his arms around his daughter and found himself, squeezing her tight. "It's okay, Dad," she assured him. "Everything's gonna be okay."

He didn't mean to but Dean just blurted out, "Quit saying that, Sarah."

Sarah let go and looked at her father, surprised.

"I'm the parent, not you, Baby Girl," he changed his tone, apologetically. "I should be telling all this to you, not the other way around. You're just a kid, be a kid for Pete's sake."

"I'm sorry," she replied. "I've tried. Ever since Grandpa said it, I've tried. But I have been doing this since I lived with Mom, too."

"What?" Dean couldn't believe it.

"When Mom started getting those headaches, I always thought it was my fault so I felt the need to help take care of her. I've always felt the need to care for someone when they needed it."

"I know, Baby Girl, and I'm glad you've been trying. Come here," Dean held his arms out to her which Sarah crawled over and let him pull her into his lap. "I understand how much you and Sam want to help me out of this deal I made. Trust me, I want out of this, too, that's why I went and tried to get out of it myself but I don't want you pushing yourselves or getting into harm's way over this. If a year comes and goes and we haven't found a loophole then let it go, and I want you to promise me something."

Sarah looked up into her father's green eyes, seeing them swim in brokenness. "What, Dad?" she found herself sniffing in.

"Quit hunting. Tell Sam to quit, too. Move to Palo Alto and tell him to finish school and make a life for the two of you. Please, _please_ , don't find a way to bring me back. I want you to go to a real school, too and graduate from high school and go on to college someday. Find the right guy and have your own family away from hunting. Okay?"

Sarah looked away, thinking about it as she stared at the bed. Finally, she looked back and agreed. "But that's only if we can't find a way to save you and we're gonna find a way, no questions asked." She shook her head at him, "Uncle Sam and I, we're gonna get you out of your deal. There has to be a way, there just has to." Sarah found herself crying and Dean quickly wrapped his arms around her as he felt his own tears start to fall.

He kissed the top of her head and held his face against it for a long time as they continued to hold each other. Unknown to them, Sam had been listening in the other room. There was absolutely no way he was letting his big brother die, not just for his sake but his niece's as well. Sam was going to find a way.

The three of them researched all day, trying to find out what ship they were dealing with. That afternoon, they got an unpleasant surprise at the door. Somehow, Bela had found them. At least, the upside was she was able to tell them what ship the ghost ship was and saved them some time. Dean recognized the ghost they saw the night before in one of the photos, except the ghost was missing a hand. Bela explained how the guy was cremated but not before they cut off his hand and made it into a "hand of glory." Of course, Dean had to make a smartass remark about how he thought he had gotten one, once and innocent as she was, Sarah had to ask what he meant, causing him to drop his face in his hand and tell her it wasn't important.

If things weren't looking up already, Bela also admitted that she knew where the hand was being kept. However, Sarah stated she would stay back and see if there was anything Bela might have missed. Dean wasn't too fond of that idea but with how much Sarah had grown up over the last couple years, he agreed, laying down salt at every door and window there was, and made sure Sarah had both a shotgun and her own gun before he and Bela left.

When the adults were gone and Sarah made sure the doors were locked, she took out her father's phone she had swiped from him before he left when he was hugging her and went into his contacts until she found Ellen's number and dialed it, pressing it to her ear.

The phone rang a few times before Ellen picked up. _"Hello?"_

"Miss Ellen?" Sarah said into the phone.

" _Sarah? Is everything all right? Where's your dad?"_ the woman asked, in a panicked state.

"Everything's fine, Dad and Uncle Sam's out on a hunt," Sarah assured her, walking over to sit at the table in the center of the room.

" _You're not all alone, are you?"_

"Yeah, but I asked to. I needed to talk to you. You said if I ever needed a mother's shoulder to cry on, your door was always open and I need one, right now. Is it still open?" she asked.

" _Of course it is, sweetheart. Is this about your dad's deal?"_

Sarah could feel tears weld up inside her eyes again as she sniffed in, "Yeah. I don't know what else to do, Miss Ellen. If the crossroads demon doesn't hold the contract then who does?"

" _I don't know, sweetheart. I thought they did. Did one of you tried confronting it?"_

She wiped her eyes and nose on her bare arm before answering, "I guess my dad went after it when we got the Colt fixed to kill demons again."

" _Wait, I thought all the bullets were used up,"_ Ellen said, remembering that night in Wyoming.

Sarah hesitated not sure how to tell her that Bobby had agreed to let a demon help them.

 _Sarah, how did the Colt get fixed?"_ she asked in a stern, motherly tone.

"It was Uncle Bobby's idea," Sarah automatically ratted the old hunter out. "There's this demon…." She then told Ellen everything about Ruby that she knew of.

" _You made the wisest choice not trusting her, Sarah,"_ Ellen told her when Sarah was finished. _"I can't believe out of all hunters I know, Bobby Singer would give in."_

"He was only using her, he said but still, I didn't even want to do that. Dad was pissed we even let her speak."

" _Well, let's hope your dad stays on our side."_

More tears appeared in Sarah's eyes. "I don't want to lose my dad, Miss Ellen. He's the best dad a kid could ask for. I can't lose him, I just can't." Sarah buried her face into her folded left arm on the table and cried while holding the phone to her ear. "I love him so much and can't bear to be apart from him, not after I prayed for him for so long."

Ellen's heart was breaking with each passing second she heard the kid's sobbing. _"I know, sweetheart,"_ she kept assuring her. _"It was hard on Jo, too when she lost her father but you have to stay strong for him. It doesn't mean you won't miss him but you can't let it overcome your emotions. Besides, doesn't your dad always pull through?"_

Sarah kept sniffling over and over again. "Yeah, Dad's always been staring death in the face. Actually, literally at one time and he somehow managed to bounce back. Do you think he'll get out of this?"

" _Maybe. You just gotta keep your head up and keep that faith you have. It's a good thing to have and sometimes I wish I had it, myself."_

"You can, you know," Sarah told her, innocently.

" _I don't know about that, it may be too late for me but you're lucky you have it. You seem like you have enough faith for all of us, really. Hold onto it and never let that one go, you hear me?"_

Sarah sniffed in again. "Yes, Ma'am." For the remainder of the phone call, Ellen asked how everything else was going, letting Sarah talk about whatever she wanted. Sarah talked about everything she wanted to talk with her own mother about: her likes, interests, whatever she wanted and Ellen listened.

When Ellen was telling a story that related to what Sarah had said, she noticed the little girl's breathing was growing steady and realized she had fallen asleep. She whispered good-night to her and hung up.

She slept right through even when her father and uncle had returned, finding her asleep at the table and Dean's phone being held up by her right shoulder to her ear.

"Well, we know what happened to your phone, now," Sam told his brother, quietly so not to wake his niece.

Dean took it, careful also not wake her and looked at who his daughter had called. "She called Ellen," he said and looked over Sam.

Sam shrugged, "So? What's wrong with that?"

"Ellen probably is the closest she has to a mom," Dean guessed and closed the phone to lift his daughter up onto his right side, carrying her into the room he had slept in, the night before and laid her down. He then covered her up. He changed in another room out of the tux he hated, back into his regular clothes before returning to the room where his daughter was still fast asleep and lied down beside her. Even though he had been conned by a thieving bitch, seeing his little girl safe and innocent couldn't keep him in an angry state for long and figured he would deal with it in the morning. Right now, he had other, important things to think about.


	93. Chapter 93- Red Sky at Morning (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 93

The following morning, Sarah came into the main room of the abandoned house, rubbing her right eye. Sam was already up, going over Bela's research, still trying to find a pattern between the victim's deaths. He noticed his niece walking towards him.

"Morning, Peanut? How'd you sleep last night?" he asked, looking back at the photos and articles.

"Okay," she shrugged, leaning against her uncle, resting the side of her head against his left arm. "What are you doing, Uncle Sam? Didn't you and Dad find the guy's hand and burn it?"

Sam moved his left arm and wrapped it around her. "No, Bela got one over on your dad and took the hand for herself. So now we have to find another way."

"Can I help?" Sarah asked.

"Sure." Sam leaned forward to place the folder open on the table and pulled the chair beside him out for his niece so she could look through it while he got onto his laptop. Eventually, Dean woke up, slowly making his way into the room, rubbing his eyes in his right hand.

"Morning, Dad," Sarah told him, cheerfully.

Dean reached down and kissed the top of her head, "Morning, Baby Girl."

"Uncle Sam told me what happened. Sorry she got one over on you."

Dean looked over at his brother. "Thanks, Sam," he told him, sarcastically.

Sam only shrugged, confused what he may have done to receive a sarcastic thanks.

Suddenly, there was a pounding on the front door and the three of them heard Bela call through it. The Winchesters hurried over and Dean, thrust opened the door and glared at the woman, not excited to see her.

Bela looked back at the three of them, "Please, just let me explain."

Reluctantly, they let her in and had her sit down in one of the chairs at the table.

"I sold it," she explained to them. "I had a buyer lined up as soon as I knew it existed."

Sarah was standing on the other side of the table from Bela, with her arms folded in front of where her uncle was leaning against the fireplace. "Who would buy a dead guy's hand?" she questioned.

"You'd be surprised what people would pay for," she told her.

Sam shifted his weight, watching her while Dean was leaning over Bela. Dean stood up and moved around behind her, holding his hand like he was going to shoot her with a gun. "So the whole reason for us going to the charity ball was…?" Sam shrugged.

Bela was staring at the floor. She looked over at him, "I needed a cover."

Sam nodded, knowing exactly why she did it, already.

"You were convenient."

He shrugged, "You sold it to a buyer, why just go buy it back?"

She also shrugged, staring at the floor again, "It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time."

Sarah asked, "In time for what?"

Bela didn't say a word. She just took a deep breath.

"What's going on with you, Bela?" Sam asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I saw the ship," she admitted.

The three of them stared at her. Dean questioned, "You what?" Sam and Sarah shared looks between each other before Sarah looked back at Bela.

"Wow, you are cold and heartless, ain't ya?" Sarah told the woman.

Bela looked up at Sarah, confused, "What are you talking about?"

Sam moved closer, staring at Bela, "We'd figured out the spirit's motive." He went through the photos and pulled out one of a man, showing it to her. "This is the captain of our ship, the one who hung our ghost boy."

She looked at it and then looked up at him. "So?"

"So they were brothers," he told her and dropped the photo on the table.

"Just like Cain and Abel," Sarah added, stiffly.

"So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target," continued Sam. "People who've spilled their own family's blood. See, first there was Sheila, who killed her cousin in a car accident. Then the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance. And now you."

Bela stared at the photo in horror. "Oh my God," she muttered.

"So who was it, Bela?" Dean asked as he leaned over her again, on the opposite side, this time. "Hmm? Who'd you kill? Was it Daddy? Your little sis, maybe?"

Bela hesitated at first. "It's none of your business," she told him, not looking up at him.

He nodded, "No. Right. Well, have a nice life. You know, whatever's left of it." Dean slapped her on the back before walking away to grab where he left his jacket. "Sam, Sarah. Let's go."

Bela stood up, quickly. "You can't just leave me here," she told him.

Sam and Sarah exchanged looks of sorrow.

"Watch us," Dean told Bela.

"Please," she begged.

Sam looked at the floor while Sarah watched Bela. Sarah really couldn't stand the woman as much as her father did and would love it if Bela got what was coming to her, especially after she shot her. But did Bela really deserve it? Even though she had murdered a family member, Sarah understood growing up in a strict family. Seeing how cold-hearted Bela was though, Sarah had to guess that wasn't the case and tried to close up her heart and followed after her father.

"I need your help."

Dean looked back over his left shoulder and tossed his jacket back down, "Our help?" He held out his arms to the sides and walked back over to Bela, "Now how can a few serial killers possibly help you?"

"Okay, that was a bit harsh, I'd admit it," she replied. "But it doesn't warrant a death sentence."

Sam finally looked up at her again. "That's not why you're gonna die," he reminded her.

Bela looked at Sam.

"What did you do, Bela?"

"You wouldn't understand," Bela shook her head at him. "No one did."

Sarah folded her arms across her chest and stared over at the woman. "Why don't you try?"

Bela looked at the little girl then shifted between the brothers, who waited for an answer. "Never mind," she finally told them. "I'll just do what I've always done and deal with it myself." Bela then turned and walked towards the door.

"You do realize you just sold the only thing that could save your life?" Dean reminded her.

She turned back around, slowly, "I'm aware."

Dean just shrugged.

"Well…" Sam started to say and sighed deeply. "Maybe not the only thing."

Dean and Sarah looked over at Sam.

That night, they set up a ritual in a cemetery. Dean and Sarah sat back on a gravestone, each holding a shotgun.

Bela looked over at Sam. "Do you really think this is gonna work?"

"Almost definite not." Dean was looking around the cemetery just as thunder crashed overhead and a stream of clouds suddenly appeared, blocking out the moon. Very soon, rain came down. "Damn it," he muttered and stood up to remove his jacket. "Come here, Baby Girl before you get sick again."

"But I have my jacket," she pointed out to her father.

"I just want to be extra safe. Please, Sarah, just humor me."

Sarah slid off the gravestone. Dean held his jacket behind her so she could put her arms through and quickly zipped it up and folded the sleeves up so Sarah could use her hands for the shotgun, if needed.

"What about you, Dad?" she asked, worried about her father now.

"I'll be fine, Baby Girl," he replied and called over his shoulder to his brother, "Sammy, better start reading."

Sam nodded in agreement and started reading in Latin. All the candles went out from the wind and rain as he continued. Sarah looked around, holding the shotgun in both of her hands, ready for whatever happened while Dean told both her and Bela to stay close.

Suddenly, the same ghost that they saw in the brother's car appeared behind Sarah. Dean made to shoot it but he and Sarah were shoved into the air and landed on their backs, painfully. Sam tried to read as fast as he could as the ghost made his way over to Bela and placed his hand against her face.

Taking it away, water started squirting out of her mouth like a garden hose as the ghost watched. Sarah rolled over and slowly got to her knees, trying to balance herself to her feet. When Dean saw she was all right, he crawled over to Bela and called over to his brother to read faster. Sam was still trying the best he could until he finally finished.

About the time Sam finished, the rain stopped and the clouds started moving away from the moon. Sarah finally was able to get to her feet and slowly made her way over to her family and Bela. The captain of the ship appeared behind his brother, making Sarah stop abruptly.

"You," the brother hissed, angrily, "hanged me."

"I'm sorry," the captain replied, sincerely.

The Winchesters watched as the brothers continued a long, overdue face-to-face.

"Your own brother."

"I'm so sorry," the captain repeated.

The brother suddenly lunged at the captain, dissolving into water before he too dissolved the same way. No one else said anything before Sarah spoke, "That was…awesome!"

The brothers looked back over their shoulders at her.

Sarah looked between them, "What?" she shrugged. "That was better than most visual effects in movies."

Sam looked away, rolling his eyes as Dean looked down at Bela who was still alive. They had done it, Bela was safe.

Dean wanted to go as quickly as possible though, to get his daughter out of the cold before the flu came back. As soon as the three of them got back to the abandoned house, he had Sarah go and change out of her wet clothes.

The next day, the Winchesters packed up to move on. While packing, Bela walked inside the door without knocking.

"You three should learn to lock your doors," she told them. "Anyone could just barge in."

Sam was packing his laptop into his bag. "Anyone just did. You come to say good-bye or thank you?"

Bela went into her purse, "I've come to settle affairs." She pulled out a handful of cash. "Giving the spirit what he wanted, his own brother. Very clever, Sam." Bela tossed one thing of cash at Sam. "So here," and threw two more over at Dean and Sarah. "It's ten thousand. That should cover it."

The three of them stared at the money in their hands then looked up at her.

"I don't like being in anyone's debt," Bela shook her head.

"You weren't in our debt," Sarah told her. "A simple thank-you would have sufficed."

Dean was shaking his head. He agreed with his daughter. "You're so damaged," he told Bela.

Bela grinned at him, "Takes one to know one."

He looked back up at her.

"Good bye, lads." Bela turned and left the house.

Sarah stared at the money again. A simple thank-you would have been nice but she wasn't about to complain. "Hey, maybe now I can replace my PSP," she said, hopeful until her father yanked it out of her hands. "Hey!"

"Yours is going right into your college fund," he told her. With the majority of the money from the scratchers she won, Dean opened a savings account for his daughter so she could go to college one day, keeping enough for her shoes and living expenses for a few months.

"Aw, come on. Why can't I keep at least some of it?" she tried to object.

"You will thank me one day, Baby Girl." Dean wrapped his arm around her head and reached down to kiss the top of it before walking around his brother.

"She got style," said Sam, "you gotta give her that."

Dean shrugged, staring down at the money again.

"You know, Dean, we don't even know where this money's been."

Dean smirked at him and yanked Sam's money out of his hand, "No. But I know where it's going." He slapped Sam, playfully on the shoulder as Dean walked back around him, laughing. They finished packing and were back on the road by nightfall.

Sam was looking at a roadmap, using a flashlight. "Seriously? Los Angles?"

"Hell, yeah," Dean replied. "What better way to spend some time with my little girl then at Six Flags Magic Mountain? I saw it on TV the other night and thought it'd be fun for the three of us." He then thought about the last few nights. Though, Dean would never admit it, that praying did help him a little. He wasn't giving credit but he did come to realize that both his brother and daughter were strong and independent. "Hey, listen."

Sarah was making her Yoshi figurine hop along the back of the front seat. "Who are you, Navi the fairy?" she asked, teasingly and imitated the fairy from the _Zelda_ game. "Hey! Listen! Look! Listen!"

"I'm serious, Baby Girl," he told her. "I've been doing some thinking, um…I understand how much you two want to help me out of this deal. If situations were reversed, I guess I'd be doing the same thing. I mean, I'm not blind. I see what you're both going through with this whole thing, me going away and all that."

Sam stared forward, annoyed while Sarah stared at the Yoshi figurine in her hand.

"And I know how much you look up to me, Baby Girl but you both are going to be okay," he finished.

Sam looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye and scoffed, "You think so?"

"Yeah, like I told Sarah. Quit hunting, go back to school, both of you," he quickly added to Sam. "Give Sarah the life you argued with me in the beginning I should have given her. Just live your lives. You're both stronger than me. You are. You'll get over it."

Sam cleared his throat.

"But I want you to know," Dean glanced at his daughter and brother before looking at the road, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for putting you through all this, I am."

Sarah scooted back into the backseat and grabbed her monkey from beside her, hugging it to her.

"You know what, Dean?" Sam blurted out. "Go screw yourself."

Dean looked over at his brother. "What?" he asked confused.

"I don't know about Sarah but I don't want an apology from you." Sam looked ahead for a second before looking back at Dean, "I know how broken up you are over this."

Dean asked him, "Really?"

"I heard you the other day, Dean. I heard how broken up you are over leaving your daughter. How can you be this broken up and not want to do anything to get out of it?"

"Last I checked, none of us has found a way out of my deal, Sam," Dean reminded his brother.

"Yes we have, you just don't want to try," Sam pointed out.

"You're talking about trusting a demon which there is no possible way anything good could come from that."

Sam stared at his brother. "Fine, but we will find a way, Dean."

Dean just shrugged. Truth was, he still wanted out of his deal, he just wasn't seeing a way. He needed to start preparing himself for the worse. Dean stared at the road, not saying a word as he tried to hold back the tears.

So that's it?" Sam shrugged. "Nothing else to say from you?"

Dean couldn't open his mouth without fear of breaking down in front of his brother again. The car ride was in complete silence for a while.


	94. Chapter 94- Fresh Blood (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 94

The trip to Six Flags was postponed when the Winchesters learned of a possible vampire nest was discovered. Sam had come across a news article online of murders that sounded very close to vampire attacks and they headed straight there. After gaining enough information, the three of them prepared themselves and went after one of the vampires once they had found the trail. Inside the Impala, Dean's cellphone rang, turning out to be Bela thanking them for saving her, the other day. He hung up afterwards, and headed for a warehouse where they found a guy lying on the ground with his neck bitten, kneeling beside him.

Sarah pulled out a blue bandana from inside her jacket and tied it around the guy's neck as Dean went in search of the vampire, making sure it was pressed against the wound but not too tight it would choke him. After the many hunts she's been on and the wounds her family's received, Sarah had decided to start a collection of bandanas in case there wasn't a first aid kit handy.

Once the guy was taken care of, Sarah and Sam hurried after Dean, catching up to him just as he stabbed the vampire in the neck with a syringe full of dead man's blood. The two of them walked towards Dean as the vampire fell to the ground, knocked out.

"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" Sam asked of his brother, looking between him and the limp vampire.

Dean looked down at the vampire. "Ah," he replied, "I was just chumming the water." He shrugged, "Worked didn't it?" and looked back at the vampire before looking at his arm where he had cut himself to lure her towards him. "Oh."

Sarah sighed to herself and stepped towards her father, pulling out another bandana, a red one, this time and asked for his arm. She then tied it around her father's arm like she had done so with the wounded guy.

The Winchesters got the wounded guy to a hospital in time and took the vampire back to their motel room, moving the mattresses where it blocked the windows before the sun came up and shined through. Right around sunrise, the vampire started to stir, coming around as the brothers stood, hovering over her. Sarah sat over on a chair, playing Tetris on her father's phone which he didn't even know he had. Recently, every time Dean replaces his phone, Sarah feels the need to play around on it while he just uses it to call someone.

When the vampire stirred, Sarah looked up from the game and immediately slid the phone closed, sliding it into her jacket pocket as she stood up and walked over to the vampire. The vampire slowly looked up at Dean and jumped, surprised to see him standing there, jumping a second time when he spoke and started trying to pull against her restraints.

Dean stood up, slowly. "Oh, yeah," he told her. "Sorry, you're not going anywhere."

The vampire seemed confused about the situation.

Sam asked, "Where's your nest?"

She stopped and suddenly looked over at him. "What?"

"Your nest," Dean repeated, forcefully, "Where you and your bloodsucking pals hang out."

The vampire looked back at Dean. "I don't know what're talking about." She sounded really distressed now. "Please," she pleaded with them, "I don't feel good."

Dean turned back at the table, behind him, "Yeah, well, you're gonna feel a hell of a lot worse when we give you another shot of dead man's blood." He held a covered syringe, half full of blood in his fingers, showing it to the vampire.

She shook her head, afraid, "Just let me go."

Sam gave a small laugh, "Yeah, you know we can't do that."

"I'm telling you the truth," the vampire tried to reason with them. "I just…I took something. I'm freaking out. I don't know what's going on."

Sarah had been standing there, between the brothers, studying the vampire. "Hey, maybe she's telling the truth," she looked between her father and uncle.

Sam looked from his niece to the vampire as Dean set the syringe on the table. "You took something?" he questioned the vampire, sitting down on the chair Sarah had been sitting on, moving it closer and leaned forward on his knees to be at her level.

"Yes," she said.

Sam looked back at his niece then over at his brother.

The vampire was breathing in and out, tiredly, "I can't come down." She took a deep breath in through her nose. "I just wanna come down."

Sarah had her hands in her pockets, still watching her. "Trust me, you're not high. No pink elephants are coming through this room."

"Uh, Peanut, that's just when you're drunk, not high." Sam then turned back to the vampire, "What's your name?"

"Lucy," she answered. "Please, just let me go."

"All right, Lucy, how about this? If you tell us what happened…" He paused for a second. "We'll let you go."

The vampire looked at Sarah and Dean, "You will?"

Sarah looked over at her uncle, "We will?" she repeated as Dean looked over at his brother who then gave the vampire a reassuring smile.

The vampire, Lucy shook her head at her lap, "Uh…" she tried to remember what had happened before. "I don't really…Um….It's not that clear." Being the nice person, she was, Sarah told her to take her time. Finally, Lucy started, "I was at Spider."

Sarah questioned, "Spider? What's that?"

"It's a club, on Jefferson," she explained and looked over at Sam, "and there was this guy, he was buying me drinks."

Sam stood up, slowly, not taking his eyes off her. "This guy. What's he look like?"

She sighed, "He was old, like, thirty. He had brown hair, a leather jacket. Deacon or Dixon or something." The vampire looked between the three of them as she spoke. "Said he was a dealer, he had something for me."

Dean stared at Lucy as he walked around, beside her. "Something?" he questioned her.

Lucy stared at the floor in front of her, "Something new," and shook her head, "better than anything you ever tried." She paused for a second. "He put a few drops in my drink."

"Did you see what it looked like?" Sarah asked as the brothers shared a look between each other and Dean scoffed to himself.

"It was red, kind of thick."

Sarah looked over at her father, who smirked at the floor. Dean nodded at Sam, "Well, genius mood there."

Sam was shaking his head in disbelief and Sarah figured it out what the guy had slipped in Lucy's drink.

"That was vampire blood he dosed you with," Dean told Lucy who looked back at him like he was nuts.

"What?"

"Yeah, you just took a big steaming shot of the nastiest virus out there."

"You're crazy, he gave me roofies or something," she shot at him and quickly turned to Sam, "No. The next thing I know, we're at his place and he says he's gonna get me something to eat, just wait. But I get so hungry."

"So you busted out," said Sam, standing again.

She nodded. "Yeah," Lucy replied, softly.

Sam looked over at his brother, who looked away.

"But it won't wear off," she continued.

Sarah shrugged, "I got news for you, Luc," and shook her head, "This is one trip you're not coming back from."

Lucy stared at the little girl, "What…?"

"Lights too bright?" Dean asked, pacing back to where he was first standing. "Sunshine hurt your skin?"

"Yeah. And smells." Lucy paused before she continued, staring at the floor again. "And I can hear blood pumping."

"Well," Dean shook his head at her, "I hate to tell you this, sweetheart, but your blood's never pumping again."

She looked up and him and shook her head, "Not mine. Yours. I can hear a heart beating from half a block away." Lucy looked at Sarah, "I just want it to stop."

Sarah looked at her, sadly, her heart feeling for the poor girl who didn't seem to deserve something like that. She wished there was a cure for vampire attacks, but nowhere had Sarah read anything on cures or antidotes.

Dean leaned forward, closer to Lucy, "All right, listen, Wavy Gravy." He shook his head, "It's not gonna stop, just like she said," nodding over at Sarah. "You've already killed two people, almost three."

Lucy was breaking down even more, making it even harder on Sarah. "No, I couldn't. I was hallucinating."

"You killed them, all right? We've been following a sloppy trail of corpses and it leads straight to you."

She continued to shake her head at him, "No. No, it wasn't real. It was the drug." Lucy looked over between Sarah and Sam and pleaded with them.

At that point, Sarah had to turn around and walk away, leaning against a doorframe with her back to them. Sam and Dean looked back at her, knowing how hard it was for Sarah, with her enormous, kind heart. Soon, Sam motioned for his brother to follow and the two of them walked away, as well. Dean hugged his daughter's head to his leg as he walked by which she wrapped her right arm around it.

"That poor girl," Sam was the first to speak in a soft tone.

Sarah agreed, nodding her head against her father's leg but didn't say anything.

"We don't have a choice," Dean told them.

Sam sighed and stole a look back at Lucy before looking at his brother again. They looked at each other and Sam shook his head, knowing Dean was right. Sarah knew it, too.

Dean told his daughter to stay with Sam and walked back over to Lucy. Sarah switched over to her uncle, who lifted her up into his arms. She then looked the opposite direction, shutting her eyes tight when Sarah heard Lucy pleading with Dean. Sam saw the decapitation as he and Sarah flinched from the sound and Sarah hid her face in her arms that was wrapped around his neck.

That night, the Winchesters checked out the Spider, splitting up and asking around to gain information on Lucy's dealer. Sarah wasn't having much luck but noticed her father was, except in another way.

Sarah walked over and stood in between the two bar stools, Dean and a pretty, blond girl was sitting, talking. "Hey, Dad," she spoke up with an evil grin on her face, "forget me in the car, again?"

The girl looked down at Sarah, shocked to hear a father could just leave a young child in the car by herself this late at night. Standing up, the girl threw her drink on Dean and stormed away.

Sarah watched her leave, still smiling.

Dean tried to object, saying he wasn't like that but the girl wouldn't listen and turned to look down at his daughter. "I hope you realize you just made me look like a bad father," he told her, sternly.

"Yeah, well, you were flirting on the job." Sarah turned and headed over to where Sam was motioning them over.

Dean stood up and quickly followed. "Since when do you care if I flirt on the job?"

Sarah didn't respond.

"You guys get anything?" Sam asked when the two of them reached him.

"Yeah, an alcohol-soaked shower," Dean replied, looking down at his daughter.

Sam raised an eyebrow, "Did I miss something?" He looked between his brother and niece. Sarah was looking everywhere but her father.

"I'm not even sure, myself. I'll let you know when I do. Come on." Sam and Sarah followed Dean outside. They noticed a guy walking into an ally, along with the same girl Dean had been hitting on, across the street that matched Lucy's description and quickly followed after him.

The man, Dixon was just about to give the girl a drop of vampire blood when Dean hurried up and punched him in the face, while Sam and Sarah made sure the girl got away. Dixon got one good punch on Dean and took off at a run. Making sure Dean was okay first, the Winchesters dashed after him. What they found around a corner was not what they had been expecting. Standing there in front of them was none other than Gordon Walker, himself.

Sarah halted to a stop in between the brothers and stared at Gordon. "Oh, shit," she muttered. Gordon walked towards the three of them and raised his gun to start shooting at the Winchesters, who hid behind a blue car. Glass shattered from the car windows around them as Sarah followed her father and uncle behind a wall, pinning themselves to it.

"All right, run, I'll draw them off," Dean told Sam and Sarah.

"What are you, nuts?" Sarah asked of her father over the sound of bullets. "That sounds like suicide!" But Dean paid no attention to her. Instead, he bolted to his feet and ran right out in the open in front of Gordon and his friend who both shot at him. Dean climbed over a car, leading them away while Sam and Sarah could escape.

While Gordon and his friend were distracted, Sam and Sarah leaped up onto another car. Sam had to lift Sarah up to grab onto a red, metal bar at the top of a wall and pulled herself up and Sam did the same. Once Sam landed on the other side, Sarah lowered herself down, hanging from the bar where he could grab her and set her down on her feet before the two of them took off a run, never looking back until they reached their motel. Neither Sam nor Sarah stopped to catch their breath until they were safely inside and had the door locked.

Sarah leaned on her knees to catch her breath as Sam walked over to the small fridge and grabbed two waters, passing one to her who gladly accepted it, chugging the water down.

An hour or so had passed and Dean had yet to meet them there. Sam paced the room, occasionally peeking out the window, behind one of the mattresses. He tried to call Dean but sighed when he heard Dean's ringtone come from Sarah's pocket.

"I swear, you're worse than that kid on that one show, with Charlie Sheen," Sam told his niece as he hung up and slid his phone back into his pocket. "What if your dad was in trouble and we couldn't get to him in time because you have it."

Sarah shrugged, innocently, "Dad and I are with each other the majority of the time so I never think of something like that."

At that moment, Dean walked in the door. Sam and Sarah turned to him on the spot before Sarah bolted over and hugged his legs as he closed the door behind him.

"There you are," Sam told him, relieved to see his brother alive.

Dean shrugged at him, "Yeah, sorry, I stopped for a slice," as he rubbed his left hand along the back of Sarah's head, hugging it to him.

"Nice move you pulled there, Dean," Sam scolded his brother, "running right at the weapons."

Dean was removing his jacket. "Well, what can I say? I'm a badass." He looked down at Sarah, who was still hugging his legs, "Right, Baby Girl?"

Sarah glared up at him and let go before kicking her father in the shin. "I call you, a dumbass," she told him.

Dean immediately grabbed his leg as he felt the pain coarse through it. She didn't kick him that hard to do serious damage but it still hurt like hell. "Ow, what was that for?" he demanded.

Sam stood there, almost wanting to punch Dean, himself but didn't move.

He let go of his leg and looked over at Sam. "Well, I guess Gordon's out of jail."

"Uh, yeah, guess so," Sam shrugged. "You know, how the hell he knew where to find us?"

Dean stared in thought for a moment before it finally dawned on him and tried to find his phone in one of his pockets. When he realized it was missing, Dean turned to his daughter. "Can I have my phone?" he asked her, stiffly annoyed.

"How do you automatically assume I took your phone?" she asked, trying to sound offended but Dean just stared at her, his hand waiting for the phone to be placed in it. "Okay, yeah, you're right. I took it." Sarah reached into her jacket pocket and pulled it out, placing the phone in her father's hand.

"This whole pickpocket thing was cute, at first," he told her with his eyebrows raised, "But the next time you do it, I will spank your ass. You understand me?"

Sarah nodded up at her father, "Yes, sir."

Dean then redialed Bela's number and put it to his ear, mumbling _that bitch_ to himself, meaning Bela. Bela picked up on the first ring. "Hi, Bela."

 _"Hello, Dean,"_ she replied, cheerfully.

"Question for you," he continued as Sam paced around the room again. "You called me yesterday. It wasn't to thank me for saving your ass, was it?"

 _"No. Gordon Walker paid me to tell you where you were,"_ Bela quickly explained, defensively.

Dean questioned, "Excuse me?"

 _"Well, he had a gun on me."_ Bela gave a small laugh. _"What else was I supposed to do?"_

Dean was heated, by now. "I don't know, maybe pick up the phone and tell us a raging psychopath was dropping by?"

 _"I did fully intend to call. I just got a bit sidetracked."_

"He tried to kill us," Dean told her, angrily, his blood pressure rising.

 _"I'm sorry,"_ Bela apologized, calmly. _"I didn't realize it was such a big deal. After all, there are two and a half of you and only one of him."_

Dean tried to remain calm and not lose his temper too much. "There were two of them," he told her.

 _"Oh."_

"Bela, if we make it out alive, the first thing I'm gonna do, is what I should have done in the first place, kill you."

 _"You're not serious."_

"Listen to my voice and tell me if I'm serious," he said, coldly and hung up.


	95. Chapter 95- Fresh Blood (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 95

Dean was re-sharpening his hatchet while Sam was restocking his gun. Sarah was also sharpening hers.

"That vampire's still out there, Dean," Sam was saying.

Dean examined his hatchet. "First things first," he replied.

Sam glanced at him for a second before returning to the gun in his hand, "Gordon," was all he said.

Dean looked over at his brother, "About that. When we find him or if he finds us…"

"Yeah?"

He shrugged, "I'm just saying, he's not leaving us a lot of options."

"Yeah, I know. We gotta kill him," Sam told him, bluntly.

Sarah looked up from her hatchet, over at her uncle. Usually he was on her side when it came to killing humans.

"Really," said Dean, taken aback. "Just like that?"

Sam shook his head like it wasn't a big deal.

"I thought you would've been, like: 'No we can't, he's a human, it's wrong,'" Dean tried to do his best Sam impression.

Sam just stared at his brother and shook his head again. "No, I'm done. I mean, Gordon's not gonna stop until we're dead." He paused for a moment. "Or until he is."

"Baby Girl?" Dean turned his attention over to his daughter. "Are you okay with this?"

Sarah continued sharpening her hatchet, not looking up. "Still not a fan of killing other humans but as long as I'm not the one who won't have to kill him, unless he's got me cornered and on the verge of death, I don't care. Let the jackass burn in hell for all I care." At this point, if they couldn't find a way to save Dean from going to hell, Sarah wouldn't care if Gordon killed her or not. In fact, she might even welcome it but Sarah wasn't about to tell her father that.

Dean watched her for a moment, focused on her work as if he was trying to read her mind until his cellphone rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. Dean answered it, putting it to his ear. He wasn't too happy to see it was Bela. "What?" he exclaimed, harshly.

 _"I don't like it when people hold grudges against me. And more to the point, I'd rather you didn't kill me,"_ she told him. _"So I went ahead and found Gordon's exact location."_

"You're a hundred miles away," said Dean, "How…"

 _"Hello. Purveyor of powerful occult objects,"_ reminded Bela. _"I used a talking board to contact the other side."_

"And?"

 _"Warehouse. Two stories, riverfront, neon sign outside."_

"Thanks," he told her, sarcastically.

 _"One more thing,"_ she added. _"The spirit had a message for you. Leave town, run like hell, and whatever you do, don't go after Gordon. For whatever that's worth."_

Dean hung up as he stared forward for a moment before looking over at Sam, and then over at Sarah. He wasn't sure what that meant but it couldn't be anything good.

Knowing the exact location made things a whole lot easier but they still had to find the right place, keeping a lookout for a two-story warehouse with a neon sign. Parking a good distance away, the Winchesters cautiously wandered inside the warehouse with their guns raised in front of them, eventually heading down a flight of stairs where Dixon was kneeled on the floor, staring into space. Two women hung from shackles, each missing their heads.

Dean made a signal to the other two towards a knife that was over on a small table and swiftly grabbed it, careful about alerting the vampire. Carefully, the three of them made their way over to Dixon until he spoke, stopping them in their tracks.

"Go ahead. Do it," he told them, not looking back. "Kill me."

Sarah exchanged looks with both her father and uncle, unsure what to do.

Sam looked from his niece to his brother. "What happened here?" he asked Dixon.

Dixon spoke back over his shoulder, "Gordon Walker. I never should have brought a hunter here." He stood up. "Never. I just…" Dixon looked over at the Winchesters who kept their guard up, showing them that he had tears on his face. "I just wanted some kind of revenge. So stupid, exposing him to my family."

Dean stood holding the blade of the knife against the side of his right arm. "Oh, yeah, you're such a family man," he told the vampire, sarcastically.

Sam slowly made his way around Dixon, pointing his gun at the vampire as they watched each other. "You don't understand," Dixon told Dean.

"I don't want to know, you…" Dean said, shaking his head.

Dixon started circling around him, "I was desperate. Have you ever felt desperate?"

Sarah was standing behind her father, staring around him at the vampire. Her gun was pointed straight at Dixon, her heart beating a little fast like it normally did during hunts. Sarah listened, letting his words run through her mind. Trying to find a way to save her father from hell was pretty much making her desperate, at this point.

She quickly got her head back in the job when Sarah realized Dean had moved when Dixon continued to circle around, and moved over to stand beside him. Dean stole a glance at her but it didn't last long as Dixon continued.

"I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down an eternity, alone. Can you think of a worse hell?"

Sarah's palms were starting to get sweaty as she thought about returning to life without her father again, remembering how miserable she was, growing up without a father. She almost wanted to start crying but held it in, staying strong for the job.

"Well, there's hell," Dean replied, flatly as if it was a stupid question.

Dixon scoffed, looking around, stiffly. "I wasn't thinking. I just…I didn't care anymore." He took a few steps towards Dean, "do you know what's that like?"

Sarah looked over at her father, watching him as he raised the knife higher and his other hand to shield her.

"When you don't give a damn?"

Dean was eyeing the vampire like a hawk.

"It's like…It's like being dead already," Dixon finished. "So just go ahead." Dixon looked him up and down. "Do it."

Sam had inched over to one of the decapitated girls, checking out what had happened. "Dean," he finally spoke, keeping a watchful eye on Dixon, as well.

Dean looked over his brother while Sarah kept her eye on Dixon.

"Head wasn't cut off," Sam shook his head, eyeing the mess, "it was ripped off. By someone's bare hands."

That got Sarah's attention, looking over at her uncle then back at Dixon. "Please tell me, for the love of God, tell me you didn't…." She shifted on her feet. "You didn't turn Gordon."

Dixon stared down at the ground, making the Winchesters exchange horrid looks between each other. If Gordon was a vampire now, things were gonna be a whole lot harder to take him down.

Dean ended up, doing the deed with killing Dixon, and he and Sam got the girls down to give them a proper burial before heading back to the motel.

The next day, Sarah stirred from her makeshift bed on the floor, lifting her head to gaze around the room, tiredly. Sam was sitting at the table, looking over a map of the city but Dean was nowhere to be found.

Sam noticed his niece awake. "Are you gonna sleep all day?" he asked, smiling over at her.

Sarah turned around to sit up, scratching her stomach underneath her _Legend of Zelda_ T-shirt. "Where's Dad?" she asked, groggily still, squinting from the bright light overhead.

"He went to look around to see where Gordon could be hiding in," he told her, leaning on his folded arms as he returned his attention back to the map.

She looked alarmed to hear her father had gone searching for Gordon alone. "Alone?"

Sam glanced up at her for a second. "He just went to find where he could be. Your dad's not actually hunting him," he assured her.

That didn't ease Sarah's nerves. She knew her father and if he had the chance to kill the guy Dean would take it. She lied back down for a moment, wiping her hands along her face, praying her father would come walking through that door, unharmed and in one piece.

Fifteen minutes later, Dean did come walking through the door. "Man, I must have checked three dozen motels, empty buildings, warehouses." He removed his jacket and tossed it over on a chair as he headed into the bathroom. "It's like a giant haystack. Gordon's a deadly needle." Dean turned on the faucet and splashed water on his face before turning it off and reached for a green hand towel. "We're running out of daylight," he said as Dean dried his face. "Without the sun slowing him down…."

Sam was still looking at the map. "Yeah, he'll be unstoppable."

Dean agreed as he walked out of the bathroom, patting his face dry with the towel.

"Hey, uh, give me your phone," Sam told him, twisting around in his seat.

Dean sighed, refreshed and removed the towel. "What for?"

"If Gordon knows our cell numbers," explained Sam as he took the back off his own cellphone and removed the battery to remove the memory card, "he can use the cell signal to track us down."

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, handing it to Sam. "Oh, yeah. Thanks," he said before walking across the room.

"Yeah," Sam murmured before doing the same to Dean's phone. Once the memory cards were out, Sam placed both phones on the floor and smashed them under his feet as Sarah watched.

"Aw, come on. I had just gotten the highest score on Tetris," she complained.

"You're the only one who's ever played it," Dean reminded her, over by the window.

"The CPU's high score counts, too, you know," Sarah folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, well, excuse me." Dean walked over to his green duffel. "Both of you stay here."

Sam looked over at his brother, confused. "What? Where are you going now?"

He pulled the Colt and a case of bullets out, setting the case on the end table next to his duffel bag, "I'm going after Gordon."

Sarah's eyes widened. "You can't go after him alone, Dad. He's stronger and tougher now, even for you."

"I can handle him, Baby Girl, don't worry," he assured her. "He's after you and Sam, not me and he's turbocharged." Dean was disassembling the Colt. "I want you both to stay out of harm's way. I'll take care of it."

Sam tried to object. "Dean, you're not going by yourself. You're gonna get yourself killed."

He only shrugged at his brother, "Just another day at the office. A massively, dangerous day at the office."

"So, you're the guy with nothing to lose now?" Sam told him, sarcastically. "Oh, let me guess. Because, uh….It's because you're already dead, right?"

"If the shoe fits," said Dean.

Sam started feeling frustrated with his brother again. "You know what, man?" he told Dean. "I'm sick and tired of your stupid kamikaze trip."

"Whoa, whoa," Dean objected, this time. "Kamikaze? I'm more like a ninja."

Sarah was sitting up on her legs now, sitting like a dog would, and leaning on her hands. "He's serious, Dad," she told her father, feeling the same way as her uncle.

Dean smirked over at her, "Come on, it's a little funny."

"No, it's not," said Sam, indeed serious.

Dean stared over at his brother. He set the Colt down beside him and stood up, walking over to where he had tossed his jacket. "What do you want me to do, Sam, huh? Sit around all day, writing sad poetry about how I'm gonna die? You know what? I've got one." He placed it over his arm. "See, what rhymes with, 'shut up, Sam?'"

Sarah glared over at her father. Had he really given up all ready?

"Dude, drop the attitude, Dean. Quit turning everything into a punch line." Sam shifted on his feet. "And you know what else? Stop acting like you're not afraid."

"Dad's not afraid of anything, Uncle Sam," Sarah tried to defend her father, that time.

Sam shook his head over at his niece. "Yes, he is and he may as well drop it, 'cause I can see right through him."

Dean looked away, smiling. "You got no idea what you're talking about," he said before Dean walked around his brother.

He turned right around to face Dean, "Yeah, I do. You're scared, Dean."

Dean turned around from where he was standing at the end table again.

"You're scared because your year is running out and you're still going to hell and you're freaked."

"And how do you know that?" he asked, turning halfway around.

"Because I know you," Sam raised his voice.

"Really?"

"Yeah, because I've been following you around my entire life. I mean, I've been looking up to you, like Sarah has, since I was four, Dean. Studying you, trying to be just like my big brother. So yeah, I know you. Better than anyone else in the entire world. And this exactly how you act when you're terrified. And, I mean, I can't blame you. It's just…." He shook his head and looked away, trying to hold it all in.

Dean looked up at his brother, "What?"

Sam looked back and stared at him for a moment before he said, "It's just I wish you would drop the show and be my brother again. Cuz…." He sucked on his lip. "Just cuz."

Dean looked away again at the ground, rubbing the right side of his face. "All right," he gave in. "We'll hole up. Cover our scent so he can't track us." Dean slowly looked up at Sam, "Wait the night out here."


	96. Chapter 96- Fresh Blood (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 96

The Winchesters went out to pick up a few supplies and stopped at a phone store to purchase new phones again. While Sam walked around the store, Dean talked to the store associate, asking for a basic cell phone.

"Don't forget about Tetris, Dad," Sarah said from beside him.

Dean shook his head at the man behind the counter, "That's not really important, I just need a regular phone I can call people on," he explained.

The sale associate pointed him towards a LG 8700 cell phone which Dean liked and as a bonus, had Tetris so Sarah was happy, too. Activating them, right there in there store, Dean and Sam paid for their phones and left the store.

Sarah hurried to walk right beside her father. "Can I play around on this one, too, Dad?" she asked him, hopeful as Sarah tried to give Dean a puppy-dog look.

Dean's heart always melted when Sarah gave him that look and this time was no different. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his new phone. "I swear, you and Sam are definitely related, kid."

Happily, Sarah took the cellphone and on the way back to the motel, Sarah played around on it, learning all the new features. By the time they got there, Sarah was pretty much an expert and when everything was settled, waiting for nightfall to come, Sarah taught her father.

She showed him the camera feature, taking one of them both together as Sarah sat on his lap on the chair he was sitting on and showed him how to make it the background picture so when Dean first opens his phone, he can see him and his little girl every time.

Time passed. Just as the sun was almost down, but still light outside, Sarah lied over Dean's lap, on her stomach, playing Tetris again. Dean, bored himself, was running the blade of his hatchet along his arm hairs when his cellphone started to ring, interrupting Sarah's game.

Sarah pushed herself up to lean her left hand on his leg to hand him the phone as Sam turned around from the window.

"You've had that phone two hours, Dean," said Sam. "Who'd you give the number to?"

"Nobody," he answered, looking at the screen before he pressed talk and put it to his ear. Sam grabbed his chair and yanked it over to sit beside his brother as Sarah shifted around to sit on Dean's left leg. "Hello?"

 _"Dean."_ It was Gordon.

Dean winked at Sarah and Sam. "How'd you get this number?" he asked of Gordon.

 _"Scent's all over the cellphone store,"_ he replied. _"'Course I can't smell you now. Where are you?"_

"Well, guess you'll have to find us, won't you?" Dean smiled at the floor, leaning on his right elbow.

 _"Nah, I'd rather you come to me."_

"What's the matter, Gord-o? You're not afraid of us, are you? We're just sitting here. Bring it on."

 _"I don't think so."_ There was a short pause and a terrified-sounding young woman came on the phone, pleading for help.

Dean frowned.

Sarah sensed something was wrong. "What's wrong, Dad?" she asked, worried.

Gordon came back on the phone. _"Factory on Riverside off of the turnpike. Be here in twenty minutes or the girl dies."_

Dean tried to reason with him, "Gordon, let the girl go," which got Sarah and Sam's attention. Sarah quickly twisted around to look at her uncle before twisting back around.

 _"Bye, Dean."_

"Gordon…don't do this. You don't kill innocent people, you're still a hunter."

 _"No. I'm a monster."_ After that, the line went dead.

Dean closed his phone and pushed his daughter off his lap. "We gotta go, now," he told them.

Sarah asked, "What's going on, Dad?"

"Gordon's using a girl as bait, we gotta go. Move it." They quickly grabbed their stuff and slid into to the Impala. Dean drove at record speed, pulling up to the factory in no time. With their weapons in hand, the Winchesters hurried inside and wandered around, keeping an eye out for the girl or Gordon.

When they found her, Sam quickly untied her as Dean and Sarah kept watch. Both brothers helped the girl up which Dean ended up carrying her. Even though Dean told Sam and Sarah to stay close, the three of them ended up getting separated by a large, metal door that fell down from the top of the walkway. Dean was trapped on one side with the girl while the other two were trapped on the other side. The three of them each pounded on the door, yelling for each other until they stopped.

When Sam took a step back, the lights went out, making him and Sarah take out their hatchets. "Stay close, Peanut," he told his niece.

Sarah also took out her flashlight, turning it on. "Neither you or Dad, come prepared, do you?" she asked of Sam. Suddenly, the flashlight flickered before the battery completely died.

"Uh, what was that about coming prepared?" Sam asked.

Sarah glared at him through the dark even though she could only see his outline. They trudged through darkness as Sam swiped his hand through the air. Sarah followed, closely behind, holding her hatchet, ready for what came at her. She had to admit, it was kind of ironic, seeing Gordon become the thing he violently hunted and kind of made things easy for her. Sarah was a hunter of monsters, things that weren't human, so Gordon wasn't really considered human now, was he? So Sarah had no problem chopping his head off if she got the chance to.

Sam called out to Gordon. They jumped when they heard him from behind, turning on their heels to face where they thought he was. Gordon wasn't there anymore but the two of them could hear him laugh, evilly, making the hairs on the back of Sarah's neck, stand up.

"What's the matter?" he called.

"So this is the way you really want to do it, huh?" Sam called back.

"Damn right, I do." None of them knew it, but Gordon was watching them as Sam and Sarah continued around the dark factory, feeling around so they wouldn't run into anything.

Sarah's heart was beating faster with each step she took. Her right hand gripped the handle of the hatchet as she turned a corner. "Uncle Sammy, you still there?" she whispered, softly.

There was no answer.

"Uncle Sammy?" she asked, a little louder, this time as she looked around. She tried so hard to see through the darkness but she just wasn't a cat. Sarah swallowed, "Uncle Sammy?" she repeated a third time, even louder than the second.

"What's the matter, Sarah? I thought you were a hunter like your dad?" she heard Gordon call out to her.

Sarah also heard her uncle yell out and tried to follow the sound of his voice. "Leave her alone, Gordon," Sam warned him.

Gordon just laughed again. "You have no idea what I faced to get here," he told them. "I lost everything. My life. But it's worth it. Because I'm finally gonna kill the most dangerous things I've ever hunted."

"What? Yourself?" Sarah finally called back, bravely as she continued walking, her left hand out in front of her. "Shouldn't put yourself down like that. It's not good for the self-esteem."

"You think you're so funny, Sarah."

"I think I'm adorable," she grinned, definitely just like her father.

"I can tell you what you're not. Human."

"Look who's talking," Sam joined into the conversation and swung his hatchet when he caught sight of Gordon, missing.

Gordon agreed, "You're right. I'm a bloodthirsty killer."

Sam kept his guard up, scanning around himself, "Don't talk like you don't have a choice."

"I don't."

"Yes, you do, Gordon," Sarah argued with the man.

"You didn't kill that girl," Sam added.

"No, I didn't," he admitted. "I did something much, much worse."

Sarah perked up, realizing what Gordon meant by that. "No," she whispered. "Dad!" She took off at a run in some random direction, hoping it was back where the three of them were split up. She was ambushed though.

Gordon held her up, by her neck, against a large crate. "I gotta hand it to you, Sarah. You and your uncle have a lot of people fooled."

Sarah struggled, gasping for air as his fingers gripped her neck tighter, his fingernails digging into her flesh. She had dropped her hatchet when she was ambushed. Sarah tried to reach into her jacket for her gun but Gordon reached in and grabbed it, himself and removed the bullets with one hand before tossing it away.

"I met your other family, by the way. Before you sent me to jail. Nice bunch of people, there. Well, your grandparents, anyway. Hard to believe how godly they were and were related to you."

Sarah tried to claw at his arm. "I'm…not…a-a…mon…ster….Gor…don. I…swear," she gasped in between each word. She tried swinging her legs to kick him but Gordon pinned both of her legs with his right knee.

"I told them what you really were and they didn't believe it. Then I started talking about how your dad is training you to be a hunter. I told them everything I could find out, myself."

She stared at Gordon, her eyes wide from a combination of shock and the fact she couldn't breathe. If this was true and Gordon really did talk to her grandparents, then why didn't Mark ask about it when she had called him? That had to have been almost a year ago now. Sarah couldn't really think on it for too long before everything around her was starting to get even darker.

Suddenly, Sam had finally come up behind Gordon, his hatchet raised and sliced into Gordon's neck like it was butter. The head flew off, five feet away as the body fell to its knees, releasing Sarah who also fell to the floor, breathing for air.

Sam yanked the body out of the way and kneeled beside his niece. "You okay, Peanut?" he asked, worried out of his mind as Sam lifted her into his arms.

Sarah coughed as she continued to try and push air into her lungs. Finally, she was able to muster, "I'm…o…kay…Un…cle…Sam."

He hugged his niece to him, carefully and stood up, lifting Sarah up into his arms to look for Dean, another hunt over. Once they found Dean, they got out of there, heading back to the motel for a few hours' sleep. Sarah fell asleep once she had enough air back in her lungs, sleeping all night.

The next morning, on the side of the road, she helped her father under the hood while Sam sat on a cooler and drank a beer, passing Dean one. "Figure out what's making that rattle?" he asked.

"Not yet," replied Dean. "Give me a box wrench, would you?"

Sam looked back at Dean before reaching over to grab the tool his brother needed, passing it over to him.

Dean reached the wrench to where he needed to use it but paused. He looked at Sarah. "Everything okay, Dad?" she asked him. Dean looked over at his brother next and stood up.

"Sam," he told his brother.

Sam looked back at him again. "Wrong one?" he asked.

"No, no, no," Dean assured. "Come here for a second."

Sam stood up and walked closer, "Yeah."

"This rattle could be a couple things," he began. "Sarah and I are thinking it's an out of tune carb."

"Okay." Sam didn't know why his brother was telling him this and was a bit confused.

Dean cleared his throat and leaned over again. "All right, see this thing?" he asked, pointing towards a valve cover. "It's a valve cover. Inside are all the parts that are on the head." He nodded over to the tools, "Hand me that socket wrench."

Sam reached down to his left and picked up the tool Dean wanted, handing it to him.

"All right, you with me so far?"

He pointed at the valve cover, "Uh, yeah, valve cover covers the heads."

"Very good," nodded Dean. "Now, this is your intake manifold, okay? On top of it…" He stopped to let his brother try and guess.

"It's a…."

Sarah wanted to say it but Dean shushed her, telling her to let Sam try.

"A carburetor?" he guessed.

"Carburetor," Dean repeated, proudly and looked forward. "Very good." He then stood up straight, again.

Sam asked, curious, "What's with the auto shop?"

Dean turned the socket wrench once and held it out to his brother.

"What? You don't mean you want…?

"Yeah, I do. You fix it."

"Dad, are you sure that's such a good idea? Uncle Sam knows nothing about cars," Sarah told her father.

"Besides, you barely even let me drive this thing," Sam added.

"Sarah can't always reach everything under here so you're gonna have to know these things for the future to help her."

Sam took the socket wrench from him, staring at Dean, amazed.

"Besides, just because I have a kid of my own, doesn't mean it's not my job anymore to show my little brother the ropes." Dean smiled at him before walking over to take his brother's place on the cooler as Sam took over.

"Seriously, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked as she watched her uncle. "Is that the best you can do? Put some more elbow into it. You look like Gram, trying to fix a car."

"Sarah, take it easy on the guy. It's only his first time," Dean called over to his daughter.

Sarah kept quiet and let Sam continue, but it doesn't mean she stopped watching him. She intended on giving her uncle an evaluation when he was done. Dean sat there, sipping on his beer as he watched his brother and daughter work on his car, soon to be their car. He had to make sure the Impala would be well taken care of after he was gone.


	97. Chapter 97- A Very Supernatural Xmas(p1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 97

Dean walked up and down the aisles of the gas mart, down the street from the motel they were staying in, picking up beer and food while Sam was researching what could have pulled a man up a chimney. Sarah was standing at the magazine rack, looking through a classic cars magazine when he walked up, carrying a shopping basket.

He looked over her shoulder of the car Sarah was reading an article about and whistled. "Nice car there, huh?" he said.

Sarah jumped at the sound of Dean's voice. She had been so involved with reading the article, Sarah hadn't heard her father walk up to her. "Yeah, it is a nice car but I think the Impala is better." She set the magazine back on the rack as they started walking towards the cashier.

It was quiet for a moment. Dean set the basket on the counter so the middle aged man standing at the register could ring the stuff up and noticed the candy canes on display there. Since he picked up Sarah from her grandparents, they had never done Christmas and Sarah never brought it up either. Dean wasn't sure why or if Sarah even cared for the holiday. If it wasn't for the fact that it was his last year, he wouldn't even worry about it but this year, Dean wanted to do Christmas, just like when he and Sam were kids.

Sarah stood beside him, staring at the floor with her hands in her jacket pockets as she waited for their groceries to be rung up. Dean watched her until the cashier announced the total amount and Dean handed him a couple twenty and was handed back his change, putting it into his wallet, which he shoved into his back pocket.

As they were leaving, Dean finally spoke. "Hey, what do you say we do Christmas, this year?" he suggested, carrying the stuffed paper bag. "We can find a tree somewhere…"

"I didn't know you celebrated Christmas," Sarah shrugged, looking up at him before pushing the door open as it made that ringing sound and held it open for her father. "We didn't have it the last couple years I've been around."

"Well, this year's gonna be different. We can get some Boston Market, too and exchange gifts. How about it?"

Sarah had her hands back in her pockets as she stared at the ground. "I don't know," she finally shrugged. "Sure, if you want. Mom and I usually went over to Gram and Papa's for Christmas dinner but we never really put up a tree, ourselves."

"Did your mom ever give you any gifts?" Dean asked, curious.

"If you call gift cards a gift then yes." Sarah walked around the Impala and stepped off the sidewalk, heading towards her side. "She gave up trying to buy me clothes I would never wear, or toys I never play with. And she refused to give in and buy me things she considered for a boy, herself. If I wanted that stuff I had to go and buy it myself."

Both of them slipped into the Impala. Dean had placed the bag on the floor behind his seat. "What about your grandparents?"

"They didn't like it either but they didn't want to spend money on something I wouldn't use, so they gave me what I would use or wear, hoping I'd grow out of it someday. I remember one Christmas, Mom yelling and arguing with them about the gifts they gave me. That they shouldn't be giving in like that. Papa reminded her that she was just doing the same thing with the gift card and Mom stormed out of the kitchen, grabbed me and went home. The whole ride home, I remember Mom lecturing me about that whole philosophy of hers I told you before."

Dean was driving back to the motel, by now. "Well, this Christmas will be different, I promise. It'll be the best one you ever had. So what do you say?" he smiled over at her.

Sarah looked over at her father. It seemed really important to him to do this but there was one important factor here. Though it might be the best Christmas she'd have, it would be the only one with her father. She stared down at the seat between them for a moment before she finally agreed, "Okay, sure. Why not." If it made her father happy then she would do it.

Dean pulled into the parking lot not long afterwards and parked in front of their motel room, heading inside where Sam was exactly where they had left him, hovering over his laptop.

"So was I right?" Dean asked, shutting the door behind him as Sarah wandered over to stand beside her uncle, curious. "Is it the serial killing chimney sweep?"

"Yup," he replied, staring at his laptop, "it's, uh, actually Dick Van Dyke."

"Who's that?" Sarah asked her uncle.

Dean also looked at Sam, confused.

Sam looked between his brother and niece, " _Mary Poppins_?"

"Who's she?" he asked.

"Oh, come on… Sarah…" But Sarah had no clue either. "Never mind," he told them, waving them off with his hand.

Dean scratched the back of his head. "Well, it turns out the Walshes were the second family in town, grabbed out of their house, this month," he explained what he and Sarah had found out as Dean walked behind the couch Sam was sitting on.

Sam leaned back, following his brother with his eyes, "Oh yeah? Did they get dragged up the chimney, too?"

"Sarah checked the fireplace while I talked to the witnesses."

"It seems like it, though," Sarah spoke up. "Found traces of blood around it."

"So what the hell do you think we're dealing with, Sam?" Dean asked as he removed his jacket.

"Actually, I have an idea," he replied.

"Yeah?"

"And, uh, it's gonna sound crazy."

"How many times are we gonna go over that our whole job is supposed to be crazy?" Sarah pointed out to him.

"It shouldn't be crazy for you, Peanut," he told her.

"And why's that?" she asked, sitting next to him.

"An evil version of Santa Claus."

Her left eyebrow rose at that. "Evil version of Santa Claus?" she questioned.

Sam nodded.

"Uncle Sam, monsters may exist but I know for a fact Santa Claus doesn't."

Sam looked over at his brother at that.

Dean shrugged, confused why he was getting glared at like he had done something wrong. "What?" he asked.

"You told Sarah, Santa wasn't real, didn't you?" he asked of him.

"No."

"I knew since I was five, Uncle Sam. I know there is no way a fat old guy can fly around in a fifteen-ton sleigh, pulled by eight reindeer, around the world, in one night. That is impossible. And the whole, "watch you when you're sleeping" thing, by the way, sounds like something a stalker would do, not someone who gives toys to kids."

Sam was staring at his niece in shock and amazement. "Peanut, did you have any childhood innocence like a normal kid?"

"Toys and video games count?" she asked.

"Sure," he shrugged.

"Then yes."

"So who do you think left all those presents under the tree?" Sam asked of his niece.

"Gram, Papa, Mark, my other cousins, Uncle Vinny who always smelled like the bus, Aunt Laura and her husband, Frank," she started listing off family members of the Holden family until Sam cut her off.

"Okay, I get it," he said, looking at his laptop again. "Anyway, there are actually versions of the Anti-Claus in every culture." Sam picked up some pictures he had lying beside it, on the coffee table and passed half back to Dean and the other half to Sarah, "You got Belsnickel, Krampus, Black Peter. Whatever you want to call it, there's all sorts of lore."

Dean looked through them, "Saying what?"

"Saying, back in the day, Santa's brother went rogue, and now he shows up around Christmas time. But instead of bringing presents, he punishes the wicked."

"By hauling their ass up chimneys?" he asked, pacing around the room.

"For starters, yeah," Sam replied.

"So this is your theory, huh? Santa's shady brother?"

"Well, I…just saying, that's what the lore says."

"Santa doesn't have a brother. Like Sarah just got done saying, there is no Santa," Dean reminded his brother.

"Yeah, I know," said Sam. "You're the one who told me that in the first place, remember?" He then looked back at his laptop and sighed. "You know what, I could be wrong. I…" Sam sighed again and slammed it shut. "I gotta be wrong."

Sarah felt badly for her uncle's theory being shot down. "Remember that hunt with the fairy tales? You were right about that. Maybe Dad and I are wrong about Evil Santa and you're right about this, too," she tried to cheer him up.

Sam looked over at his niece and put his left arm around her, hugging Sarah to him.

"Maybe, maybe not," Dean spoke up and walked back over to them.

"What?" Sam looked back up at his brother.

"We did a little digging," he explained. "Turns out both victims visited the same place, right before they got snatched."

"Where?" he asked as Sarah moaned.

The Winchesters took a visit over to Santa's Village where people were dressed up like reindeer and elves. Sarah remembered being dragged to a place similar with her little cousin's family, and having to stand next to a fake Santa that smelled like drugs and vodka while her cousin sat on his lap for a photo.

"It does kind of lend credence to the theory, don't it?" Dean was saying as they walked through the village.

"Yeah, but Anti-Claus," Sam questioned and scoffed. "Couldn't be."

"You're the one who brought it up in the first place," Sarah reminded him. "If Dad and I hadn't of said anything, you'd still believe it."

"Yeah, it's a Christmas miracle," said Dean. "Speaking of Christmas, I was telling Sarah how we should have one this year."

Sam was looking off into the distance. "Have one what?"

"A Christmas," he repeated.

Sam gave a small laugh, "No thanks."

"No, we'll get a tree, a little Boston Market, just like when we were little," Dean smiled.

"Dean, those weren't exactly Hallmark memories for me, you know?"

"What are you talking about? We had some great Christmases."

"Whose childhood are you talking about?"

Dean stopped walking to turn and look at his brother, "Aw, come on, Sam."

"No, just," Sam shook his head. "No."

"All right, Grinch." Dean turned and started walking again, leaving his brother standing there.

Sarah started to follow her father, curious why her uncle didn't enjoy Christmas. She looked around at all the decorations and elf costumes, remembering the last Christmas she spent with her mother.

December 24th, 2004

Sarah sat, slumped on the couch as the live action _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_ played on the TV. Her empty bowl that held her mac and cheese dinner sat on the edge of the coffee table, along with a half drank glass of chocolate milk and an opened snack bag of Doritos. Sarah sat up long enough to grab the bag of chips as she continued watching the movie, munching on them.

The front door of their apartment opened and Emily walked in. "Hey, honey," she noticed her daughter on the couch. "How was school?"

Sarah sighed. "I didn't go to school, Mom. Remember? I'm on Christmas break." She stood up onto her legs, turning to lean on the back of the couch. "Speaking of Christmas, it's Christmas eve, Mom. Where were you? You said we were finally gonna get our own tree, this year and decorate it tonight."

Emily lifted her bag off her shoulders and placed it on the dining room table, beside the door. "My boss had me work another shift tonight at the bowling alley, honey. You know I had to work today."

"But it's Christmas eve, Mom and you promised."

"Honey, unless you want to spend Christmas out on the streets, I have to accept every shift I can. Okay?" Emily then walked into the kitchen.

"I bet Dad would have kept his promise if he said he would," Sarah called after her mother.

Emily sighed, tired and frustrated. "Sarah Lynn, that's enough. I have had a long day and I do not want to argue, tonight. Papa and Gram have a beautiful tree up at their house and tomorrow when I get off work, we will go over there and have Christmas dinner. Okay?"

Sarah's eyes widened when her mother said she was working again, the next day. "You're working on Christmas day? Mom, how can you work on our Savior's birthday? On a day our family is supposed to be together?"

"A lot of people work on Christmas, Sarah and if you want a roof over your head and food on the table, I have to, as well."

"No, you just don't want to be around me," Sarah spat at her mother.

"Sarah, you know that's not true."

Sarah climbed up onto the arm of the couch, on her left leg. "Bullshit, it's not!"

Emily slammed the fridge shut, staring at her daughter. "Go to bed," she told her, sternly. "Turn off the TV and go to bed, now."

Sarah stared back at her mother until she slid off the couch and stormed down the hall to her bedroom. "I still wish I lived with Dad!" she yelled back before slamming her door shut and jumped onto her bed. Sarah cried into her pillow. Not long after that, her door opened but didn't bother to lift her head. Sarah knew who it was.

"You can expect Papa's belt tomorrow evening when we go over there, Sarah Lynn," Emily told her.

"Leave me alone," Sarah pouted into her pillow.

Emily sighed, "For once I would like to come home without the two of us fighting. Can I have at least one Christmas miracle, Sarah?"

Sarah didn't respond to her mother. After her mother shut off her light, she closed the door, leaving Sarah to her own thoughts as she continued to cry into her pillow. "God, all I want for Christmas is my dad. That's all I want is for my dad to walk right through that door and lift me into his arms and tell me that he loves me. Is that even possible?" She remembered crying herself to sleep that Christmas eve and waking up to an empty apartment, spending most of Christmas day, cleaning it up.

Present day, Sarah snapped out of her thoughts to Dean snapping his fingers and waving his hand in front of her face. "Huh?" she asked.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sarah assured her father as a young woman dressed in an elf costume walked up.

"Welcome to Santa's Court," she greeted the Winchesters. "Can I escort your child to Santa?"

"Uh, no thanks," Sarah told her, "I'll pass. Have to say though he looks cleaner than the last one I met."

"But my brother here," Dean slapped his hand, playfully onto Sam's left shoulder, "It's been a lifelong dream of his."

The woman stared at Sam, "Uh, sorry. No kids over twelve?"

"No, he's just kidding," Sam assured her, shaking his head. "We only came here to watch."

She looked back at Dean, who shook his head. "Ew," she told Sam, disgusted as she walked away.

"Aw," Sam tried to assure her some more, "I didn't mean that we came here to… Y… " He then turned to his brother, annoyed. "Thanks a lot, Dean. Thanks for that."

Dean just chuckled at his brother's predicament which Sarah couldn't help snicker either.

"We love you, Uncle Sammy," Sarah smiled up at her uncle.

Sam looked away, "Yeah, I bet you do," he smiled.

"Hey, check it out." Dean pointed out at the Santa as he was coming their way, passed them. The Santa was walking with a limp just like the lore said. "Are you seeing this?"

"You try sitting in a chair for a long time and see how you can walk afterwards," Sarah told him, remembering when Dean had her sit while he rescued the rabbit's foot.

"Tell me you didn't smell that?" he told her, seriously. "That was candy, man."

"That was ripple. I think," said Sam and leaned around to look over at Santa. "Had to be."

Dean shrugged and looked back. "Maybe. We willing to take that chance?"

Sam chewed on his lip as he and Sarah continued to watch Santa, thinking it over.


	98. Chapter 98- A Very Supernatural Xmas(p2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 98

That night, the Winchesters staked out Santa's trailer, watching for anything suspicious while trying to stay awake. The brothers eventually ran out of coffee and caffeinated sodas never really had any effect on Sarah. So Sarah had her head on her folded arms, on the back of the front seat, her eyelids starting to feel heavy with the empty soda bottle on the seat behind her. She tried her best to keep them open as she watched Santa through the window.

Things were quiet until Dean broke it. "Hey, Sam."

Sam looked over at his brother, "Yeah?"

"Why are you the boy who hates Christmas?" he asked.

"Dean," Sam rolled his head forward.

"I mean, I'd admit. We had a few bumpy holidays when we were kids."

"Bumpy?" Sam repeated over to him.

"But that was then," he told Sam. "We'll do it right, this year. Just like we've done for Sarah's birthday."

"Look, Dean, if you and Sarah wanna have Christmas, knock yourself out. Just don't involve me," Sam shook his head.

"But it wouldn't be Christmas without the whole family together," Sarah yawned from her arms.

Sam forced a smile for his niece before looking at the trailer again, just as Santa was shutting his curtains.

Dean asked, "What's up with Saint Nicotine?"

Suddenly, they heard a woman scream which woke Sarah up, fully as if she had a full night's rest. The three of them jumped from the car and hurried up to the trailer, getting out their guns. Dean opened the door and they charged right in, stopping right in their tracks when they saw the TV on and Santa sitting on his couch with a large bong.

Santa demanded as they quickly hid their guns, "The hell you doing here?" He had dropped the bong and was just holding a bottle of whiskey.

The Winchesters tried to think of a logical explanation, quickly before Dean busted out _Silent Night_ , and Sam and Sarah joined in. Santa joined in as he sat back down. At one point, Sarah ended up the only one, singing the words, correctly as the three of them back out of the house.

"Well, that was embarrassing," Sarah stated as they walked back to the Impala.

"Shut up, Sarah," Dean teased her. "Well, it's not him."

"Guess we have to keep looking," said Sam.

Dean and Sarah agreed.

The next day, they caught wind of another attack that happened and spoke with the victim's wife, who explained that she was knocked out and her young son saw it drag her husband up the chimney. During the visit, Sam asked the woman about where she had gotten her wreath above the fireplace. Sarah found it odd that her uncle was asking about a wreath at a time like this, especially since Sam didn't want anything to do with Christmas. On the way out, Sam reminded her that they had seen that wreath before at the Walsh's house and Sarah remembered seeing one at the other family's house, as well.

Heading back to the motel, the Winchesters did some more research. Sam called Bobby to see if he knew anything while Sarah looked through her books.

Sam hung up with Bobby once they were done. "Well," he said, walking over to the table Sarah was sitting at by the window. "We're not dealing with the Anti-Claus."

"What Bobby say?" asked Dean from the couch.

"Uh, that we're morons."

"For the record, I never said I thought it was the Anti-Claus. I just said that, yesterday to cheer you up," Sarah objected to Bobby's comment.

"Yeah, right," Dean teased his daughter. "You know you wanted it to be true. If there's such thing as an Anti-Claus, then there must be a Santa Claus, am I right?"

"Oh yeah, because I want nothing more than to prove Santa Claus' existence. Anyway, what does he think it is?" Sarah turned back to her uncle.

"That it was probably meadowsweet in those wreaths. Have you come across anything like that in that one book of yours on pagan lore?" he replied.

Sarah thought about if she had ever read about it and quickly pulled the pagan mythology book on top so she could start scanning through it.

Dean asked, "What the hell is meadowsweet?"

"It's pretty rare and it's the most powerful plant in pagan lore," Sam explained.

"Pagan lore?" he questioned.

"Found it!" Sarah announced and read what the page said. "Meadowsweet, a plant used in human sacrifices, luring gods so they could feast on whoever was given."

Dean stood up from his seat and walked over to the small kitchen area, "Why would somebody be using that for Christmas wreaths?"

"It's not so crazy as it sounds, Dean," said Sam, looking at his laptop. "Pretty much every Christmas tradition is pagan."

Sarah looked up from her book. "Uh, no. Christmas is the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Hence the name, Christ-mas," she told him.

"No, the name was just a coincidence. Jesus' birth was probably in the fall," he corrected her. "It was actually the winter solstice festival that was co-opted by the church and renamed Christmas."

Sarah folded her arms, staring over at her uncle. "Yeah, I know. I do have a book about pagans, remember? And besides, religions always seem to argue against each other so I didn't really think much of it. There are different theories of Christmas and I believe the Christian part where," she rose up onto her knees towards her uncle, "December twenty-fifth is Jesus' birthday."

Dean went over and shoved his daughter back down by her shoulder, interrupting Sam who was going to add more to that discussion, "Dude, chill. It's not that big of a deal, you know. Who cares?" He looked over at Sam, "So, you think we're dealing with a pagan god?"

Sam looked from his niece, up to his brother, quickly and read off what he had pulled up on the screen, "Yeah, probably Holdenacar, god of the winter solstice."

"And all these Martha Stewart wannabes buying theses fancy wreaths."

"Yeah, it's like putting a neon sign on your front door, saying: 'Come kill us.'"

Dean nodded, walking away, "Great."

Sarah was reading up on Holdenacar in her book. "Huh, when you sacrifice to Holdenacar, he produces mild weather," she read out loud.

"Kind of like no snow in the middle of December, in Michigan," Dean nodded outside the window. "So do we know how to kill it yet?"

Sarah continued scanning through the page, "Not yet…"

"Bobby's working on that, right now," Sam told him.

"Well you might want to call him back and tell him not to worry about it," Sarah said, once she finished reading.

"Why's that, Peanut?" he asked.

"I just found it."

"Well then, now all we have to do is figure out where they're selling those wreaths."

"You think they're selling them on purpose?" Dean asked. "Feeding the victims to this thing?"

Sam sighed, "Let's find out."

They stopped in at a Christmas store and asked the owner about the wreaths and where he had gotten them from. The owner explained they were given to him for free by a local woman, named Madge Carrigan which he sold for a high amount.

On the way back to the motel, the Winchesters stopped at a diner for dinner.

"How much do you think a meadowsweet wreath would cost?" Dean was asking as they walked in the door, turning on the light and closed the door behind them.

"Couple hundred dollars, at least," Sam shrugged, walking over to the beds.

"And this lady's giving them away for free?" he asked, removing his jacket. "What do you think about that?"

Sarah removed hers, too, tossing it on the couch, beside where she sat down. "That she could be behind all this," she shrugged.

Sam and Dean tossed theirs on their beds, before sitting on the foot of them. "Remember that wreath Dad brought home that one year?" Dean smiled at his brother.

Sam was leaning forward on his elbows. "You mean the one he stole from, like, a liquor store?" he asked.

Dean nodded, "It was a bunch of empty beer cans. That thing was great."

Sam stared down at the floor.

"I bet if I looked around hard enough, I could probably find one just like it."

Sarah lied on the couch, leaning her arms over the arm closest to the brothers. "I made one, one year, out of construction paper and pipe cleaners, I bet I can make it again if I tried," she shrugged.

"Sounds good, Baby girl," Dean smiled over at her. "I think I saw a craft store somewhere around here."

Sam shook his head at the floor. "All right. Dude, what's going on with you?"

"What?" he shrugged at him.

"Since when are you Bing Crosby, all of a sudden? Why do you wanna do Christmas so bad?"

Dean stared ahead for a moment before he asked, "Why are you so against it? Were your childhood memories that traumatic?"

"No, that has nothing to do with it," he said, truthfully.

Sarah asked, "Then what's wrong?"

Sam shrugged, "I mean, I just…I don't get it. You haven't talked about Christmas in years, Dean. You didn't exactly pick it up that year, you and Sarah met either."

Dean looked at the floor. "It never occurred to me, I guessed. But this, this is my last year."

Sam sighed at that, looking over at his niece, who was staring at the floor with just her eyes. "I know," he finally said. "That's why I can't."

Dean looked at him for a moment before looking away again. "What do you mean?"

He breathed in through his nose. "I mean, I can't sit around, drinking eggnog, pretending everything's okay when…" Sam took in a deep breath. "…when I know next Christmas you'll be dead." No one said anything for a moment. "I just can't."

Dean nodded at the floor, in understanding. He hadn't thought about that, Dean just figured their last holiday could cheer the three of them up, give his daughter some more, happy memories of her father before it would be over. He looked over at Sarah, who looked like she was thinking about something.

Christmas night, 2004

Sarah sat on her knees, trying not to put pressure on her sore bottom. Christmas dinner was finished and the kitchen was cleaned up before she sat around the tree with her grandparents, mother, and Mark, along with the rest of their large family. Sarah usually sat back in the corner and quietly opened her gifts. She opened each one before Mark walked over and sat on the floor, beside her, holding a few more gifts on his lap.

"Sar Bear, there's something I need to tell you, that'll be hard to hear," he told her.

"What's that, Mark?" she asked, looking at a model airplane in her hands.

"I…I won't be here for Christmas, next year," he told her, sadly.

Sarah stared up at her second cousin, her eyes wide and mouth hanging open. "What do you mean? Where will you be?"

"They want me to move to Iraq, where they have an army camp set up there. I'm supposed to leave the beginning of February and stay for at least five years," explained Mark.

"Five years…but what about us? I don't want you to leave, Mark. You're my only friend, my best friend. You can't leave, you just can't." Tears filled up in Sarah's eyes as she turned back to stare at the airplane.

Mark wrapped his left arm around her, "I'm sure you'll meet another best friend. There's gotta be someone out there who likes you, for you. It is what's on the inside that counts, right?"

She nodded, not looking up.

"I love you, Sar Bear," he told her and kissed the side of her head. "And I want you to have these since I'll be gone for that long." He placed the gifts on the floor, in front of the little girl.

Sarah grabbed the smallest gift, off the top and ripped off the wrapping paper and unfolded a cardboard box to find a black PSP and a carrying case full of games. "You're letting me have your PSP?" she asked him, surprised.

"Hey, what better person to take care of my favorite handheld video game than my favorite second cousin?" he grinned.

Sarah smiled and hugged him around the neck. "Thank you, Mark."

"You're welcome, Sarah," he replied and let go. "Oh yeah, and I made sure to put your music on there, too. Never knew a kid who loved classic rock as much as you do."

"Only good kind of music out there," she shrugged, starting to unwrap the larger box now. Sarah then unfolded that box and looked inside to find a Nintendo 64 and GameCube, also with several games. "You're also giving me these, too?"

Mark put his arm around her again, "You bet. Merry Christmas, Sarah."

"Merry Christmas, Mark." Sarah hugged her second cousin again as one of the boys had noticed what Sarah had just gotten and jealously pointed it out. She ignored him though.

Present day

The Winchesters searched around town until they found the right house. Dean knocked on the door where a sweet, middle-aged woman answered.

Please tell me you're the Madge Carrigan who makes the meadowsweet wreaths," he told her.

"Why, yes I am," Madge Carrigan replied, proudly.

Dean laughed, "Bingo."

"Yeah, well we were just admiring your wreaths at Mr. Silar's place, the other day," Sam explained as Dean looked around her house, behind Madge Carrigan.

"You were?" she asked. "Well, isn't that meadowsweet the finest smelling thing you ever smelled?"

"Well, actually I…" Dean smacked Sarah up-side the head, gentle but firm. "I mean, yes, best thing I ever smelled," Sarah told her, rubbing the back of her head, glaring at her father out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah, it sure is," Sam agreed, "But see the problem is that all your wreaths had sold out before we got the chance to buy one."

"Oh, fudge," Madge Carrigan said, disappointed to hear they couldn't buy one of their own.

"You wouldn't happen to have another one we could buy from you, would you?" Dean asked her.

"Oh no, I'm afraid those were the only ones I had for this season."

Sarah snapped her fingers, "Oh darn, that's too bad. I was really hoping to have one on our door," she said in a fake, disappointed tone of her own.

"Well, there's always next year, sweetheart," Madge Carrigan assured her, sweetly.

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "But tell me something, why'd you decide to make them out of meadowsweet?"

She smiled, "Why, the smell of course. I don't think I ever smelled anything finer."

"Yeah," said Sam. "You, um, mentioned that."

At that point, a gentlemen around the same age as Madge Carrigan walked up behind her, smoking a corncob pipe and wearing a blue sweater. "What's going on, honey?" he asked, looking between his wife and the Winchesters.

"Well, just some nice boys and their daughter, asking about my wreaths, dear," she told him.

Sam and Dean frowned when they heard Madge Carrigan call Sarah, both their daughter.

Mr. Carrigan raised his pipe into the air, "Oh, the wreaths are fine. Fine wreaths."

Sarah's eyebrow rose, just by the look of him alone, much less what he just said. She felt like she was inside one of her grandmother's TV shows or something.

"Oh, care for some peanut brittle?" he asked, holding a box of hard, peanut butter-coated candy in his right hand.

Dean tried reaching for some until Sam smacked his arm down as Sarah politely told him, "No, thanks. I have a peanut allergy. I swell up like a balloon if I eat even one nut."

"No problem, sweetheart," he smiled at her.

Sam thanked the Carrigans for their time and left.


	99. Chapter 99- A Very Supernatural Xmas(p3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 99

For the rest of the day, the Winchesters prepared for that night. Sam did some more research, running a search on the Carrigans who lived in Seattle the year before where two abductions took place around the same time.

That evening, they headed back to the Carrigans house where Sarah picked the lock on the front door before they snuck in. Sam, Dean, and Sarah wandered around the dark house until Sam found a latched door that led to the basement. Quietly and carefully, the three of them headed downstairs, with flashlights to check things out, finding some very disturbing things.

Sarah stayed close to Dean, per orders while Sam wandered over to the other side. He found a sack hanging from a hook and reached out to touch it when suddenly it shook, making Sam jump. When he turned around, Madge Carrigan had him by the neck.

Dean noticed and tried to run over to help his brother. However, Mr. Carrigan had grabbed him and knocked Dean out. Sarah tried to stab Mr. Carrigan with her stake but was also knocked out. Soon, Sam was too.

Sometime later, Sam awoke first, tied to a chair with his back turned to his brother and niece. They were upstairs again, in the dining room, next to the table that held several bowls, knives, and tools. "Dean, Sarah. Are you okay?"

Dean was the next one to come to. "Yeah, I think so."

Sarah stirred last. "Oh man, my head," she moaned and tried to move her hand to rub at the sore spot.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" Dean asked her.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You both okay?"

"Yeah, we're okay," he replied.

Sam sighed, "So I guess we're dealing with Mr. and Mrs. God. Nice to know."

"They ain't my God," Sarah shook her head which did not help the pain any. "Oh boy, would I kill for an ibuprofen right about now."

Mr. and Mrs. Carrigan walked in. "Oh, here we thought you three lazybones were gonna sleep through all the fun," Mrs. Carrigan laughed.

"Boy, haven't heard that name in a long time," Sarah muttered, remembering back when she used to sleep at her grandparents' house.

"And miss all this?" Dean said, sarcastically. "No, we're partiers."

Mr. Carrigan was circling around the Winchesters, holding his corncob pipe, "Isn't he a kick in the pants, honey."

Sarah was trying to analyze what he had just said, over in her head. "Kick in the…wait, you think my dad is painful…Oh, he's so funny, it's painful, right?"

Dean sighed. "Shut up, Sarah," he told her.

"No, you're hunters, is what you are," Mr. Carrigan stared down at Sarah, in a serious tone. "Of course, never met one so young as you."

"I may be young but I can send you to your knees with one kick to the groin," she warned him.

"Ooh, a feisty one," remarked Mrs. Carrigan.

"Yeah, and you're pagan gods," Dean also remarked. "So why don't we call it even and all go separate ways."

"What? So you can bring back more hunters and kill us?" Mr. Carrigan asked and laughed. "I don't think so."

Sam looked back over his right shoulder, "Maybe you should have thought about that before you went snacking on humans then, huh?"

"Oh, now, don't get all wet."

"Ho," said Mrs. Carrigan, "Why, we used to take over a hundred tributes a year. And that's a fact." She unfolded a green napkin and laid it on Dean's lap. "Now what do we take?" she asked, grabbing another one and placing it on Sarah's lap. "What, two, three."

"And Three Stooges here make six," Mr. Carrigan pointed out with his pipe.

"Now, that's not so bad, is it?" she asked in realization. "And we never had a child before either so we're in for a real treat."

"Well, you say it like that, I guess you guys are the Cunninghams," said Dean.

Sarah asked, "Who?"

"Not the point or time, Sarah," he reminded her again.

"You mister better show us a little respect," Mr. Carrigan told him, sternly.

This whole thing was seriously bringing up memories of her grandparents' home, growing up, for Sarah. That is, without the whole pagan worship part.

Sam asked, "Or what?" He smiled at him, "You'll eat us."

"Uncle Sam, please don't give them any ideas," Sarah told her uncle. "Trust me you don't want to eat someone like me. I'm tough and stringy, and full of chocolate milk. I swear."

"Don't worry, we like a little chocolate now and then," Mrs. Carrigan assured the little girl.

"Besides, there are rituals to be followed first," Mr. Carrigan added.

"Oh, we're just sticklers for rituals," she told them, bent over.

"And you know what kicks off the whole shebang?"

"Let me guess," Dean said, looking at his lap. "Meadowsweet. Oh, shucks. You're all out of wreaths. So I guess we'll have to cancel the sacrifice. Huh?"

Mrs. Carrigan walked around them and pulled out a small thing of meadowsweet, "Don't be such a gloomy Gus," she told him and placed it around his neck. "There." She walked around and placed each one around Sam and Sarah's necks, as well. "Don't they just look darling, especially the little one."

"Good enough to eat," Mr. Carrigan complimented, smacking his lips which made Dean uncomfortable. "Alrighty-roo, step number two." He picked up a sharp, curved knife and a bowl and took it around the table to Sam first where he cut into his right arm.

"Sammy?" Dean called over his shoulder as Sam cried out in pain. Blood poured from the wound and into the bowl. "Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!"

"Hear how they talk to us?" Mr. Carrigan laughed. "To gods." He walked away, back over to the table. "Listen, pal. Back in the day, we were worshiped by millions."

"Times have changed," Dean spat at him.

He laughed again. "Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character's the hot new thing in town."

"Watch it, that's my Savior you're talking about," Sarah also spat at him, coldly.

"Case in point. All of a sudden, our altars are being burned down and we're being hunted like, common monsters."

"But did we say peep?" Mrs. Carrigan added. "Oh no, no, no, no, we did not." They mixed stuff with Sam's blood as if they were preparing a big meal or something. "Two millennium. We kept a low profile, we got jobs, a mortgage. We…" she turned to her husband. "What was that word, dear?"

"We assimilated," he said, eating a piece of popcorn.

"Yes, we assimilated," she repeated. "Why we play bridge on Tuesdays and Fridays. We're just like everybody else."

Sarah just rolled her eyes. "Give me a break," she mumbled.

"You're not blending in like you think, lady," Dean told Mrs. Carrigan.

"This might pinch a bit, dear," she told him and sliced his arm like they had done with Sam.

Dean groaned in pain. "You bitch!"

"Oh, my goodness, me. Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, you know what I say when I feel like swearing? Fudge."

He looked up at her, in pain. "I'll try and remember that," he told her.

Mr. Carrigan walked over towards Sam again, carrying a pair of pliers. "You three have no idea how lucky you are. There was a time when kids came from miles around just to be sitting where you are."

Sam grew uncomfortable at the sight of the pliers. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked of the older man, trying to inch back in his seat.

Mrs. Carrigan was carrying the bowl and knife around to Sarah, this time.

"You fudging touch her, I'll fudging kill you!" he warned the woman, harshly.

"Very good," she told him before turning back to Sarah and sliced across her arm as Sarah cried out from the pain, her blood pouring into a white bowl.

"Sarah!" Dean yelled over his shoulder. "Get away from her!"

Meanwhile, Sam was struggling against the man, as Mr. Carrigan tried to grab one of his fingers and ripped off its nail with the pliers. Sam screamed out in extreme pain. Once it was over, he was panting the hardest of the three, hoping it was over. Unfortunately, the couple remembered they forgot the tooth and walked over to Dean with the pliers again.

"Merry Christmas, Sam. Merry Christmas, Sarah," Dean told them over his shoulder.

Sam just moaned.

"Yeah, merry Christmas, Dad," Sarah replied.

Mr. Carrigan was then standing in front of Dean and told him to open wide. Meanwhile, Sarah couldn't help feel itchy on the back of her neck and tried to scratch with the back of her head. Right as the man was about to yank out Dean's tooth, the doorbell rang.

"Somebody gonna get that?" Dean asked, with a mouth full of pliers.

The doorbell rang a second time.

He nodded, "You should get that."

Mr. Carrigan rolled his eyes and reluctantly put down the pliers to go answer the door. While they were gone, Dean was able to cut himself loose before cutting the other two loose and quickly hurried out of the room. When the Carrigans returned, they slammed the doors shut.

Dean and Sarah pressed themselves against one of the doors as one of the Carrigans tried to open it. Sarah was trying desperately to focus instead of thinking about the itch coming from her neck. Dean noticed a drawer beside him and opened it, standing up from the door.

"Sarah, come on," he told her as he took off to join his brother at the other door. Sarah followed after him. "What do we do now? The evergreen stakes are in the basement," he yelled as he held the door shut with his right hand.

Sam was pressed up against the door, "Well, we need more evergreen, Dean." He then happened to look over at the Carrigans' Christmas tree. "I think I just found us some more."

"Who keeps a tree made out of something that can kill them?" Sarah questioned as she looked over for herself, from also holding the door shut with both hands.

"Who brings up logic during a very crucial fight for their lives?"

"I was just saying," Sarah told her uncle.

"Are we really having this conversation, right now?" Dean questioned his brother and daughter, still holding his hand on the door.

Sam looked over at the china cabinet and asked Dean for help to move it in front of the door before rushing right over to the tree and knocking it over and broke off a few pieces of the trunk. Sam passed one to Sarah before they hurried back towards the door. It was eerily quiet now as each of them looked around.

Mr. Carrigan came around the corner and tackled Dean while Mrs. Carrigan went after Sam, angrily, both of them getting the crap beat out of them. Sarah rushed right over to help her father, plunging the tree stake into Mr. Carrigan's back, using both hands to shove it in deeper. The man screamed out in pain before falling over, dead. Dean pushed him off and made sure Sarah was okay before rushing over to help his brother.

By that time, Sam didn't really need any help. He grabbed a chance to shove his own tree stake into her chest, killing her, as well. The Winchesters looked down at the couple, panting heavily.

Sam looked over at his brother, "Merry Christmas," he told him, in between breaths. Dean just rolled his head away as Sam sighed, looking back down at them. Dean happened to catch his daughter beside him, finally able to freely scratch at the back of her neck. He moved over to her and lifted Sarah's hair up from it to see her neck had broken out into hives.

"Baby Girl, I think you had an allergic reaction to meadowsweet," he informed her.

Sarah looked up at him, "I did?"

"Yeah, your neck's covered in pink blotches, all over." Dean released her hair and Sarah continued to scratch at it. "Guess we better get ya some calamine lotion." The three of them decided to leave as soon as they cleaned up so no one knew they were there.

Dean dropped Sam off at the motel when he said he was exhausted, and he and Sarah headed for the gas mart again to gas up the Impala and grab more beer, the calamine lotion, which Dean applied to Sarah's hives in the car, and something for dinner.

Sarah stared out the window as Dean drove back to the motel. "Hey, what do you say we have our own Christmas, just the two of us?" Dean asked her. "Just because Sam doesn't want in, doesn't mean we can't do it."

She looked over at him. "Okay, but do you think Uncle Sam will still accept a gift?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

Sarah stood up on her knees and climbed over the seat, into the back and reached under the backseat to pull out two newspaper wrapped gifts, before climbing back over and showing them to her father. "I was planning on giving you guys gifts, regardless if one of you brought up Christmas or not. When you left me at Uncle Bobby's, I decided to make you something." The gifts were the size Sam had wrapped Dean's necklace back when they were kids.

Dean smiled at her and reached over to pull her against him, into a hug. When they got back to the motel, they were surprised to find it decorated, along with part of the Carrigans' tree, over in the corner.

"Hey, you get the beer?" Sam asked, holding up a cup of eggnog.

"What's all this?" Dean asked, walking towards his brother.

"What do you think it is? It's Christmas."

"But you said you didn't want to do Christmas," Sarah reminded him.

Sam tried to smile at his niece but decided to change the subject, reaching down to grab another cup of eggnog, passing it to Dean. "Here, try the eggnog. Let me know if it needs some more kick."

Dean tried it. "Taste like you didn't put anything in it."

"Wait, that's probably Sarah's." Sam grabbed the last cup of eggnog and passed it to him, who passed the first one to Sarah.

"Geez, Sam. It's a good thing you didn't give Sarah, hers first," Dean coughed when he tasted the "spiked" eggnog.

"Yeah, that probably would have been bad," Sam agreed.

Sarah asked, "You put beer in eggnog?"

"Bourbon, actually and yes, we do. You'll understand when you're older." Dean told her.

"Well, have a seat," Sam backed over to the couch. "Let's do Christmas stuff or whatever."

"All right, first thing's first." Dean pulled a chair from the table as Sarah and Sam sat down on the couch, setting their cups on the coffee table. Dean pulled out two paper bags from the plastic grocery bag and held them out to his brother.

Sam smiled at him before taking the presents to look at them. "Where did you get these?"

"Some place special," he replied, removing his jacket.

Sam looked over at him again.

"Gas mart, down the street," Dean admitted, making Sam laugh. "Open them up."

"Yeah, great minds think alike, Dean." Sam reached underneath the couch and pulled out two gifts for his brother and two more for his niece, wrapped in newspaper.

He asked, "Really?"

Here you go," Sam said as he passed Sarah, hers. "Go ahead, Peanut, you go first."

Excited, Sarah began ripping into the cylinder shaped present. "Chocolate milk! Thanks, Uncle Sam," she thanked him.

"You're welcome, Peanut."

She opened the second present to find a booster pack of Pokémon cards. "Wow, new Pokémon cards, too?" Sarah jumped on her uncle, hugging his neck. "Thank you so much!"

"I'd thought you would like those," he smiled, hugging her back. Sarah moved so Sam could take his turn, taking out a couple of magazines from the first one.

"What are those?" Sarah asked, trying to get a look for herself.

Sam quickly sat on them, getting them out of sight. "Uh, nothing you need to see," he assured her and opened the next one which was shaving cream.

"You like?" Dean asked, starting to open his.

Sam smiled over him, "Yeah," he turned to look at the can again. "Yeah."

Dean laughed when he opened his gifts from Sam. "Well, look at this. Fuel for me, and fuel for my four-wheeled baby."

Sam nodded.

"These are awesome. Thanks." Dean stared down at them.

"Open mine next." Sarah passed her gifts to her father and uncle. They each put the gifts from each down so they could take Sarah's, each opening them up at the same time.

"Wow, Peanut," Sam said when he had his unwrapped. It was a wooden, beaded bracelet with two different sizes of beads. "Did you make this?"

"I got a kit once from a tour I took with my class when we visited an old Indian reserve and I guess it got into the box of video games when I picked up my stuff when Uncle Bobby took me to see my grandparents that one time. I found it when you guys left me at his place, so I decided to make one for each of you since Christmas was only a couple months away."

Dean was sliding his onto his right wrist. "I love it, Baby Girl," and pulled her in to give her a hug and kissed her on the head. Sam did the same afterwards while his brother stood up and walked over to where he left his duffel bag on his bed, coming back with a newspaper-wrapped, rectangular gift. He walked around behind the couch and sat back down on the chair. "Sarah, this is for you," he told her, handing it to her.

Sarah took it and ripped off the newspaper. It was an old, worn out, flat box, the dark wood chipped off in a couple places. She opened the lid to reveal a silver pocket knife inside.

"My dad gave it to me when I was about your age so I figured I'd pass it on to you," Dean explained to her.

Sarah took the knife from the box, setting the box on the couch beside her and pulled out the blade which looked like it had been recently cleaned. "Thanks, Dad. I…I love it." She stood up and went over to hug her father around the neck. "Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas, Baby Girl," he replied, hugging her in return.

Sarah let go and walked over to her uncle to give him another hug. "Merry Christmas, Uncle Sammy."

Sam also hugged her again. "Merry Christmas, Peanut."

They let go. Sam looked over at his brother. "Hey, Dean…"

Dean looked back at him.

He looked up at the ceiling then sighed, looking forward. This time, next year, it would just be him and Sarah and it pained Sam to know his brother would be gone from them. Instead of telling Dean that, he asked, "Do you feel like watching the game?"

Dean brightened up at that idea, "Absolutely." He had no clue what to do next anyway.

Sam chuckled to himself, "All right." He stood up and reached over to flip on the old fashioned TV to a football game and sat back in his seat, slouching this time. Dean grinned as he watched it, taking another drink of his eggnog.

With her new knife back in its box, for now, Sarah grabbed her new Pokémon cards and moved over to climb into her father's lap, sitting sideways as she rested her head against his chest. She ripped open the foil packaging, tossing it onto the floor and looked through the cards. Dean smiled down at his daughter and kissed the top of her head as he held her in his left arm. They each sat there, not noticing that it had started snowing outside.

This did turn out to be a good Christmas, after all.


	100. Chapter 100- Malleus Maleficarum (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 100

While Dean spoke to a young man about his wife's death, Sam and Sarah checked out the bathroom where she had died. Sam covered all the high places and Sarah looked around where she could reach, opening up the cupboard under the sink. She shined her flashlight around the cupboard until Sarah spotted a small, cloth bag, tied around at the neck.

Grabbing it, Sarah looked up at her uncle. "Uncle Sam," she whispered so no one would hear out there, to Sam to get his attention and held the bag up to show him.

Sam took it and looked it over in his right hand. He knew exactly what it was as he stole a quick peek inside before Sam had his niece follow him out of the bathroom to let Dean know they had found something. Leaving the young man alone, the Winchesters left the house.

"That dude seem a little evasive to you?" Dean asked once they were outside.

Sam shrugged, "I don't know. We were in his bathroom where Sarah found this under his sink." He handed the bag to his brother who took it from him.

"It's a hex bag, right?" asked Sarah, walking on the opposite side of Dean from her uncle.

"Yup," Sam replied as Dean opened it up, grossed out by the sight. "There are bird bones, rabbit's teeth. This cloth is probably cut from something Janet Dutton owned."

Dean finished looking at it and handed it back to Sam as he started walking towards the Impala. "So we're thinking witch."

Sam and Sarah followed. "Uh, yeah," Sam told him, looking at the ground, "and not some New Age Wiccan water dowser either. This is Old World black magic," he held the hex bag out to his brother as Dean walked around the car. "I mean, warts and all." Sam grabbed ahold of the car door handle and opened it up to slide right in, right before Dean slid into the driver side.

Dean stared forward for a second before turning to face Sam, "I hate witches."

Sam gave a small laugh.

Sarah stood right behind the front seat, her arms folded on top, her left leg bent on the seat behind her. "I don't know, the ones with the glasses and lightning-shaped scars are kind of cute." Sarah paused once she said that. "Did I just say that out loud?"

A huge grin appeared on Dean's face. "Oh," he smiled, teasingly. "My little girl's got her first crush."

Sarah turned red in the face and hid inside her folded arms. She couldn't believe she had just admitted what she just said.

"So you're starting to like boys now, huh?" Dean teased his daughter. "Is there anyone else I should be aware of or is Harry Potter the only one?"

She quickly shook her head still in her arms. "There's not, I swear," she said, quickly.

Dean looked at her, sideways. "There is, isn't there?" He nodded, "Who is it? Is he famous? A boy we met?"

"It's no one, Dad." Sarah was sliding down from the seat, onto the floor.

"Come on, you can tell me. Who is he? Do I know him or not?"

She wouldn't admit she had another crush on someone. It was too embarrassing for her that she actually thought boys were cute. Sarah just tried to hide the shade of red she was turning, hoping her father would stop teasing her about it.

"Maybe I should tickle it out of you," Dean shrugged, winking over at Sam who was also smiling. "Haven't had to do that in a while."

"It's no one, Dad," she tried to tell him.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's someone." Dean got up onto his right knee and reached over the seat to tickle his daughter, trying to make her sing like a canary. "Who is he, huh?" he repeated as Sarah tried to push his hand away, protectively. To make things easier, Dean climbed over the seat, into the back and began using both of his hands to tickle her with, making it impossible for Sarah to get away. "Come on, tell me. I won't stop until you do."

Sarah still tried to push her father's hands away but Dean just moved them and tickled another spot, knowing exactly where all of her most ticklish spots were. "Uncle Sammy, help me," she managed to call out in between laughs.

Sam smiled at the seat next to him. "Okay, Dean. I think that's enough. If Sarah doesn't want to tell us, she shouldn't have to."

Dean stopped. "I know," he told his brother, "but now I know my little girl does like boys, after all, and as a father I must know who it is." He turned back to Sarah. "How about if I guess it? Then will you tell me?"

"You'll never guess it, Dad," she shook her head up at him.

Dean grinned, "Oh, you think so, huh? Is he on TV or in movies?"

Sarah shook her head.

"He's someone we met?" he asked.

Sarah hesitated at first, but slowly nodded.

Dean thought about it and then climbed back over the front seat to start the car. "Someone we met, huh. Is he a kid?" he asked back over his right shoulder as he pulled away from the curb.

Sarah bit her lower lip. There were hundreds of guys they met. There had to be a very low chance her father would guess it right. Finally, she shook her head.

Sam was sitting sideways, looking back at her. "So you like the older guys?" he asked.

Dean stared into the mirror, confused. "It's not Bobby, is it?"

"No," Sarah replied as if she was offended by what Dean had said. "Uncle Bobby is family and on top of that, really old."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks. Who could it be?

"Is it a friend of ours or was it someone we helped out on a hunt and never heard from again?" Dean continued to ask.

Sarah was now chewing on her lower lip, staring at the floor as she sat on the seat with her legs folded towards her. After a few moments, she threw herself forward onto her stomach and hid her face again.

Dean watched from the rear-view mirror. He couldn't help have a little fun with his daughter. He also couldn't believe Sarah was already old enough to like boys when just a year ago she thought liking boys was disgusting. He had to know who this mystery crush was.

"Dean, don't you usually get on my case about trying to pry something out of her?" Sam pointed out, breaking Dean's thoughts.

Dean sighed. "Yeah, I do. Fine, Baby Girl, if you don't want to tell me, I guess you don't have to." He made it sound convincing where Sarah would feel guilty enough to tell him anyway but to his disappointment, she said, "Okay," and left it at that. Dean glared over at Sam who shrugged, innocently.

Next, the Winchesters decided to follow the young man, thinking he may have been the next victim. Dean pulled up to his car that night just as the man had gotten out of his car and collapsed on the ground, choking. The Winchesters jumped from the car. While Sam searched the young man's car for a hex bag, Dean helped him to his feet. Luckily, it was a quick search and Sam was then able to burn the hex bag, thus saving the young man's life.

Confused, the young man questioned what was happening to him. Dean then tried to interrogate who could want him and his wife dead. The young man explained about an affair he had with another woman that he had put a stop to, a week ago and said the woman's name was Amanda.

Once they had a name and an address, the Winchesters headed to where the woman responsible for murdering the young man's wife and tried to do the same with him, lived. Sarah picked the lock on the front door before the three of them, quietly made their way inside, with their guns out. Wandering around the dark house, they eventually walked into a room with an altar, surrounded by lit candles and one dead Amanda.

"That's a curve ball," Dean commented when he had shut on the lights and Sam agreed.

Sarah cautiously stepped towards the woman still holding her gun in both hands and noticed the puddle of blood underneath Amanda. Using the end of her gun, she moved Amanda's right arm to look at the other side, also checking her left arm as well. "There are vertical slash marks on her arms," she told her father and uncle.

Dean walked over to his daughter, "How many on each one?"

"Three."

He walked around to the other side of Amanda. "She wasn't fooling around," Dean commented again, looking around at the altar.

Sam kneeled down to examine what looked like a cooked and rotted whole chicken, with maggots crawling around it, along with a wooden board with a witchcraft symbol on the front. There was also a black-hilted knife sticking in the chicken, and a green altar cloth with an open notebook of spell rituals.

Sarah looked over at the mess just as grossed out as her uncle was. "Hey, Dad, remember in the car, fifteen minutes ago when I said I was hungry? Well, I think I just lost my appetite."

"I don't blame you, Peanut," Sam agreed, trying hard not to throw up. "Looks like she was working some heavyweight evil here."

Dean agreed and turned around before almost jumping out of his skin. "Oh God!" he said in surprise, making Sam and Sarah look over at him. He rubbed his left hand over his eyes and stared at a dead rabbit hanging upside down from the ceiling. "Frigging witches." Dean turned back around, "Seriously, man, come on."

Sam stood back up and raised his eyebrows. "Guess we know where she got the rabbit teeth from."

"Paul sure knows how to pick them, huh? It's like _Fatal Attraction_ all over again."

"Yeah," Sam agreed, quietly.

Dean looked back at the rabbit, "But why does a rabbit always get screwed in the deal? Poor little guy." He looked down at the glass table underneath the rabbit that held a large bowl of blood, a small animal skull, and a silver goblet filled with blood, too.

"I know," Sarah agreed. "Rabbits are so cute, too, like Thumper from _Bambi_."

"This one cried the first time we watched it when we were kids," Dean nodded over Sam, snickering to himself.

Sarah looked over at her uncle, "You did?"

"I seem recall someone trying to hide behind a pillow so no one would see him cry, too, Dean," Sam reminded his brother.

Dean raised a finger towards his brother, "I was not crying. I was…trying to pick out a booger that was irritating my nose and didn't want you to think I was picking it," he tried to lie.

Sam smiled at the floor and looked back over at him, "Sure, Dean. That was what you were doing."

Dean glanced around at the altar.

"What I don't get though, is if this girl was so bent on revenge, why do this?"

"Well," Dean shrugged, "she got Janet Dutton, thought she'd finished off Paul. Decided to cap herself, make it a spurned lover's hat trick."

"Maybe." Sam bent over, placing his hands on his knees to get a look at Amanda.

"I mean, this doesn't look like a TV room of a bright and stable person, you know," he added, placing his gun inside his jacket.

Sam was looking around the glass coffee table as if he was looking for something. "No, but then…" he looked underneath and pulled out another hex bag and stood back up to show it to his brother and niece. "There's this." Sam tossed it over at Dean.

Dean stared back at him. "Another hex bag? Come on," he moaned, looking it over and untied it to look inside. Tossing it onto the glass table, he took out his cellphone. "Looks like we got a hit, huh? Little witch-on-witch violence." Dean held his phone up to his ear and dialed 911.

"I guess," Sam shrugged.

"I like to report a dead body," Dean told the dispatcher on the phone when they answered. "309 Mayfair Circle. My name? Yeah, sure. My name is…" He hung up at that point and nodded at Amanda's lifeless body, "why are witches ganking each other?"

Sarah shrugged, "Rivalry?"

"Maybe," said Sam, staring at Amanda, as well. "But I think we got a coven on our hands."

The following day, the Winchesters decided to speak to Amanda's neighbors and try to dig up any information they could on her. They walked up to her next door neighbor's house where a woman with long, brown hair was tending to a garden.

"You must have a green thumb," Sam commented as they walked up to her.

She asked, looking up at them, "Excuse me?"

Sam pointed at the garden, "Getting these herbs to grow out of season like this. It's quite impressive."

The woman looked down at her garden again.

"I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself first." Sam quickly went inside his suit jacket and pulled out a badge and showed it to her. Dean and Sarah did the same. "I'm, uh, Detective Bachman. This is Detective Turner and Detective Ketchum."

Dean smiled at her, "Hiya."

The woman stood up, slowly, watching them.

"We're following up on Amanda Burn's death," Sarah explained to her as she tucked her badge away. "We're asking her neighbors about what they knew about her."

"But didn't she…" She stared down at Sarah, backing away, slowly. "I mean, she killed herself, right?"

"Maybe," Sam nodded at her.

"But we heard you were friends with the deceased, is that right?" asked Dean.

She looked down at the ground for a second. "Yeah, I guess so," the woman nodded.

He nodded, watching her. "Do you have any idea about her practices?"

"I'm sorry. What kind of practices?" she asked confused.

"Well, you see her house was littered with satanic paraphernalia," Sam explained.

"A regular black Sabbath," Dean quickly added with a smirk.

The woman shook her head, "No. That… But she was an Episcopalian," she told them, stumbling over her words.

Sarah's eyebrow rose at that as her father replied, "Well, then we're pretty sure she was using the wrong Bible." Dean chuckled.

They heard someone call to the woman behind them, "Elizabeth." The Winchesters turned to see two women walking over, around the same age as the first. The women walked around the Winchesters to stand on either side of Elizabeth. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she told them as they neared her. "Uh, Renee, these are detectives. They say Amanda was…She was practicing…"

The blond woman, Renee, on Elizabeth's right touched her arm and turned to look at the Winchesters, "Sorry, detectives. You can tell Elizabeth is a little upset." She looked between them and Elizabeth.

"No problem, we understand, Miss Renee, right?" Sarah nodded at the blond woman, politely.

She smiled, "Mrs. Renee Van Allan. Would you like me to spell it for you?"

Sarah took in a deep and tried to stay polite. "No thank you, I think I got it," she plainly told her.

Renee continued, "This Amanda business has been hard for Liz, for all of us."

The third woman, on Elizabeth's left side agreed. "I mean, you think you know a person…."

Sam looked between the women with just his eyes before looking downward. Dean looked over at him before he replied, "Well, I guess we all have our own secrets, don't we?"

The women, except for Elizabeth just smiled at them.

"Well, thanks," Sam thanked the women. "Um, we'll be in touch."

Dean nodded at the women, turning to leave, "Have a nice day."


	101. Chapter 101- Malleus Maleficarum (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 101

Sarah and Sam did research the rest of the day, looking into the past three months of Elizabeth and her friends and looked through the news articles for each one as Dean drove down the highway, that night.

"Well, I'm already sold on that Elizabeth chick," Dean was telling them. "You see that victory garden of hers? Belladonna, wolf's bane, mandrake. Not to mention that little flinch she threw when we mentioned the occult."

Sam was looking through his half of the articles, using a flashlight to see. "Well, she's definitely had a good run lately. Gone up a few tax brackets, won almost too many raffles. The kind of thing a little black magic always helps with." He looked over at his brother.

He shrugged, agreeing with Sam.

"It's not just her, either," Sarah spoke up from the backseat. She was looking through the other half of the news articles and mimicked the way Renee had said her name but in a sarcastic way. "Mrs. Renee Van Allen won every craft contest she won in the past three months."

"A regular Martha Stewart, huh?" Dean commented, "Except for the devil worship. I'm thinking that was the coven we met back there, minus one member."

"Amanda was clearly going off the reservation," Sam pointed out. "What do you think? Think they killed her to keep up appearances?"

"Seems like an appearance type of crowd, don't you think?" he shrugged again, looking over at Sam.

"Yeah."

"If they killed a nut job, should we, uh, thank them or what?"

"They're working black magic too, Dean," Sam reminded him. "They need to be stopped."

Dean quickly shot a look at his brother, surprised. "Stopped like "stopped?'"

Sam just shrugged.

"They're human, Sam."

"They're murderers," he added.

"Wait, can't we just burn their altar or make them stop?" Sarah objected. "Make them see what they're doing could lead to trouble or something?"

"When does that ever work?"

Sarah didn't respond. She looked down at the news articles to continue reading through them until a rattling, shrieking sound was heard coming from the car and began to slow down.

Dean asked, confused, "The hell?" The Impala eventually stopped in front of someone standing in the road.

Sarah looked carefully who it was in the headlights and saw it was Ruby. "Hell, no," she exclaimed and quickly jumped from the car on her uncle's side as she asked her father if he had the Colt on him. Sarah stormed over to the demon, angrily. "You got some nerve showing up here, Ruby," she told her, coldly.

"Put a cork in it, Sarah," Ruby told her, with her arms folded. "I'm here to talk to Sam," and looked over at him, "Sam, listen to me, there's no time."

Sam shook his head, confused. "For what? What are you talking about?"

"You have to get out of town."

"So this is Ruby, huh?" Dean asked with a smirk and cocked the Colt at the demon. "Never had the pleasure."

Sam held his arms out, a little as he protested, "Dean."

"I was hoping you'd show up again."

Ruby looked over at Dean. "Point that thing somewhere else," she demanded of him.

"Don't tell my dad what to do, you black-eyed jackass," Sarah defended her father.

"Sam, please," Ruby pleaded, turning back to Sam again, ignoring the other two. "Go. Get in the car and don't look back."

"Why should we listen to you?"

"Because I'm trying to save your pathetic asses," she told her.

"Hey, hot stuff," Dean spoke up, "We can take care of a few kitchen witches, thanks."

"I'm not talking about witches, you jackass. Witches are whores." Ruby looked at Sam. "I'm talking about who they serve."

It hit Sam who she was talking about, "Demons."

Dean and Sarah looked over him.

He shifted on his feet, "They get their powers from demons."

"Yeah," Ruby replied. "And there's one here, now."

Dean turned back to Ruby, still pointing the Colt at her. "Oh, what? You mean, besides you?"

"Sam, it knows you're in town. It's gonna come after you and it's way more than you can handle."

Sarah looked up at her uncle, "Come on, are you seriously buying this crap, Uncle Sam? She is a demon, after all."

"Sarah's right, Sam," Dean agreed.

"Put a leash on your family, Sam," Ruby exclaimed in a frustrating manner, "especially if you want to keep your brother."

Dean looked over at her, at that.

"Dean, Sarah, just chill out, okay?" Sam tried.

"No, no," Dean shot back. "She's messing with your head. God only knows why. That's who they are."

"I'm telling you the truth," Ruby told Sam.

"Yeah, right," Sarah scoffed. "That'll be the day."

Ruby stepped towards Sarah, raising her voice, "I'm sorry, why are you two even a part of this conversation?"

"I don't know, maybe because he's my brother, you black-eyed skank," Dean told her, coldly and Sarah added, "And my uncle."

"Oh, right. You care about your brother so much," Ruby ignored Sarah's comment. "That's why you're checking out in a few months, leaving him and your own kid all alone?"

"Shut up," said Dean.

"At least let me try and save them since you won't be here anymore to do it."

Dean's anger had reached record height by this time. "I said, shut up!" He pointed the Colt about to pull the trigger. Sam stopped him, making Dean fire into the air, wasting a bullet and wrestled it from his brother.

Sarah looked over where Ruby was standing when the brothers was staring at each other. "Nice going, Uncle Sam," she told him, sarcastically and stormed back to Impala to climb back into the backseat.

Dean followed suit. "Sarah, I want you up front with me," he told her, shaking his head at his brother. He couldn't believe how Sam could defend a demon. Dean thrust opened his car door and slid in, slamming it shut. Sarah did the same as he started the car.

Sam shook his head at the ground before walking over and climbed into the backseat, sitting on a toy in the process. Raising himself, Sam grabbed it and tossed the toy over to the other side of the seat. The car ride to the motel they were staying in was in silence. No one spoke a word while Sam and Sarah looked through each other's articles to see if the other had missed anything. It wasn't until they walked through the door of their motel room did Dean finally say something.

"The hell were you thinking?"

Sam was the last one in the door so he shut it. "What? What the hell was I thinking?"

Dean turned around to face his brother. "She's a demon, Sam. Period, all right? They want us dead, we want them dead." He told him, angrily before turning on his heels and walked away. Sarah had gone over sit on hers and Dean's bed, rolling her eyes. She knew another fight was escalating.

"Oh, that's funny," Sam followed after his brother, "I remember that demon chick in Ohio. Casey? You didn't want her dead."

"Well, she wasn't stringing me along like a fish on a hook," Dean replied, removing his jacket with his back turned and tossed it on the foot of the bed.

"No one's stringing me along."

Dean turned around and gave his brother a "yeah, right" look.

"Look," Sam told him, trying to stay calm, "I know it's dangerous, that _she_ is dangerous. But like it or not, she's useful."

Sarah scoffed, leaning back against the head board with her arms folded, "Yeah, for target practice."

"Sarah's right, Sam. We kill her before she kills us," said Dean.

` "Kill her with what?" Sam asked, "The gun she fixed for us?"

"Yeah, sounds good," Sarah shrugged, her eyebrows raised.

Sam sighed, frustrated. "If she wants us dead, all she has to do is stop saving our lives."

Dean rolled his eyes and walked away again.

"Look, we have to start looking at the big picture. Start thinking of strategies and moves ahead."

Dean headed inside the bathroom to turn on the faucet.

"It's not so simple," Sam continued as Dean splashed water onto his face. "We're not just hunting anymore. We're at war."

Dean turned off the water and grabbed a hand towel, drying his face with it and looked into the mirror at his brother before turning around to ask, "Are you feeling okay?"

Sam let out a groan, rolling his eyes up towards the ceiling, "Why are you always asking me that?" He sat down on the foot of his bed.

"Because you're taking advice from a demon, for starters," Dean told him, walking over to Sam again. "And by the way, you seem less and less worried about offing people. You know, it used to eat you up inside."

"Yeah? And where has that gotten me?" he asked, looking over at Dean.

"Nothing," Dean told him, hesitating at first, "but it's what you're supposed to do, okay?" He couldn't help feel a pain coming from his stomach and tried to ignore it. "We're supposed to drive in the frigging car and argue about this stuff. You know, you and Sarah go on about the sanctity of life." The pain was growing more unbearable to ignore.

"So, wait," Sam felt confused about what his brother was telling him, "So you're mad because I'm starting to agree with you?"

Dean had looked down at the bed before looking back at his brother. "No, I'm not mad," he said as he sat down on the foot of his bed. "I'm…I'm worried, Sam. I'm worried because you're not acting like yourself."

Sam waved his hand as he said, "Yeah, you're right, I'm not," and leaned on both of his forearms. "I don't have a choice."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, Dean, you're leaving, right?" he began. "And Sarah and I have to stay here in this craphole of a world. Alone. So the way I see it…if we're gonna make it, and whether you like it or not because I heard what you made Sarah promise. If I'm going to fight this war after you're gone…then I gotta change."

"Change into what?" Dean asked, holding onto his stomach.

Sam paused for a brief second before he responded, "Into you. I gotta be more like you, for Sarah's sake. And there's no walking away from hunt…. What's going on with you?"

The pain in his stomach was way too much now as he grunted. "I don't know," he shook his head.

Sarah bolted up from her seat on the bed and rushed to her father. "Dad, what's wrong?" She had tried to focus on what her uncle had been saying but for the last couple of minutes she couldn't help notice something wrong with her father, with her mind fixed on him, worried.

Dean groaned, "A bunch of knives inside of me."

"Dean?" Sam also rushed to his brother's side, kneeling beside him.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, hunched over.

Sarah's anxiety level was soaring to record height as she watched her father in extreme pain. Remembering those three women they met that day, Sarah jumped to her feet and started ransacking the motel room for a hex bag. When Dean guessed the same thing out loud, Sam started the search, too.

Using her new knife, Sarah tore into both mattresses when there wasn't anywhere else to look. "Any luck, Uncle Sam?" she called over to Sam.

"No, you?" he called back as he frequently scanned the room for any more potential hiding spots the hex bag could be.

"If I did, do you think I would be asking you?" she snapped at her uncle, unintentional as she dropped to the floor and crawled underneath one of the beds.

When the hex bag was nowhere to be found, Sam grabbed the Colt and hurried out of the motel room to go stop the coven himself, telling Sarah to stay with her father when she tried to call after him. Sarah watched her uncle leave before looking over at her father who was now on the floor, coughing up blood. She rushed to his side, sitting on her legs as tears flooded her eyes.

"Please hang in there, Dad. Uncle Sam will get those witches. Just hang in there, please, Dad." Sarah tried to plead with him. Dean was groaning in pain, loudly. "Not yet, don't leave us yet, Dad." Sarah could barely control her breathing. "Please, I'll do anything if you just hold on for a little while longer. Oh, please, God. I'll even tell you who my crush is. I don't care if you know I secretly liked Ash and thought he was kind of cute, just please hang in there."

Dean managed to roll over from his back to a crawling position. Sarah tried to help, afraid to leave his side. Suddenly, the door behind her was kicked open. Sarah looked over her right shoulder to see Ruby standing in the doorway as if she was one of _Charlie's Angels_ or something. Quickly turning her whole body on the spot, Sarah tried to protectively shield her father from the demon.

"Back off, you witch!" Sarah shot at her, coldly. "You're not going anywhere near my dad."

"Move it, Sarah," Ruby ordered of her, walking towards them.

"No," she replied, defiantly.

"If you want your precious daddy alive I suggest you move your sorry, little ass."

Sarah gave a laugh, "Yeah, right. Like I haven't heard that from a demon before." She was holding her left arm out to shield her father, while holding her knife in the other, tightly gripping the knife.

Ruby sent Sarah flying against the wall where she was pinned. Sarah watched, helplessly as she saw Ruby grab her father up and throw him back onto the bed, where she poured a pouch of dark, red liquid into his mouth. Dean swallowed half while he choked out the rest as Ruby stood up, releasing Sarah. The moment Sarah's feet hit the floor, she dashed over to the bed, leaping up beside her father and stared, coldly at Ruby.

"What did you do to him?" she demanded.

"I just saved his life, that's what," she shot back at the little girl.

Dean was able to finally sit up, trying to catch his breath.

Sarah crawled over to sit back on her legs, beside him. "Are you okay, Dad?" she asked, calmly at him.

"Yeah," he breathed. "I'm…I'm fine, Baby Girl."

Upon hearing that, she jumped on her father, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Next time you point that gun at me," Ruby told him, "I'm not gonna just disappear. Understand?"

Sarah lifted her head from her father's shoulder as he looked up at Ruby who then tossed Dean a shotgun. Dean caught it in one hand.

Dean was surprised. "You…saved my life."

"Don't mention it," she told him.

"Oh, don't worry, we won't," Sarah shot at her. "Just because you saved my dad's life, doesn't mean I'm gonna friend you on MySpace. I'm still convinced you want something from us."

Ruby just stared at the little girl, unmoved.

Dean had his left arm around his daughter's waist. "What was that stuff?" he asked Ruby and shook his head at the floor, "God, it was ass. It tasted like ass."

Sarah looked at her father, strangely. "Dad, how do you know what ass taste like?"

"Not literal, Baby Girl," he assured her and looked over at Ruby again.

"It's called, witchcraft, short bus." She turned and walked out of the room.

"You're the short bus…" Dean told her after Ruby was gone and whispered, "Short bus."

"Nice comeback, Dad," Sarah teased her father.

Dean looked back at his daughter. "Shut up," he teased her right back. Dean then remembered Sarah's confession and a huge grin appeared on his face.

Sarah looked back at him, confused. "What?" she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"So the mystery crush is revealed," Dean started up the teasing again.

Sarah remembered her confession, as well and fell back onto the bed, hiding her face that was turning red again.

"So you liked Ash, huh?"

"Leave it alone, Dad," she moaned.

"Isn't that just the cutest thing you ever heard?" Dean then rubbed his daughter's back roughly than he normally did but still in a playful manner.

"Are you two coming or not?" they heard Ruby yell from outside. "Sam is dealing with three witches as we speak, you know."

"She's right, Baby Girl," Dean said and gave her a playful swat, "Come on. I can tease you about this later. Right now, we have to go help Sam." Father and daughter hopped up from the bed and hurried outside to go help Sam.


	102. Chapter 102- Malleus Maleficarum (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 102

Dean and Sarah burst into the house where the coven was taking place. Before they could even blink though, the two of them were thrown through the air and then up against a wall on either side of the room, pinned.

"Three for one, lovely," the short-haired woman smiled, evilly at them as she held up her left hand.

"Wait." Ruby walked in at that moment, holding her own hands up in surrender as she stepped towards the woman who was apparently possessed. "Please. I just…came to talk."

She was in disbelief at Ruby. "You made it out of the Gate." The woman nodded, "Impressive. It was a bitch of a fight, wasn't it?"

Ruby had put down her hands and was staring at her. "Doors out of hell only open for so long."

"What do you want, Ruby?"

"I've been lost without you," she told her, stepping towards her. "Take me back. That's why I led the Winchesters here." Ruby looked over at Dean who looked up at the ceiling then over at his brother, mouthing, _I told you so_.

"I knew it!" Sarah struggled against the wall. "You're nothing but a lying jackass!"

The demons ignored the Winchesters and continued as if they weren't even there. "They're for you," said Ruby. "As a gift."

"Really?" the other demon questioned.

Ruby moved even closer. "Let me serve you again. I've wanted it. I've wanted you…for so long."

She raised her eyebrows at Ruby, "You were one of my best."

"Okay, this is getting awkward," Sarah admitted, feeling so uncomfortable at the moment. Ruby leaned in and Sarah swore she was going to kiss the other demon until she pulled out her knife Ruby used to save her, several months ago.

"But then again, you always were a lying whore," the other demon had grabbed onto the blade of the knife to stop it and knocked it out of Ruby's hand. Soon a cat fight was started between them.

The fight went on for a few minutes as the Winchesters watched from the sidelines. Soon, Ruby was thrown across the room, onto the ground. The other demon went over to the fireplace where Elizabeth was cowering, terrified and crying. The demon grabbed an iron bar and walked over to Ruby.

"You're really telling me you threw in your chips with Moe, Larry, and Curly here?"

Ruby tried to sit up but the other demon swung at her with the bar across the head, knocking her back. Being careful not to make a sound, Elizabeth hurried over to the altar and dumped a bowl of colorful-balled, sewing pins onto the table while the demon cat fight continued.

"Come on. Get up," the demon was ordering Ruby. When she didn't, the demon raised her voice, "I said, get up." Ruby continued to lie there, trying to catch her breath. So finally, the demon tossed the iron bar away and walked over to stand over Ruby, kneeling over her to grab ahold of her leather jacket, pulling Ruby up for her. "We've been here before, haven't we?"

The demon smirked over at Sam who was still pinned to the wall. "She didn't tell you?" she shrugged and looked back at Ruby. "Pretty mortifying, I guess. She was one of mine. I turned her out a long, long time ago." The demon grabbed ahold of the back of her hair, "Ruby here, was a witch. Of course, that was when you were human."

Sarah had started thinking about that. Humans could become demons? Then it came to her, is that what eventually happened to people who sell their souls and go to hell? Was that going to be her father's fate, one day? At that point, Sarah didn't want to even think about it, anymore. Her father would become the very thing they hunted, like Gordon did? She looked over at her father, who was watching and listening to everything. There was no way he could be of demon quality. Sure Dean got too far into his job and could be downright scary like Sam had once said, but deep down, the guy was a good-hearted guy that could never be as cruel as demons were.

Ruby choking brought Sarah out of her thoughts as the demon was speaking in Latin and black smoke was coming from her mouth. Now, Sarah was torn. So far, Ruby had done all these things for her family and her, but on the other hand, she was a demon, herself. Sarah wasn't sure whether to cheer the demon on or curse her out. Then again, Yellow Eyes had pretty much done the same thing since she was five and that was why Sarah couldn't trust Ruby and knew her uncle was probably thinking the same thing she had thought. Yeah, pretty much she knew what was outweighing the other and the torn feeling quickly passed as it had come.

The exorcism was abruptly interrupted when the demon suddenly starting choking as well, making the black smoke return inside Ruby's body. The demon started coughing up blood and soon the sewing needles came out into her hand, releasing the Winchesters. When the demon realized Elizabeth was doing it, she clenched her right fist into a ball.

Elizabeth clutched her chest, painfully before she fell over onto the coffee table where the altar was set up. If only Dean was able to do something sooner, but the moment he had his footing, he grabbed Ruby's knife from where it was knocked from her hand and shoved it right into the demon's back, jerking it in a few times. Light shot out of her eyes and mouth as she slowly slid out of Dean's left arm and onto the floor.

Sarah was stumbling to her feet, using a small table that was nearby to balance herself. Dean stumbled over to help her but she assured him she had it under control so he walked over to help his brother up. Ruby told them to leave, that she would clean up the mess. Grabbing the Colt from the floor, the Winchester men stole a look back at Ruby while Sarah was already heading for the door.

Back at the motel, Sarah was resting on the bed, waiting for her uncle to get out of the bathroom while Dean had gone to get drinks from the soda machine. Dean was walking back when all the lights outside started flickering. He stopped, placing the soda cans into his jacket pockets and looked around the parking lot. Nothing was there until he looked over to his left where Ruby was standing in the middle of the parking lot, her arms folded.

"So the devil may care after all," he shrugged as Dean turned to face the demon. "Is that what I'm supposed to believe?"

Ruby took a few steps towards him. "I don't believe in the devil."

Dean shrugged again, raising his eyebrows with a smirk, walking to his left, "Wacky night. So let me get this straight." When he stepped off the sidewalk, Dean walked towards her. "You were human once. You died, you went to hell, and became…" he waved his hand.

"Yeah," she finished and turned around to walk away from him.

"How long ago?"

"Back when the plague was big." Ruby stopped walking.

Dean walked after her, "So all of them? Every damn demon…they were all human once?"

She turned around, slowly to look at him again. "Everyone I've ever met."

Dean raised his eyebrows at that, looking away for a second. "Well, they sure don't act like it."

"Most of them have forgotten what it means," she explained. "Or even if they were. That's what happens when you go to hell, Dean. That's what hell is. Forgetting what you were."

"Philosophy lesson from a demon," Dean said, sliding his hands into his jeans pockets. "I'll pass, thanks."

Ruby shook her head, "It's not philosophy. It's not a metaphor. There's a real fire in the pit…agonies you can't even imagine."

"No, I saw _Hellraiser_ , I get the gist," Dean told her.

Ruby rolled her eyes at that and walked away again. "Actually, they got that pretty close." She shrugged, "Except for all the custom leather." Ruby went silent as she stared at the ground before turning around. "The answer is yes, by the way."

Dean asked, "Sorry?"

"Yes, the same thing will happen to you. Might take centuries…but sooner or later, hell will burn away your humanity. Every hell-bound soul…every one turns into something else." She shrugged, "Turns you into us. So yeah," Ruby nodded at him, "yeah, you can count on it." She let that sink in for a moment before she added, "guess it's a good thing Sarah doesn't have those visions of hell anymore. Can't imagine what that would do to a kid to see her father in that much pain."

Dean stared down at the asphalt. He had completely wiped the fact he learned that his daughter used to have visions of hell. It was true, too. It tortured Sarah just watching her grandfather, imagine if it was her father who she would see if Sarah still had those. It was twisting Dean's heart every which way, just thinking about it.

Finally, he asked, "There's no way of saving me from the pit, is there?"

Ruby sighed. "No."

Dean closed his eyes at that and nodded before he took a couple steps towards the demon, "Then why did you tell Sam _and_ Sarah you could?" he asked of her.

"So they would talk to me," she replied. "You Winchesters can be pretty bigoted. I needed something to help get past the…"

"The demon thing?"

Ruby just stared up at him.

"It's pretty hard to get past," he said.

Ruby scoffed at him. "Look at you…trying to be all stoic." She sighed. "My God, it's heartbreaking."

Dean asked, "Why are you telling me all this?"

She breathed in, "I need your help."

"Help with what?"

"With Sam and Sarah," she told him, directly. "The way you stuck that demon tonight…" Ruby nodded, "…that was pretty tough. They're almost there but not quite. You need to help me get them ready…for life without you…to fight this war on their own." With that said, she turned and walked away.

Dean called after her, "Ruby."

She stopped but did not turn around.

"Why do you want us to win?"

Ruby turned back around and stared at him. "Isn't it obvious?" She looked down for a second and shook her head. "I'm not like them. I don't know why. I…"

Dean turned around to fully face her.

She stared at the ground again. "I wish I was, but I'm not. I remember what it's like."

"What what's like?" he asked.

Ruby looked up at him again. "Being human."

Dean looked down at the asphalt, this time. Life may have sucked, most of the time but there was some good moments he did not want to forget. The important one he didn't want to forget was, of course, his daughter. She was the center of his world, how could he forget. No matter what he would endure "downstairs," Dean told himself he would never forget her. He would fight tooth and nail to make sure that didn't happen.

When Dean looked back up, Ruby was gone.


	103. Chapter 103- DreamaLittleDreamofMe (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 103

Dean opened the door to a local bar, holding it for Sarah as he looked around. He spotted Sam sitting over at the bar, staring down into his drink and walked over. "There you are," Dean shrugged at his brother. "What are you doing?"

Sam shrugged in return. "Having a drink," he replied.

Dean looked towards the ceiling with his eyes then at Sam. "It's two in the afternoon. Drinking whiskey?"

"I drink whiskey all the time."

"No, you don't," he argued.

"What's the big deal?" Sam asked, looking around the bar. "You get sloppy in bars, you hit on chicks all the time. Why can't I?"

Dean looked around the bar. "It's kind of slim picking around here," he shrugged.

Sarah was standing beside her father with her arms folded, watching her uncle, concerned for him. "What's wrong, Uncle Sam?" she asked him.

Sam stared down at his drink again, shaking his head. He looked up at Dean but couldn't do it and stared back at it. "I tried, Dean," he moped.

Dean glanced at the bar then back at his brother. "To do what?"

"To save you."

Dean sighed silently to himself and pulled out a bar stool to sit down, ordering two more whiskeys and a ginger ale.

"I'm serious, Dean," Sam continued as Sarah went over to climb onto a bar stool on the opposite side of him.

"No, you're drunk." Dean looked away from his brother.

"I mean, where you're going…what you're gonna become."

He looked back.

Sam scoffed, shaking his head. "I can't stop it." He looked down into his drink. "I'm starting to think even Ruby can't stop it."

Sarah let out a frustrated breath of air, rubbing her hands along her face. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't talk some sense into her uncle and now she was afraid she may have lost her father to the demon, too.

Dean looked down at the bar. He hadn't told them about Ruby's confession of not being able to be saved from hell.

"But really, the thing is, no one can save you."

"It's what I've been telling you," Dean told him, staring straight ahead again.

"No, that's not what I mean. I mean, no one can save you because you don't want to be saved," Sam corrected his brother. He shook his head, "I mean, how can you care so little about yourself?"

Dean gave a small snicker to himself and looked ahead. If Sam only knew…

"What's wrong with you?"

He looked back at Sam and soon Dean's phone rang. Dean took it from his pocket and answered it. "Hello?" he said into the phone. "Yes, this is Mr. Sniderson." Dean listened for a moment. His eyebrows rose when the person said Bobby was admitted into a hospital as a comatose patient. "What?" He looked over at Sam, alarmed as he asked what hospital.

Once Dean had the location of the hospital he hung up and the Winchesters quickly left the bar, sliding into the Impala. Dean drove as fast as he could to Pittsburg. The moment they arrived at the hospital, they parked and hurried inside to the front desk to ask where Bobby was being held. A nurse led them to the room and said the doctor would be with them, shortly.

Sarah had rushed in first, standing by Bobby's head. Her eyes scanned over the stiff, unresponsive, old man. Soon, Sarah's eyes started to water as Dean came up behind her, placing his hand on her head. Neither of them said a word.

The doctor walked in after a few minutes with his chart.

"So, what's the diagnosis?" Sam asked the doctor.

"We tested everything we can think to test," the doctor explained as he watched Bobby. "He seems perfectly healthy."

"Except that he's comatose," Dean nodded at Bobby while still looking at the doctor as he was massaging Sarah's head, assuringly.

"Mr. Sniderson, you're his emergency contact. Anything we should know?" he asked. "Any illnesses?"

Dean shook his head, "No, he never gets sick. I mean, he doesn't even catch cold."

The doctor gave a small nod, looking down at the floor with his eyes.

"Doctor," Sam spoke up, "is there anything you can do?"

"Look," he took in a deep breath, "I'm sorry, we don't even know what's causing it so we don't even know how to treat it. He just…" The doctor looked over at Bobby. "…went to sleep and didn't wake up."

Upon listening to the doctor say there was nothing they could do, Sarah turned and hid her face in her father's legs, squeezing them to her. Dean reached down and lifted his daughter up into his arms and comforted her, rubbing her back up and down as Sarah cried into his shoulder, silently.

After leaving the hospital, the Winchesters headed over to the motel where Bobby was staying. They looked around the room to find it was empty. Nothing was lying around or out of place. It was as if no one had even stayed there. That is until Sam looked inside the closet and found Bobby's clothes hanging up.

He pushed the clothes to the sides to reveal several articles and pictures on the wall. Dean and Sarah walked over to get a look for themselves.

Dean chuckled to himself, "Good old Bobby, always covering up his tracks."

"Any of you make heads or tails of any of this?" Sam asked them.

Sarah shook her head, "I got nothing."

Dean reached over and untacked a picture of some kind of plant from the wall, reading it out loud. " _Silene Capensis_ , which, of course, means absolutely nothing to me."

Sarah was still looking over at the wall and spotted a newspaper clipping of an obituary. "There's an obituary up there," she pointed at it, unable to reach it herself.

Sam grabbed it and read it out loud as well. "Dr. Walter Gregg, sixty-four, university neurologist."

"How'd he bite it?" Dean asked, looking up for a short amount of time.

"Um, actually, they don't know," he replied. "They say he just went to sleep and didn't wake up."

Dean grabbed the clipping from his brother and looked at it. "That sound familiar to you?"

"Just like the doctor said about Uncle Bobby," Sarah answered.

"All right, um…." Sam took a deep breath. "Let's say Bobby was looking into the doc's death. You know, hunting after something…"

Dean turned to look at him, "That started hunting him."

Sam agreed.

"All right, you and Sarah stay here. See if you can make heads or tails of any of this," Dean told them.

"What are you gonna do?" Sam asked, leaning on one of the closet doors.

"I'm gonna look into the good doctor myself."

"Why can't I come with you?" Sarah asked her father.

"Because Big Nerd needs Little Nerd's assistance so the process can go a little faster in helping Bobby," Dean told her, teasingly.

Sarah glared up at her father. "Oh ha ha, that was so funny I forgot to laugh," she said, sarcastically.

Dean smiled at her and leaned down to kiss his daughter's head, reminding her that he loved her before he left.

While Dean handled the field research, Sam and Sarah sorted through Bobby's research. When an hour came and went, Sarah stated she had saw a library on the same street and headed down there herself after a pleading frenzy on the phone with her father.

Heading down the stairs and out the main doors of the motel Sarah walked down the street where the public library was. She climbed the few steps and pulled open the glass door before going inside. The library was packed with college students studying or working on homework as Sarah made her way along the shelves of books and pulled out what she thought she needed, standing on a stepstool for a couple.

One in particular Sarah had to stand on her tiptoes as she reached up for it. Reaching higher and higher as she could until another, longer arm appeared and grabbed the book she wanted.

"Is this the one you wanted?" a male's voice asked. Sarah turned to look at the person the voice belonged to. He looked like he should have been in middle school than in college. He had blond, short hair but was long enough to cover parts of his ears and a rare trait of dark blue eyes. The guy also still had his boyish freckles along his upper cheeks and nose and by the sound of his voice, it didn't even seem like he had hit puberty yet. Sarah couldn't help stare at him with her mouth gaping open while the guy continued to stand there, holding the book out to her. "Don't you want it?" the guy repeated.

Sarah snapped out of it, shaking her head. "Yeah, sorry about that, I usually don't stare like that. I was raised to believe staring is rude." She reached out and grabbed the thick, heavy book.

"No problem," he smiled. "I'm Matt."

"Nice to meet you, Matt," Sarah smiled at him. "I'm Sarah." She jumped down off the stool she was standing on and placed the book on top of her pile before picking them all up.

"Those look heavy. Want me to carry them for you?" Matt offered.

Sarah looked at him surprised. "Uh, sure, thanks," she thanked him and handed Matt the stack of books.

"So, do you go to school here?" Matt asked as they walked towards one of the individual, private rooms in the back of the library.

"Uh, yeah," she lied, trying to play it cool. Sarah could feel her palms getting sweaty and tried to secretly dry them on her jeans. "You?"

"Yeah, first year. I graduated youngest and top of my high school class, last year and earned a scholarship to college," he explained.

"Wow, I bet your parents were proud."

"They are. My dad keeps my high school diploma on the wall in our living room and my mom likes to talk about me to the other women she plays Bridge with."

Sarah stared down at the floor as she walked. "Wish my mom had bragged about me to her friends," she said.

"Had?" Matt asked, curious.

"She died," Sarah explained.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Sarah," he told her, sincerely.

She shrugged, "It's okay. My mom and I wasn't that close anyway. Sometimes I wish we had gotten along though but I have a mother figure I can turn to now."

"That's good," he smiled a nice smile Sarah couldn't help look at.

Sarah shook her head again when she realized she had been staring at him once more.  
"Sorry, I really don't mean to stare," she looked away, trying to hide the fact she was blushing.

Matt shrugged, "Don't worry about it. My dad says I have his good looks." He laughed at what he had said.

Sarah did, too. "Sounds like something my dad would say. He's a real lady's man, or so he says anyway. The guy could charm any girl, I swear."

"He never remarried after your mom passed away?" he asked.

"No, no," she shook her head, "my parents were never married. I lived with my mom until I was seven up 'til she died then I came to live with my dad."

"May I ask how old you are?" Matt asked.

"Uh…nine…teen," she lied.

Matt stared at her. "You look kind of short for nineteen," he told her.

Of course, Sarah had gotten offensive over being called short. "I have a height disorder, thank you very much," she shot at him but still kept her voice down.

"Oh, sorry." Sarah couldn't help notice he was turning a shade of red, also trying to hide it. "It's just I was hoping you were around my age so we could maybe go to the sandwich shop across the street later after you finish studying."

Sarah stopped in her tracks when she heard that. "Wait," she finally said. "You're not asking me out…on a…. Are you?"

Matt had stopped walking when he saw Sarah had stopped and looked back. "Yeah, but if you're nineteen." He seemed disappointed now, his shoulders slumped. "It's hard to fit in when you're the youngest one here, even if you are intelligent."

"How old are you?"

"Fourteen," he replied.

"I lied about being nineteen because I… I thought you were nineteen," she told him.

He perked back up at that. "Really? So how old are you?"

Sarah tried to think of a descent age. She couldn't say fourteen, too. Finally, she blurted out, "I'm thirteen."

"Oh, that makes a little more sense why you still look like a kid. So what do you say?" Matt held his left knee up to keep the books in place. "Meet at the sandwich shop at two?"

Sarah thought on it. She desperately wanted to say yes but her family was in the middle of a job, to save Bobby no less. If it was any other job, Sarah may have decided to ditch and take Matt up on his offer. Finally, she sighed. "I can't, Matt. I'm sorry"

He asked, "How come?"

"My uncle's in the hospital right now, comatose. My other uncle and I have to meet my dad there later," Sarah explained. "Otherwise I would."

Matt just shrugged, "Don't worry about it. How about breakfast before class tomorrow?" They had reached one of the private study rooms.

"I should probably check with my dad first. He…drives me to school."

"Okay. Here," Matt walked in and set the books on the table and walked back over to take hold of her right hand, taking a pen from his jeans pocket and wrote a phone number on it. "This is my cell. Call me when you talk to your dad. I'd like to get to know you, Sarah. See you later." Matt waved as he walked away.

Sarah was so speechless she almost forgot to thank him for carrying her books again. "Thanks again, Matt," she called after him, waving. Sarah watched him until he was gone and looked back down at her hand that had Matt's phone number. It then hit her, "What the hell is wrong with me lately? First Uncle Sam gets drunk in a bar and now I'm picking up boys?" She went inside the room, shutting the door behind her and sat down at the table to figure out what Bobby was hunting.


	104. Chapter 104-DreamaLittleDreamofMe (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 104

Sarah met up with Sam outside the library and started heading back to the hospital. As they crossed the street, Sarah couldn't help stare at the phone number again. Sam noticed out of the corner of his eye.

"What's that?" he asked, curious, carrying his half of the research under his right arm.

Sarah quickly hid her hand in her jacket pocket, "Nothing."

Sam couldn't help grin at his niece, "It's not a boy's phone number, is it?" He couldn't help catch her turning red.

"No, I ran out of paper and had to write some notes on my hand," she lied.

"Okay, Peanut," he laughed, "Whatever you say."

"It's the truth," Sarah spat.

"It's okay, I believe you." Truth was, Sam had seen a few numbers before she moved her hand away. "Why don't we grab a bite to eat on the way?"

"Great," Sarah replied. "I'm starving."

Sam and his niece walked over to a sandwich shop where he opened the door, holding it for her before he followed her in.

The moment Sarah walked in her eyes darted over at the soda fountain were none other than Matt was standing, placing a lid on top of his drink. She quickly turned around and started trying to push her uncle back out the door. "On second thought, I am not that hungry anymore," she said. "Besides, Dad is probably wondering where we are and we shouldn't keep him waiting, right?"

"No, I called your dad before I left the motel and told him we might pick up lunch on the way there," Sam assured her. "Come on, Peanut."

"Well, I think I saw a Taco Bell closer to the hospital. Why don't we go there?" Sarah tried to suggest as she continued to try and shove her uncle out the door.

Sam wasn't even moving an inch. "Peanut, you know what Mexican food does to my digestive system. Besides, sandwiches are healthier for you." He moved around his niece and walked over to the cashier.

Sarah bit her lip and tried to duck behind a large, potted, fake plant as she watched Matt. When she saw he was coming her way, Sarah dashed over to hide behind her uncle who was telling the young woman at the register what he wanted. Finally, he looked down at Sarah who was peeking around his legs over at Matt, who was sitting down at a booth right next to the door. "Are you eating or not, Peanut?" Sam asked his niece.

Trying to stay hidden, she turned her head to look up at the menu. "Uh, I'll have a steak and cheese sandwich," she told the cashier, holding onto her uncle's pant legs and turned back to Matt.

The cashier told Sam the total and he handed over the cash, getting change back in return and their cups. Sam pulled out one of them and handed a cup to Sarah when his wallet was put away. He then walked over to the soda fountain to fill his cup up.

Sarah hurried to keep up, continuing to use her uncle's long legs as a shield.

Finally, Sam asked, "Peanut, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, can't a girl hug her uncle?" she asked, trying to sound offended.

"Well, yeah, I guess." He noticed his niece was staring over at someone and looked over to see for himself and smiled when he saw Matt sitting there. "Is that the boy who gave you the phone number on your hand?"

"I said that was notes, Uncle Sam, and I am not staring at any boy," she told him.

"Whatever you say, Peanut." Sam couldn't help want to have a little fun with his niece like his brother had done. When they had their food, he suggested they eat there and walked over to the other side of the sandwich shop to sit at a table.

Sarah had to follow so she could continue to use her uncle as a shield. "Uncle Sam, what are you doing?" she asked.

He shrugged, "I figured since we have time we would eat here."

"Eat here? Are you nuts?" Sarah raised her voice louder than she expected and quickly covered it. "I really think we should meet up with Dad. Uncle Bobby could be in very deep trouble as we speak."

"I know, Peanut," he assured her and sat down, "but we still haven't figured out how we're going to save him and you can't think well on an empty stomach anyway."

Sarah quickly dashed around the table and tried to hide behind her drink. "So Sarah," Sam said, obnoxiously loud but not too loud the whole sandwich shop heard. "How was the library?"

"Dude, shut up," Sarah hissed, annoyed but it was too late. Matt had looked up when he heard her name and looked over at their table. Since the cup wasn't that wide, he could see part of Sarah and smiled. He grabbed his tray and walked over as Sam was taking out the food from the bag.

"Hey, Sarah," Matt greeted, cheerfully. "Wasn't expecting to see you here."

Sarah tried to play it cool, trying not to feel embarrassed having her uncle there with her after what he just did. "I, uh, wasn't expecting to come. We were on our way to the hospital when my uncle here suggested we grab lunch." She glared over at her uncle.

"Hey there, pleased to meet you. I'm Sam," Sam held out his right hand for Matt to shake.

Matt accepted the handshake, "Hey, Sam. I'm Matt," he replied with a smile.

"So how do you two know each other?" Sam asked, curious before taking a bite of his sandwich as Sarah turned bright red.

"We met a couple hours ago over at the library," Matt explained still standing which Sam offered him a seat across from him, next to Sarah. "I helped Sarah carry her books for her."

Sam smiled over at his niece. "Isn't that nice of you," he told Matt.

Finally, Sarah kicked her uncle under the table and muttered, "Shut up, Uncle Sam," to him.

"It was nothing, happy to do it," Matt shrugged, oblivious to the uncle and niece quarrel. "I want to take Sarah to breakfast in the morning before class as well." He turned to Sarah who couldn't be any redder now as she tried to hide it behind her sandwich. "Did you hear from your dad yet, Sarah?"

"Uh, no, not yet," she replied and caught Sam grinning like the Chestsire Cat and turned back to the boy. "So Matt, you go to school around here?" Sam asked. The two of them talked for twenty minutes while the three of them ate lunch. Sarah was praying for her father to call, asking where they were but the call never came. However, Matt's cell phone rang instead, his mother reminding him he had violin lessons in an hour.

They stood up and walked each other outside the sandwich shop to part ways.

"It was really nice getting to know you both," Matt told them. "And I hope we can see each other in the morning, Sarah."

"Yeah, me too and without anybody else," she scowled up at her uncle from the corner of her eye.

Matt laughed at that, "Same here. Call me later, Sarah." He waved good-bye as he turned to leave.

Once Matt was gone, Sarah turned on her heels and stormed away. Sam followed after his niece.

"Well he was a nice boy," he smiled.

"I am going to kill you later when there are no witnesses, Uncle Sam," she told him, glaring ahead of her.

Sam laughed. "I had to, Peanut. It was too much…"

Sarah stopped in her tracks and shot around to fully face her uncle. "Look, I know you're trying to be like Dad for me for when he's gone but understand this and understand it carefully: you are not Dad! You never were and you never will be, got it?"

Sam's smile quickly left his face when his niece told him he wasn't her father. "I was just…"

"I don't care, okay? Yeah, you can be a second father to me because yeah, you basically are but don't try and be like the first." Sarah shook her head, "As close as we are, Uncle Sam, we will never have the same kind of relationship that Dad and I have." She then turned and started walking again.

Sam stood there, hurt inside. He really did want to help his niece be able to cope with having her father gone by trying to be like Dean. No one could replace a parent's place in a kid's life though, no matter how hard they tried. Not long after Sarah started walking, Sam followed after her, no one saying a word.

When they arrived at the hospital, the two of them went up to Bobby's room where Dean was sitting in a chair at his bedside. Sarah went over and wrapped her right arm around him, resting her head against her father's upper, left arm.

Dean pulled his left arm out between them and wrapped it around his daughter's waist, kissing her forehead before looking over at his brother.

Sam walked more into the room, "How is he?"

Dean ran his other hand over his mouth and stood up. "No change. What you got?" he walked over to Sam who was lying out all of his research.

"Well, considering what you told me about the doc's experiments Bobby's wall is starting to make a hell of a lot more sense."

"How so?"

Sam picked up the picture of the plant. "This plant, _Silene Capensis,_ " he explained, "is also known as African Dream Root. It's been used by shaman and medicine men for centuries."

"Let me guess. They dose up…" Dean nodded and looked up at his brother, "bust out the didgeridoos, start kicking around the hackey."

Sarah had pulled herself up onto the foot of Bobby's bed to see for herself, sitting back on her legs. "Actually, Dad, it's used for dreamwalking so they could see what someone else is dreaming about," she explained.

"But that's just the tip of the iceberg," Sam said and moved on through his research.

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

"This Dream Root is some serious mojo," he continued to explain. "You take enough of it with enough practice, you can become a regular Freddy Krueger. You can control anything."

Sarah agreed. "You can manipulate dreams the way you want them," she said.

"And killing people in their sleep?" Dean guessed.

"For example," replied Sam.

Dean looked over at Bobby as Sam continued, "So let's say this doc was testing this stuff on his patients, Tim Leary-style."

Dean nodded at the bed, "Someone gets pissed at him, decides to give him a little dream visit…" he looked back at Bobby, "he goes nighty-night."

Sarah asked, "But what about Uncle Bobby? If the killer came after him, why isn't he dead yet?"

"I don't know," he said, still looking at Bobby. "Come on." Sam closed his folder with all his research in it and followed after his brother. "So how do we find our homicidal sandman?"

"Could be anyone," Sam said as they walked down a hallway.

"Yeah? Anyone who knew the doctor, had access to his dream shrooms."

"Maybe it was one of his patients?" Sarah shrugged, walking on the opposite side of her father from her uncle.

"Possible," Dean replied. "But his research is pretty sketchy. I mean…" he shrugged, "I don't know how many patients he had, or who all of them were."

Sam let out a sigh.

Dean asked, "What?"

"In any other case, we'd be calling Bobby and asking him for help, right now."

Dean thought on that, staring at the floor and immediately stopped in his tracks, grabbing Sam's right arm. "You know what, you're right."

Sam turned around to face his brother, "What?"

"Let's go talk to him," Dean told him.

"I have heard that some comatose patients respond to a specific voice or music," Sarah pointed out.

"No, Sarah, I mean use some Dream Root to go inside Bobby's head."

She asked, "What?"

"You heard me," he said.

"You wanna go dreamwalking inside Bobby's head?" Sam asked.

Dean shrugged, "Yeah. Maybe we can help."

"We have no idea what's crawling around in there," he shook his head.

"How bad could it be?" Dan asked.

"Bad."

"Dude, it's Bobby."

Sam gave in, "Yeah, you're right."

Sarah jumped in, "Are you forgetting one minor little detail? We don't have African Dream Root unless you have a dealer I'm unaware of."

Dean thought some more, chewing on his lip. "Crap," he realized.

Sam asked, What?"

"Bela."

"Bela?" both Sam and Sarah questioned before they realized it, too. "Crap." They looked at each other, confused how they did that twice.

"You're actually suggesting we ask her for a favor?" Sam asked of his brother.

Dean shrugged, "I'm feeling dirty just thinking about it, but yeah." He then walked around his brother and continued walking.

Sarah hurried after her father, trying to shoot out different suggestions that might help them besides asking Bela for help as Sam stood in the same spot and sighed before he, too followed after them.


	105. Chapter 105- DreamaLittleDreamofMe (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 105

On the drive back to the motel Sam sat in the passenger seat staring out the window. He hadn't been able to shake his niece's words from his mind. It was as if they were etched there forever and stung more than a rattlesnake's bite. He knew Sarah was suffering about her father going to hell like he was but Sam never thought she could ever be that cruel.

Dean had noticed his brother was a little spacey. "Dude, what's wrong with you?" he asked as he drove with his left hand.

Sam glanced at him for a second before looking out the window again. "Nothing," he said. Sam knew Sarah would be in trouble with her father if Dean knew what she had done but Sam being the nice guy he was, didn't want to bust his niece especially when this was a hard time for them both.

When they got the motel, Sam tried to focus on his reading while Dean tried to get a hold of Bela. He found it hard as his niece's words echoed throughout his mind. Dean was pacing around the room, calling Bela over and over. After the tenth try, he noticed his brother staring off into space again.

"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you now?" Dean asked of his brother.

Sam shook his head, trying to shake his niece's voice from his head. "Nothing, Dean. I'm fine," he lied, shifting in his seat to try and continue reading.

"No, you're not, Sam. You're more spacey than you've ever been. Now tell me what's bothering you."

Sam sighed, continuing to look down at his book, "It's just something between me and Sarah, okay?"

Sarah had been lying on her stomach, reading through the doctor's notes over on the bed. She perked up when her uncle said her name and it suddenly dawned on her just how harsh she had sounded to him and sat up onto her legs to swallow the lump that was now forming in her throat.

"Dad," she said.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "In a minute, Baby Girl, I'm talking to Sam." He turned his head back to his brother.

"I think I know what's wrong with Uncle Sam."

He looked back at her. Sam shot his head around surprised his niece was going to admit what she had told him earlier. Sarah crawled backwards on the bed before she walked over and put her arms around his waist.

"I'm sorry for what I said, Uncle Sam. I didn't really mean it, I was angry and sometimes I say hurtful things when I'm angry," she told him, apologetically.

Sam put his right arm around her and kissed her head. "That really broke my heart what you said, Peanut. I understand I took it too far and embarrassed you in front of that boy but that still wasn't an excuse to tell me I would never be your dad like that."

Sarah looked down at her floor, sadly when they heard Dean clear his throat. She and Sam looked over at him.

"Someone tell me what the hell is going on," he told the two of them. "Sarah Lynn Winchester, what did you tell your uncle?"

Sarah swallowed another lump in her throat as she stared up at her father who stood there with his arms folded, tightly. "I…well…" she stammered, nervously. "Uncle Sam was embarrassing me like you embarrass me, sometimes, in front of this boy and I got really angry and…" Sarah looked over at her uncle before looking downward. "And I yelled at him, telling him how he would never be you and how we would never have a relationship like you and I have, very harshly than I intended."

Sam rubbed her back to comfort her, "It's okay, Dean. There was no harm, okay? Just let me handle it," he told his brother so he could continue his lecture.

Dean uncrossed his arms. "No harm, Sam? This was obviously eating you up and this should not go unpunished when Sarah knows not to talk to you like that, regardless if she was pissed off or not."

"Dean…" Sam tried to object but Dean was not hearing his brother out and had started walking over to the bed closest to the door.

"Come here, Sarah Lynn," he told his daughter in a stern voice.

"But…" she tried to object as well.

"Dean, why can't this be just between me and Sarah?" Sam asked.

Dean looked back over his right shoulder, "Are you gonna do it?"

"No, Sarah doesn't need it. She was hurting, Dean. She apologized already."

"Only because I had reminded her. If I hadn't said anything Sarah wouldn't have said anything," he told Sam. To his daughter, "you have to the count of three to get your ass over here, Sarah Lynn."

Sarah looked from her father over to her uncle, giving him a pitiful look which melted Sam's heart. "Dean, it hasn't been easy for either of us and you know Sarah has the Winchester temper," he continued to defend his niece.

"I am aware of all that, Sam but again there is no excuse for her lashing out and talking to you that way. I am losing my patience, Sarah Lynn. Get your ass over here now," Dean raised his voice a little but tried to keep his cool.

Finally, Sarah walked over to her father, reluctantly. She stopped beside where he sat and tried to give him her best puppy dog look but Dean was not about to let up. Instead he told her lay across his lap.

"No, Dad," she shook her head, backing away. "Please don't spank me. I apologized to Uncle Sam. I didn't mean it, I swear. I was angry with him and it just shot out of my mouth. Please, I really am sorry, Dad."

"I don't care, Sarah," Dean told her. "The point is you said it. Now do as I say before I put you over my knee myself."

Sarah let out a whimper before she finally complied and moved closer to climb onto her father's lap, slowly. She felt Dean hold onto her waist and soon felt a painful smack to her bottom, followed by more not long after. Sarah cried out with each smack, gripping his left leg in both of her hands.

Dean didn't even ask Sam to leave this time. He didn't care if Sam heard or not. Sam tried not to listen though and focused on the book he still had open in his hands but his niece's cries tore at his heartstrings. It was hard on Sam when he had been in Dean's place when Sarah gave him a hard time months ago. He never wanted to have to punish her since Dean told Sam he could if needed and hoped the day wouldn't come. When it did though, Sam had to fight to follow through on his threat.

Soon, Dean let up and lifted his crying daughter to her feet. Sarah immediately moved her hands to rub her bottom, trying to rub the sting out. Dean leaned forward and took a hold of her chin, gently, "look at me, Sarah Lynn. I better not hear about this again. Do you understand me?"

Tears were pouring down both sides of her face as she cried.

"Do you understand me, Sarah Lynn?" he repeated, sterner.

She nodded. "Yes, sir," Sarah managed to choke out in between sobs.

"You do not talk to anyone like that unless it's someone we're hunting then I could care less. Do you understand me?"

Sarah nodded again, "Yes, sir."

Dean let go of her chin, sitting up straight, "You are grounded for the next month, this time and I want a thousand-page essay on why you love your uncle. Got it?" He didn't know why he added the essay to her punishment, even he was surprised but Dean didn't change his mind on it. It actually sounded like a good idea to him.

Sarah wiped her runny nose on her bare arm. "A whole month?" she asked her father. "But that's not fair."

Dean stood up from the bed when he heard his phone ring from where he had set it on the table and went to answer it. "It wasn't fair what you told Sam either," he plainly shrugged. "And I want the paper handwritten, too." Dean picked up his phone and answered it.

Sarah stood in the same spot as she continued to rub her bottom. Sam twisted halfway in his seat and held his right arm out to her, offering comfort which she bolted over to him and cried into his stomach. He rubbed his niece's back up and down before kissing the top of her head and continued rubbing.

When her cries were lowered to small sniffles after a few minutes, Sam lifted Sarah onto his lap to finish his lecture that Dean had interrupted. "Peanut, I know you feel that you should hold everything in but we're both dealing with this together. That's why all of that came out the way it did."

Sarah rubbed at her left eye, holding her head against her uncle's chest.

"It's gonna be just the two of us and we can't have a closed connection between us." Sam shrugged, "I'm not saying we should have a relationship like you have with your father. I never intended that. I know I'm not the person your dad is but I still care about you the way he does. I was only looking out for you and okay, I admit that maybe I took it too far when I embarrassed you in front of Matt. I wasn't doing it to be mean though. I was just having fun with you."

Dean had already hung up with Bela, frustrated she wouldn't help them and heard Matt's name mentioned. "Who's Matt?" he asked, still standing in the same spot.

Sam ignored his brother. "I promise I won't do that again but I want you come to me if something else starts building up inside you. Okay? Can you do that so we won't have a repeat of today?"

Sarah nodded against him. "I really do apologize for telling you, you will never be like Dad. You're right, I shouldn't have said it, and Dad's right, too, it wasn't fair for you."

"Thanks, Peanut," Sam replied. "I appreciate it."

"Hello," Dean interrupted them. "Who's Matt?"

Sam and Sarah looked back at him and exchanged looks between each other.

"Is there something else you both aren't telling me?" he asked.

Sam shrugged at his niece, "May as well tell him about your date tomorrow."

Sarah started blushing again when her uncle said that out loud and tried to hide it in his chest. Sam smiled at her and rubbed her back again.

Dean had raised his eyebrows when he heard the word, date. "Date?" he asked, walking towards his brother and daughter. "What date and who is this Matt?"

"Tell him, Peanut," Sam urged his niece, "your dad deserves to know his little girl's growing up."

Sarah agreed and slid down from her uncle's lap and turned around to face her father. She stared at the floor for a minute, rubbing the back of her head. "I may have met a boy today at the library," she said.

Dean folded his arms again. "I'm sorry, come again?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.

Sarah looked back at her uncle before turning back to her father and explained how she had met Matt, as well as him asking her out for breakfast.

"I'm sorry, I believe I made it perfectly clear you weren't supposed to date until you were my age," Dean reminded his daughter.

Sarah glanced at the floor out of the corner of her eye before looking back at him. "You were serious about that?"

"Oh you bet I was," he said in a serious tone. "You're only nine, Sarah and he's fourteen."

"So? You lie about your age to girls all the time," she pointed out.

"That's different."

"How is that different?" Sarah asked, folding her own arms now.

"I'm an adult, you're a kid," he told her.

"But Dad, Matt is really nice and I really want to see him at least one last time before we leave. I'm not one to beg since it's kind of demeaning but…" Sarah threw herself on the floor at his feet, ignoring the slight pain from landing on her knees and folded her hands to stare up at her father. "Pleeeeeeeessseeeee?"

Dean rolled his eyes up at the ceiling, "Sarah, get off the floor. That looks really ridiculous."

"Come on, Dean," Sam tried to stick up for his niece. "I met the kid and debriefed him for you. He really is a nice guy. Besides, don't you want to be around for Sarah's first official date?"

Dean took in a really deep breath and breathed it through his noise, aggressively loud. "Fine," he finally gave in after thinking about it for a moment, "but only if you get off the floor and quit begging like a pathetic dog."

Sarah quickly shot up. "With pleasure," she said. "So I can go?"

"Yes, you can go on your date but only after we finish this job."

Sarah suddenly started cheering, loudly and hugged her father's legs, thanking him over and over again. He tried his best to keep it together, wanting desperately to cry. His little girl was definitely growing up. However, Dean may have agreed to it, he was going to make certain that she was going to be supervised whether she knew about it or not.

Later that night, Bela shocked them by showing up with the African Dream Root after all. Dean declined her offer to help them inside Bobby's head and she ended up storming out of the motel room. Sam went out and picked up supplies for the Dream Root concoction and mixed them together.

"Hold up," Dean told his brother when he saw him bringing over three mugs of the stuff where he sat on the bed.

Sam asked, "What?"

"Sarah's not coming with us either," he said.

"Yes I am," Sarah argued. "I want to help Uncle Bobby, too, you know."

"No, you're not and if you fight me on this we're gonna have a repeat of earlier." Dean gave his daughter a serious look as he took his mug from Sam.

Sarah folded her arms, looking away, sulking.

Sam placed the third mug over on the table and walked back over to sit on the other bed and handed Dean some of Bobby's hair which they added to the concoction and chugged it down. Not long after that, the brothers passed out.

Sarah looked over at her father when she felt the bed shake from him falling back and crawled over to check to see if he really was asleep. She lifted his right eyelid for a couple seconds before letting go and sat back on her legs.

"This sucks," she said to no one. Sarah looked over at the mug over on the table. Crawling backwards on the bed, she stood up and walked around to climb onto the bed her uncle was lying on and crawled over to him, glancing around for the envelope. Catching a small bulge in his shirt pocket, Sarah pulled it out not even afraid of Sam waking up.

Taking the envelope over to the table, Sarah dropped a pinch of Bobby's hair into the mug and shook it in a circle like when she used to make chocolate milk and it had sifted after a while. After setting the envelope on the table, she picked up the mug by the handle and quickly chugged it down, trying hard not to throw it back up. Sarah looked around, setting the mug on the table, not feeling any different and noticed it had started raining outside.

She walked over to the window and noticed it was raining upside down. "What the hell? Am I in a Dr. Seuss book?" Sarah looked behind her and saw she wasn't in the motel room any longer. It took a moment before she realized it was Bobby's house without the mess.

Not seeing Bobby, nor her father or uncle, Sarah went out into the small hallway where the stairs was, eventually crossing paths with Dean who had come from the kitchen.

Dean was not pleased at all. "I hope for your sake, Bobby is dreaming of you," he told her.

"Uh," Sarah stuttered, "yes, I am a figment of this dream. I did not drink the Dream Root and come in here…aw crap." She realized that response was actually a confession.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "I told you, you were not coming in here with us."

Suddenly, they heard Bobby's voice from inside a closet, "Who's out there?" Both Dean and Sarah looked over at the door.

Dean touched his finger to his lips towards Sarah and carefully approached the closet door, touching his hand to it. "Bobby, you in there?" he asked.

"Dean?"

"Yeah, it's me. Open up."

The closet door clicked and opened. Bobby appeared in the doorway, staring at Dean before carefully walking out of the closet, looking around like he was searching for someone. "How in the hell did you find me?"

"We got our hands on some of that Dream Root stuff," Dean explained.

Sarah moved closer to the men, "Are you okay, Uncle Bobby?"

"Dream Root?" Bobby continued scanning the room like something was going to jump out at him, completely oblivious Sarah had spoken.

"Dr. Gregg, the experiments," Dean reminded him.

Bobby looked at Dean for a moment. "What the hell are you talking about?" The lights started to flicker, making Bobby dash back to the closet, "Hurry."

Dean grabbed a hold of him, "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's going on?"

"She's coming," he told him.

"Okay, you know this is a dream, don't you?" Dean asked.

Bobby breathed heavily. "Wha-what are you, crazy?"

"This is a dream, Bobby," Dean raised his voice to the older hunter, "none of this is real."

"Does that look made up?" he asked, pointing behind Dean and Sarah.

The two of them turned around to see a short woman, bloody and wearing a white nightgown, walk into the hallway where Sarah had come from. Bobby tried to go back into the closet but it slammed shut in his face, preventing him from doing so. Dean and Sarah looked back in his direction, surprised as Bobby tried to get it open.

"Who is that?" Sarah asked, now looking between the woman and Bobby.

"She's…" Bobby tried to say. "She's my wife."

Dean and Sarah looked back at the woman. Bobby moved into the kitchen as his wife, Karen slowly stepped towards him, staring him down as she blamed him for her death. Bobby tried to apologize with her until Dean tried to make him snap out of it, that she wasn't real and dragged Bobby into the other room and slammed the sliding doors shut. Dean pinned himself to the doors to hold them as Karen banged on the other side, angrily. Sarah was hugging Bobby's leg, trying to snap him out of it, too.

Dean continued, "I'm telling you, all of it. Your house, your wife, it's a nightmare."

Sarah agreed, "Yeah, Uncle Bobby. Snap out of it before something bad happens."

Dean looked over and yanked off a black cord from a desk lamp beside him and tied it around the door handles as Karen continued to bang on the door, screaming out.

"I killed her," Bobby muttered in a guilty tone.

"Bobby," Dean said as he finished tying the cord, "This is your dream that you can wake up. I mean, hell, you can do anything." He looked over at the older man.

Bobby was walking towards the door, defeated. Sarah moved but walked beside him. "Just leave me alone. Let her kill me already."

When the cord was tied, Dean dashed over and grabbed ahold of the front of Bobby's vest, "Look at me. You gotta snap out of this now," he told Bobby, sternly, "You gotta snap out of this now. You're not gonna die. I'm not gonna let you. You're like a father to me."

Sarah looked over at Dean when she heard him say that last part as he continued to stare at Bobby.

"You gotta believe me, please," Dean continued.

Bobby looked over at the door then back at Dean. "I'm dreaming?" he asked.

"Yes, this is all just a dream," Sarah replied.

"Now take control of it," Dean told him.

Bobby inhaled and exhaled repeatedly. He shut his eyes and suddenly, the noise on the other side of the door stopped. Sarah walked over and put her right ear to the door but nothing was heard. Dean walked over and gently pushed her out of the way to untie the cord and opened the doors. No one was there.

"I don't believe it," Bobby muttered out loud.

Dean let out a deep breath at the floor, relieved and looked back over his right shoulder. "Believe it," he said. "Now will you please wake up?"

Suddenly, the Winchesters bolted into a sitting position back in the motel room, breathing like they had run a marathon. Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other as Sarah sat over on the floor beside the table. She looked back behind her and was relieved to see her father and uncle awake, too. However, once Dean had his breath back after a few minutes, he gave her a look that said to get her ass over there.


	106. Chapter 106- DreamaLittleDreamofMe (P4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 106

The Winchesters met up with Bobby who was now awake and discussed the guy, Jeremy who had gotten into Bobby's dreams in the first place and dug out his worst nightmare, making him comatose. Sam, Sarah, and Bobby also learned that now Jeremy had DNA of Dean as well. The four of them spent the next two days trying to find where Jeremy was, along with Bela's help much to Dean and Sarah's protests. Unfortunately the spirit world wasn't "picking up the phone" and was no help there either.

Dean with having no sleep was very irritable and on the very edge, snapping at the tiniest comment. Finally, tired and out of ideas, he pulled over to the side of the road hidden from sight and leaned back in his seat to fall asleep.

Sam and Sarah did not understand what he was doing. Jeremy could come after him and he was going to sleep? "What are you doing?" Sam asked.

Dean shifted in his seat, closing his eyes, "Taking myself a long over-due nap."

"Are you nuts?" Sarah asked her father. "What if that Jeremy guy gets you?"

"That's the idea."

"Excuse me?" Sam asked of his brother.

Dean lifted his head long enough to say, "Come on, man, we can't find him, so let him come to me."

"On his own turf? Where he's basically a god?"

"I can handle it," he mumbled with his head back down and his eyes closed again.

Sam tried to find something to say before he reached over and plucked out some of his brother's hair, "Not alone, you can't."

"Ow," Dean shot his head up and his hand automatically went to where Sam had plucked from, looking over at him. "What are you doing?" Dean demanded.

"Coming in with you," he replied, looking at the hairs in his fingers.

"I want to, too," Sarah told the brothers, leaning over the front seat.

"Absolutely not," Dean objected. "I don't want any one of you rooting around in my head.

"Too bad," Sam told him. "Peanut, you stay here and act as lookout."

Sarah sat back, folding her arms tight across her chest. She wanted to argue so badly but did not want to be over her father's knee a third time during that hunt so she stayed silent. Instead, she reached into her jacket and pulled out her flashlight, turning it on and grabbed her spiral notebook from the seat beside her to continue working on her thousand-word essay.

After a while, the Impala was silent as she thought about all the nice things Sarah loved about her uncle and wrote them down, her heels pointed towards her on the seat and using her legs as a table. The only noises were the crickets chirping outside and the brothers' steady breathing as they slept. Now and then, one of them would twitch.

Sam and Dean each wandered around Dean's dream world, encountering a scene of Lisa on a picnic, saying they only had an hour before they had to pick Ben and Sarah up from baseball practice. Dean felt embarrassed his brother had seen that but at least it was still hidden from Sarah who actually didn't care for the woman that much and Dean made Sam swore not to bring it up around her or he'd kill him. Not literally, of course.

Somehow, though, the two of them had gotten separated before eventually, Dean wandered into their motel room, staring himself in the face, literally.

"Hey, Dean."

"Well, aren't you a handsome son of a gun," Dean said, surprised.

"We need to talk."

"I get it," he winked and started to walk around his self. "I get it. I'm my own worst nightmare, that it? Huh? Kind of like the _Superman III_ junkyard scene? A little mano y mano with myself?"

The other Dean was circling around with him, too. "Joke all you want, smartass," he told him. He shook his head, "you can't lie to me. I know the truth." Both of them stopped walking, standing in each other's positions now. "I know how dead you are inside. How worthless you feel. I know how you look into a mirror…" he paused for a second. "…and hate what you see."

Dean smiled and shook his head, "Sorry, pal, it's not gonna work," and shrugged, "you're not real."

"Sure I am. I'm you."

"I don't think so," Dean told him. "See, this is my siesta. Not yours." Dean raised his left hand. "All I gotta do is snap my fingers and you go bye-bye." He snapped his fingers but nothing happened, his self just stared back at him, not saying a word. Dean tried again several times but nothing happened.

The other Dean raised his eyebrows as he shrugged, "I'm not going anywhere."

Dean took a deep breath in.

"Neither are you." The door suddenly flew shut and locked. "Like I said," he continued, raising a shotgun up towards the ceiling, from nowhere, "…we need to talk. I mean, you're going to hell and you won't lift a finger to stop it? Talk about low self-esteem." The two of them was circling around again, watching each other. "Then again, it's not much of a life worth saving."

"Wake up, Dean," Dean mumbled to himself. "Come on."

"After all, you got nothing outside of Sarah and Sam." He stopped, back in his original spot. "You are nothing. You're as mindless and obedient as an attack dog, instilling the exact same thing into your own kid's head. She'll probably grow up to be just like you."

Dean tried to smirk, "That's not true."

"No? What are the things you want? What are the things that you dream? I mean, your car, that's Dad's. Your favorite leather jacket, Dad's. Your music, Dad's. And Sarah wants to be just like you." He laughed. "Face it, Sarah's not copying you, she's copying Dad."

Dean just scoffed at his self.

"You know if Ben was yours, too, you'd be telling Sarah the exact same thing he always said, 'look out for your little brother.' You can still hear your dad's voice in your head, can't you?" he raised the shotgun, pointing it at the side of his forehead. "Clear as a bell."

"Just shut up," Dean shook his head, still forcing a smirk.

He lowered the shotgun. "When you think about it…all he ever did was train you, boss you around. But Sam…." The other Dean had moved closer, close to Dean's face as Dean raised his head at him. "Sam, he doted on. Sam, he loved. Kind of like how you treat Sarah, too."

"I mean it," Dean winked, growing annoyed now. "I'm getting angry."

"Dad knew who you really were, a good soldier and nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument." He raised his voice, "Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died. And you felt envious when he showed so much affection towards your own kid than he ever shown you. You try so hard to give Sarah what you never had but you're just the same: a drill sergeant and nothing else."

That pushed Dean over the edge and shoved his self, back against the wall, "Son of a bitch! My father was an obsessed bastard!" The other Dean tried to stand but Dean kicked him back against the wall. Both grunted as Dean punched him in the side of the face and pinned him with the shotgun. "All that crap he dumped on me, about protecting Sam that was his crap. He's the one who couldn't protect his family." Dean left-hooked him in the face, as well. "He's the one who let Mom die." He pinned the shotgun against his self's throat. "Who wasn't there for Sam, I always was and for Sarah since I found her. He wasn't fair! The minute I met her, I vowed I would. I am a way better father than he ever was and never have I put what Dad put on me on her. As much as a father I am, I don't deserve to go to hell!" With that, Dean shot his self.

The other Dean sat there, motionless. Blood had splattered from the bullet wound and onto his face. Dean took a step towards him when suddenly he shot awake, his eyes all black like a demon's.

"You can't escape me, Dean."

Dean took a step back in surprise.

"You're gonna die. And this, this is what you're gonna become."

Suddenly, Dean woke with a start, back in the Impala as he breathed heavily. Sam had woken up, too. He looked around, glad it was over but the image of his self was still etched into his mind.

Sarah stood up from the backseat, pushing against it with her right foot and touched his right shoulder, "You okay, Dad?"

Dean continued to inhale and exhale. "Yeah, I'm fine, Baby Girl." He swallowed a breath of air into his lungs, staring down at the steering wheel. His daughter wrapped her arms around his neck to comfort him, sensing he could use a hug. Dean leaned his head against hers, holding his opposite hand to her opposite cheek.

The next day, in between Dean trying to reach Bela, Sarah used his phone to call Matt to set up their date, planning a lunch since Matt didn't have class that day. Dean took the phone back when she hung up and tried Bela again when Sam and Bobby walked in.

Dean turned around when he heard the door open. "Any of you guys seen Bela?" he asked them. "She's not in her room, and not answering her phone."

Sam shrugged as Bobby closed the door behind him, "She must've taken off or something."

Dean jerked his head back, "Just like that? That's a little weird."

"Yeah, well, if you ask me, what's weird is why she helped us in the first place," Bobby said.

"I thought you saved her life," Dean reminded him.

Bobby looked at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The thing in Flagstaff."

"The thing in Flagstaff was an amulet," he shrugged. "I gave her a good deal, that's all."

"Wow, that must have been some deal then," Sarah said, her eyebrows raised in surprise.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other before Sam turned back to Bobby, "Well, then why did…"

"You three better check your pockets," Bobby nodded at them.

All three Winchesters each took it literal and checked their pockets.

"Not literally," he sighed.

Dean slowly raised his head as it hit him and turned around towards the room safe in the closet. He walked towards it, "No, no, no," he said and yanked it open to find the Colt missing.

"The Colt," Sam said when he saw it was gone, too.

Dean shoved the safe closed in anger.

"Bela stole the Colt."

"Damn it, boys," Bobby scolded the brothers.

Dean stared at the floor, thinking how much he would strangle Bela when he got his hands on her. "Pack your crap," he said and walked over to the bed to grab his duffel bag.

"Why?" Sam turned around. "Where we going?"

"We're gonna go hunt the bitch down."

"But what about my date with Matt?" Sarah reminded her father.

Dean stopped and sighed at the ceiling. He knew how much this date meant to his daughter but they needed to get the Colt back before Bela sold it. He was torn. Thinking about last night, Dean knew his daughter's happiness was more important no matter how much he needed that gun back. "Fine, we'll stop there on the way. Okay?"

"Really?" she asked, surprised.

Dean couldn't help smirk at his daughter. "Yeah, really, Baby Girl."

Sarah smiled in return and rushed over to wrap her arms around his legs. Dean lifted his daughter up and hugged her back.

Later, Dean pulled up to the sandwich shop and let Sarah jump out before pretending to go grab a cup of coffee then when she was inside, he parked across the street and pulled out a pair of binoculars from under the seat.

"Dean, what are you doing?" Sam asked.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he replied, as if it was obvious, looking through the binoculars inside the sandwich shop.

"It looks like you're spying on Sarah's date."

"Damn right, I am," Dean said as he continued to watch Sarah through the window as he watched her talk with Matt before they went up to the cashier to order. "He'd better be paying for her," he mumbled.

Sam tried not to spy on his niece's date but he found himself watching, as well and soon found himself pulling another pair of binoculars from under the seat so he could have a better view.

Matt indeed paid for the whole meal and handed Sarah one of the plastic cups as they walked over to the soda fountain. Sam and Dean both wished they could hear what the kids were saying as they poured their drinks. When their food was ready, Matt carried the tray over to a booth, which the brothers were glad was by one of the front windows so they could still watch.

Sarah and Matt were laughing at what Matt had said.

"So, I told my parents about you and they want to meet you," Matt changed the subject, serious now. "They're really excited I met someone my own age."

Sarah stopped in mid-bite, holding her sandwich a few inches from her open mouth. She stared down where she was going to bite into it. "That sounds great and all but…."

"But what, Sarah?" he asked.

"I have to leave town after this," she told him, sadly, unable to look him in the eye.

"Leave town? Why? What about school?"

Sarah hesitated, "I…don't go to school here, my uncle homeschools me while we're on the road."

"But I thought you had graduated from high school already. I thought…." He tried to say.

"I never said I had graduated already," she shook her head at the older boy.

"Uh, right. Guess I just assumed." Matt stared down at his own sandwich for a moment. "When will you be back?" he asked when he looked up again.

Sarah bit her lower lip. "Probably never," she admitted.

"Never, but Sarah…I…I…you have to stay. Where's your dad? My parents say I can be quite persuasive."

"I have to, Matt. My family and I…we save lives. Even though we hardly get thanked, we're making a difference and I can't just stay here with you while people are dying that we could have saved," she explained.

"But what about us? I thought we had something going on between us, I saw how you acted, especially with your uncle. Stay, Sarah. People die. It's a part of life. We're born into this world, we live, then we rot in the ground or sit on someone's mantle," Matt shrugged.

Sarah perked up at what he said and raised an eyebrow, "There's more to it than just the circle of life, Matt and my uncle once said we have to save as many people as we can."

"Why?" he asked. "Why is it your job to save people, Sarah? You're intelligent like I am. You can be anything you want to be. I know it could be just a simple teenage crush but I want to see just how long it can last. I care about you, Sarah. I want to get to know you more, where you're from, who you are." Matt reached across the table and touched her arm, affectionately. "Please, give us a chance."

Sarah stared back at him, wanting to cry. She really did like Matt but knew he couldn't get close and didn't want to keep lying to him. Matt couldn't know what was really out there, if he would even believe her. He still had some innocence left and Sarah didn't want to destroy it.

"Matt," she said after a few moments of thought.

"Yes, Sarah?" he answered, hopeful.

"I…" she sighed, and looked up at him with just her eyes. "I…I'm nine." Sarah had just blurted it out. Maybe that would help end things.

Matt's eyes widen in surprise. "What?"

"I'm nine years old, okay? I lied because I thought you were good-looking and you asked me out and I panicked. I never felt this way about a boy before. I had a minor crush on a friend of ours once but he was an adult, like twenties, I think. I never met a kid I really liked the way I like you. You're sweet and thoughtful and I would love to get to know you more, too but…trust me, what me and my family does for a living…" she shrugged. "I don't know what I would do if you got caught in the fire because of me. It's better if I just go and let you get on with your life."

Matt glared at Sarah. "You're selfish, you know that? My mother was heavy into drugs when she and my father was dating, and hurt him plenty of times but did he give up on her? No, he didn't. My father stuck by my mother's side and helped her overcome the addiction."

"That's not what I mean, Matt. It's not like that. I mean…"

But he just shook his head. "Whatever, Sarah. I was looking past the age and just be friends until you were older but, it's not even worth it if you won't even try." Matt stood up from his side of the booth and grabbed just his drink. "I thought you were so much more mature. Guess I was wrong." With that, he stormed from the sandwich shop, shoving the door open with one hand.

Sarah dropped her sandwich and hid her face in her folded arms on the table, tears welding up in her eyes. Before she knew it, she felt someone sit down beside her and wrap their arm around her. Sarah looked up to see it was her father and broke down, crying as she threw herself against him and hugged her father, tightly.

"It's okay, Baby Girl," Dean assured her, softly. "The first is always the hardest."

Sarah didn't say anything. She just cried into his side.

Finally, after a while, Dean spoke again, "Baby Girl, I decided that I don't want to go to hell. We need each other, and I can't leave you. Not now, not when you need me."

Sarah looked up at her father as she sniffed in. "You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that, Daddy. Uncle Sammy and I will find a way to save you, don't worry."

Dean forced a smile for his daughter and the two of them hugged each other again.


	107. Chapter 107- Mystery Spot (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 107

Dean and Sarah were sitting up in bed while Sarah was reading _The Outsiders_ out loud to him for her homeschooling with her uncle. Sam always tried to find books he thought his niece would enjoy and looked to see if there were any study guides online or if there wasn't, made them his self.

Dean liked it when his daughter read to him and was also enjoying the book as much as she was. So far, the character that stood out the most to him was the main character's oldest brother, Darryl who was watching out for his two younger brothers. When Dean first heard what the main character was called, he had to remark on what kind of name was Ponyboy but as the story continued, it didn't matter that much and just wanted to know what would happen next, reminding Sarah when they checked into a motel at night, and if they weren't exhausted, to do her homework so he could find out.

When they finished another chapter, Sam stopped Sarah from continuing, sitting at the small table in the room and called her over.

"Come on, Sam," Dean protested, "Just one more chapter?"

Sam couldn't help smile at his brother as he shook his head. "In a little bit. Sarah and I need to work on her schoolwork."

Sarah slid off the bed and went over to sit in a chair beside her uncle, opening her spiral notebook and clicking her pen.

Sam turned his laptop so his niece could see the screen as well and went over the current chapter's study guide. Even though he knew Sarah could do it alone, he liked going though it with her, question by question to hear her thoughts out loud. Sarah sat up onto her left foot and leaned on her arms as her uncle read the first question.

It took an hour to complete the whole chapter study guide and by the time they finished, Dean had fallen asleep, snoring softly. Sam looked at his watch to see it was eleven-thirty.

"We'll work on mathematics another night, Peanut. It's late," he told Sarah.

"Okay," she replied and a yawn escaped at that point.

"Better get to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow with figuring out how that guy suddenly disappeared."

Sarah nodded and started turning the pages in her notebook when she stopped at her essay her father had assigned to her and stared at it for a second. "Can I read my essay to you, or do you want to read it, Uncle Sammy?"

"Sure, I can read it," Sam said.

She folded the front of the notebook back and pushed it towards her uncle, showing him how long it was before standing up and gave him a hug and kiss good-night. Sarah then headed over to the bed and climbed up beside her father, getting under the covers to snuggle close to him.

Sam stayed at the table and started reading what his niece had written. As he read the essay, he couldn't help smile at the words and give a quiet snicker. When Sam got more into it, his eyes watered and he couldn't help shed a tear or two just how much he really did mean to his niece. He still felt jealous at times with his brother but to read the words his niece had written about him, it was amazing.

Part of the essay explained how guilty Sarah felt lashing out at Sam when he was only trying to look out for her and knew just how protective he was as much as Dean. In fact, with all that Sarah wrote, Sam swore she had gone way over the thousand word limit Dean had set. By the time Sam finished, his heart was completely warm and there was a trail on both sides where his tears had dried on his face.

Suddenly, Sam jumped when he heard his niece speak beside him again. "Peanut, I thought you were asleep."

Sarah shook her head. "I almost did until I heard you sniff. Is there something wrong with my essay? I haven't given it to Dad yet so if I said something wrong…"

He pulled his niece in and kissed the side of her head. "I love the essay, Peanut. It's really sweet and beautifully written. You really mean all this?"

"Yeah, Uncle Sammy, every word," she looked up at him. "I mean, I didn't enjoy being embarrassed in front of Matt but what kid does when they are being embarrassed by their dad or uncle, or whoever is taking care of them. Dad and I, we share a lot of stuff like our music and cars but you and me, we're nerds."

Sam laughed at that. "We're nerds, huh?"

"Isn't that what Dad calls us?" she smirked.

Sam smiled at her for a moment before he said, softly, "Yeah, we're nerds, and nerds stick together, right?"

"Family does, too and together, we'll find a way to save Dad." Sarah wrapped her arms around her uncle and squeezed his waist.

"You bet we will, Peanut," Sam replied.

The next morning, the alarm clock on the nightstand in between the beds went off, playing an Asia song. Sam sat up in bed in surprise. The volume and distance the clock was from Sarah surprised her enough she rolled off the bed with a painful thump.

"Rise and shine, you two," Dean called over the music, sitting on the foot of the bed, tying his boot.

"Dad, did you have to use the radio alarm?" Sarah scowled over at her father. As much as she liked music, Sarah never preferred the radio waking her up.

"And does it have to be Asia?" Sam added.

"Come on, you love this song, and you know it," he told his brother.

"Yeah, and if I have to hear it again, I'm gonna kill myself."

Dean reached over and turned the dial, raising the volume. "What? I'm sorry, I can't hear you," he said over the music.

Sam snickered to himself as Dean mouthed along to the words of the song, eventually standing. Sarah couldn't help laugh at her father either as she watched him bang his head to the music. Both Sam and Sarah got dressed, taking turns in the bathroom before the three of them shared the sink at once, brushing their teeth. Sarah squeezed some toothpaste onto her toothbrush before passing it to her uncle who examined it.

"It wasn't me," Sarah told him, brushing as if she was reading Sam's mind and stared up at the ceiling with just her eyes as her father gargled with his mouthwash. "Is it really necessary to gargle like that, Dad?"

Dean just winked at her as he continued.

When the Winchesters were ready to leave, or rather Sam and Sarah was, Dean hurried around the motel room looking for something while they stood in the doorway.

"Whenever you're ready, Dean," Sam hurried his brother along.

Dean looked through his duffel bag until he found his gun and finally headed out the door, placing it behind him. "Now, who's ready for some breakfast?"

"I'm starving," Sarah followed after her father, hurrying to keep up.

The Winchesters walked down the street to a local diner and headed over to sit down in a booth. Sarah sat by the window beside Dean while Sam sat across from them.

Dean looked up at the menu above the front counter, "Hey, Tuesday," he smiled at his brother, "Pig in a poke."

"Do you even know what that is?" Sam shrugged.

He looked back at the menu as the waitress walked over to them to ask for their order. "Yes," he replied. "I'll have the special, side of bacon and coffee."

"Make it two coffees and a short stack," Sam added.

"And I'll have two waffles with a side of bacon, too, and do you have chocolate milk?" Sarah asked.

"Yes we do," the waitress replied, "Coming right up." She turned around to place the order with the cook.

Dean shifted back into his seat, his right arm across the back of the seat behind Sarah, "I'm telling you, Sam, this job is small fry," he said, staring out the window. "We should be spending our time hunting down Bela."

"Okay, sure, let's get right on that," Sam told him, sarcastically. "Where is she again?"

"Shut up."

Sam reached into his jacket pocket, "Look, believe me, I want to find her as much as you do." He ripped out the research he had found on the job they were starting and tossed it on the table. "In the meantime, we have this."

Dean leaned forward to pick it up and looked it over. Sarah sat on her left leg to lean forward, towards it. "All right, so this professor…" he said.

"Dexter Hasselback," Sam began to explain, "He was passing through town, last week when he vanished."

Sarah asked, "Last location?"

"His daughter says he was on his way to visit the Broward County Mystery Spot."

Dean picked up a brochure about the place to read it, "Where the laws of physics have no meaning?" He looked over at his brother, showing it to him.

"Those things are just a bunch of crap," Sarah stated.

"It's called tourism, Baby Girl," Dean told his daughter.

Sarah scoffed as the waitress returned with their drinks first and a bottle of hot sauce, passing Sarah her chocolate milk first before placing the boys' coffees on the table. The waitress accidently knocked over the hot sauce which crashed onto the floor, splashing all over and yelled for clean-up before leaving again. Dean shrugged at Sam, not saying anything when she apologized.

Once the three of them finished eating, the Winchesters left the diner. A Golden Retriever barked as they walked by, trying to get their attention. Sarah reached out and rubbed the dog's head as she walked behind her father and uncle. Sam was looking over the brochure.

Dean ripped it out of his hands, "Sarah's right, Sam. Joints like this are only tourist traps. I mean, balls rolling uphill, furniture nailed to the ceiling. The only danger is to your wallet," he laughed at the last part."

"I'm just saying, there are spots in the world where holes open up and swallow people," Sam argued. "The Bermuda Triangle, the Oregon Vortex."

Sarah interrupted her uncle, "Broward County Mystery Spot?"

Sam held out his right arm, "Sometimes, these places are legit."

Dean asked right before a young woman bumped into his left arm, "Okay, so if it is legit, and that's a big ass if, what's the lore?"

"The lore's pretty freaking nuts, actually," he explained. "I mean, these places, the magnetic fields are so strong that they can bend space-time, sending victims no one knows where."

Dean kept looking back at the woman as his brother spoke until he faced forward. "Sounds a little _X-files_ to me." They passed two guys trying to fit a grand piano through a small doorway.

"If that means strange, I agree," Sarah agreed with her father.

"Okay, look, I'm not saying this is happening," Sam continued, "If it is, we gotta check it out. See if we can do something."

"All right," Dean gave in. "We'll go tonight after they close and have ourselves a nice, long look. In the meantime, I want to know what's happening with Ponyboy and Johnny." The Winchesters headed back to the motel to kill some time and read more of _The Outsiders_.

Sam picked the lock to the mystery spot and wandered inside, getting their flashlights out. He took out his EMF reader as they headed down the hall and into the main room, looking around the place.

"Wow," Dean said, shining his flashlight up at a table on the ceiling. "Uncanny."

"Reminds me of the room in my _Luigi_ game when the room gets flipped upside down," Sarah remarked.

"Is there anything that doesn't remind you of a video game?" he asked her, over his shoulder.

"Hey, you reference TV and movies," she pointed out. "Is there anything that doesn't remind you of those?"

"All right, smartass."

Sarah smirked, "Love you, Dad."

Dean smirked from the other side of the room, continuing to look around the place, "Just wait 'til we get back to the motel," he teased his daughter. "Find anything, Sam?"

Sam glanced over at his brother, holding his arm out as he held the EMF reader, "No."

"Do you have any idea what you're looking for?"

"Uh," Sam thought on that and shrugged, "Yeah."

His niece asked, "You sure about that, Uncle Sam?"

"No," he admitted.

Dean just shook his head at his brother and looked elsewhere before the three of them continued looking until a voice startled them, "What the hell are you doing here?" The Winchesters quickly turned around, Dean drawing his gun.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean said when he saw it was the owner. "We can explain."

Sam and Sarah raised their hands up in surrender as the owner waved his shotguns around at them.

"You robbing me?" the owner asked.

"Look, nobody's robbing you," Sam tried to assure him. "Calm down."

Dean and Sarah nodded in agreement.

"Don't move. Don't move."

"I'm just putting the gun down," Dean told the owner and slowly lowered himself. The owner panicked and shot him in the chest, knocking Dean back.

"Dad!" Sarah dashed over to her father, followed by Sam who lifted Dean in his arms.

"Call 911," Sam told the owner who tried to tell them it was an accident but Sam just told him to hurry and turned back to his brother who was now choking.

"Dad, you can't go yet. Not yet," Sarah was pleading as tears built up in her eyes.

"Not like this," Sam added, holding back his own.

Dean lied there in Sam's arms as Sam and Sarah pleaded for him to hold on until his eyes closed for good and stopped breathing. Sarah shut her eyes and cried hard. Soon, Sam couldn't hold his any longer as he repeatedly exhaled.


	108. Chapter 108: Mystery Spot (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 108

Sam opened his eyes as he heard Asia playing on the radio again and bolted into a sitting position as Sarah bolted awake and rolled off the bed, onto the floor again. The two of them noticed Dean sitting at the foot of the bed, tying his boot.

"Rise and shine, you two," he told them.

Sam and Sarah looked back at the clock, confused before looking at Dean once more.

"Dude. Asia," Dean smirked.

They stared at him before Sam found his voice first, "Dean?"

"Oh, come on. You love this song and you know it." He reached over and turned the dial to raise the volume, mouthing the words to the song, banging his head along to it before walking towards the bathroom.

Sarah shared a look with her uncle before jumping to her feet and hurried after her father to wrap her arms around his legs from behind. Dean almost lost his balance but caught himself.

"Wow, the radio should play Asia more often," he remarked, twisted around, rubbing the top of her head.

Once they were dressed, they shared the sink together like before. Sam couldn't help watch Dean, gargle mouthwash the same way as he rinsed his own mouth and spit it out as Sarah flossed her teeth.

Dean noticed his brother watching him and spit into the sink. "What?"

Sam stared down at his niece, not sure if it was one of their psychic stuff or a shared dream. "I don't know," he finally admitted.

Dean turned on the water and rinsed his mouth before grabbing a white hand towel, "You all right?"

"No. I think I…." Sam paused, trying to make sense of everything and just shook his head. "Man, I had a weird dream."

Sarah removed the floss from her mouth. "Me, too," she agreed.

"Yeah? Clowns or midgets, Sam?" Dean asked, messing with his teeth in the mirror before turning his head to look at him.

Sam just scoffed.

The Winchesters headed to the same local diner which Sam and Sarah couldn't help notice had the same people, dressed the same way, and overheard the same conversations as they walked over to the same table.

Dean let Sarah in first before sitting down on the end while Sam sat across from them. "Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," Dean pointed up at the menu.

Sarah looked at her father when she heard him say that as Sam asked, "It's Tuesday?"

"Yeah," Dean nodded once.

Sarah and Sam exchanged confused looks between each other. "But…" Sarah started to say until the waitress walked up at that point.

"Is everyone ready to order?" she asked.

"Yes, I'll have the special, side of bacon, and a coffee," Dean told her.

Sam looked between his brother and the waitress, his mouth hanging open. "Uh, nothing for me. Thanks."

"Just chocolate milk for me," Sarah told the waitress.

The waitress wrote the order down and told Sam to let her know if he changed his mind, and walked away.

Dean sighed, leaning back into his seat with his right arm across the back, behind Sarah, "I'm telling you, Sam, this job is small fry," he said, staring out the window. "We should be spending our time, hunting down Bela."

Sam was busy looking around the diner, taking everything in. Everyone was in the same exact position as the day before.

"Dad, you said that yesterday, didn't you?" Sarah asked her father.

Dean looked down at his daughter, raising an eyebrow. "I don't think so," he tried to recall.

"Yeah, we were right here, weren't we?"

Dean felt Sarah's forehead, using both sides of his hand, "You feeling okay, Baby Girl?" He took his hand back when he saw she felt normal. "I never remember you passing up a meal."

"I'm…fine. Or, I think I'm fine." Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Right, Uncle Sam?"

"Yeah, yeah," he agreed and turned to Dean. "You don't remember any of this?"

"Remember what? What Sarah asked?" Dean asked his brother.

"This. Like…Like, it's…happened before?"

"You mean like déjà vu?"

Sarah stepped in to help her uncle, "No, like today already happened before."

"Yeah, like déjà vu," Dean nodded at her.

"No, forget about déjà vu," Sam told him, starting to feel frustrated now. "We're asking you if it feels like we're living yesterday all over again."

Dean looked between his brother and daughter, confused. "Okay, how is that not…?"

Sarah dropped her forehead on the table as Sam told him, "Don't. Don't say it. Just don't…" as he waved his hands up.

The waitress reappeared with their drinks, placing Sarah's chocolate milk and Dean's coffee on the table in front of them. The hot sauce fell from the tray which Sam caught this time, flipping it over as he stared at it. Sarah lifted her head when she had heard the waitress curse. Sam handed the bottle to the waitress who placed it on the table, thanking him before walking away.

"Nice reflexes," Dean complimented his brother.

Sam just shrugged, barely glancing at him. Something was going on and he had to figure out what it was. Once Dean finished eating, they left, walking down the exact same sidewalk with the same events taking place. Sarah petted the dog again as she walked by when it barked for their attention as the boys were talking.

Sam and Sarah had tried explaining about the mystery spot but Dean just shrugged. "I'm sorry you two but I have no idea what you're talking about," he told them.

"Look, yesterday was Tuesday, right?" Sam asked.

"Right," Sarah replied.

"But today is Tuesday, too."

Dean kept wondering about his family's sanity. "Yeah. No. Good, you're totally balanced," he said, looking away.

"It's the truth, Dad," Sarah told her father. "I swear. We're not lying."

Dean forced a laugh and was about to speak when the young woman bumped into his left shoulder. He looked back at her before looking forward again. "Look, I'm just saying that's crazy, you know? Even-for-us crazy. Dingo-ate-my-baby crazy."

Sarah tried turning that last statement over in her head, confused.

"Hey, if both of you had the dream, maybe it's one of your psychic premonitions," Dean pointed out.

Sam was looking away. "No, no, no. Way too vivid. Look, we were at the mystery spot, and then…." He paused.

"And then what?"

Sam hesitated at first, deciding whether to finish. "Then we woke up."

"In mine, Dad…ow!" Sam interrupted his niece with what was supposed to be a backwards nudge but added a little more strength than he wanted to.

"Did you just kick your niece?" Dean questioned his brother.

Sam quickly apologized to her, feeling guilty. It wasn't that hard but it was enough to hurt for a couple minutes. He kneeled down to check the damage just in case, rolling up her pant leg. Thankfully, there wasn't a bruise and the three of them continued walking, passing the same two guys with the piano.

"Wait a minute," Sam remembered, "the mystery spot. You think maybe it…"

Dean asked, "Maybe what?"

"We gotta check that place out," he said and looked over at his brother. "Look, just go with me on this."

"All right, all right," Dean gave in. "We'll go tonight after it close and get ourselves a nice, long look."

Sam quickly turned on the spot, "Wait, what?" He stared at Dean, stopping him in his tracks as Sarah bumped into them. "No."

He asked, "Why not?"

"Uh…." Sam stuttered and shrugged. "Let's just go now. Right now. Business hours, nice and crowded."

"I agree with Uncle Sam," Sarah nodded, looking up at her father.

Dean looked between the two of them again. "My God, you two are freaks."

"Dad," Sarah protested.

"Okay," he finally answered, looking down at her and looked away. "Whatever." Dean started walking again. "We'll go now."

Sam and Sarah exchanged one last look between them before they followed after him. An old man from the diner drove by at that point just as Dean was crossing the street and sent him flying into the air, landing on the asphalt. Sam had just stepped one foot off the sidewalk when he stopped in time, holding his arm out to block his niece's path, protectively.

When the car had skidded to a halt, Sarah pushed away from her uncle and ran over to drop beside her father. Dean was bleeding from the side of his face as Sam hurried over after Sarah, lifting him up into his arms. This time, Dean had died instantly.

Sarah shook her father's shoulder, trying to get him to wake up. When he wouldn't, tears filled her eyes once again. "Dad, please wake up," she pleaded. "Please, don't be…." Sarah couldn't even finish her sentence and touched her forehead to his.

Suddenly, Asia's song was playing on the radio once more on the radio as Sam sat up in bed and Sarah rolled off onto the floor. Sarah lifted herself up to find Dean back at the foot of the bed.

"Rise and shine, you two," he said, tying his shoe.

This time, the two of them watched Dean gargle at the sink by himself. Sarah tugged on her uncle's pajama shirt to get his attention, "What the heck is going on, Uncle Sam?" she asked, keeping her voice down so Dean wouldn't hear.

Sam slowly kneeled down to his niece's level as he continued to watch his brother. "I have no idea, Peanut," he admitted.

"Do you really think it's the mystery spot?"

"It has to be. That's where it all started," Sam told her.

"So we're in some sick and twisted universe where we have to watch Dad die over and over again? I don't like it."

Sam looked at his niece, "I don't either."

They headed to the same diner where Dean commented on the same special.

"Okay, will you listen, Dean?" Sam asked his brother, annoyed. "Because I am flipping out."

Dean gave him a strange look until the waitress walked up and started to order when Sam ordered for him and ordered Sarah her chocolate milk, sending her away.

"Sammy, I get all tingly when you take control like that," Dean smiled as he leaned back in his seat. Sarah scooted away, closer to the window. He looked over at her, lowering his eyebrows. "Not like that, Sarah."

"Quit screwing around, Dean," Sam told his brother.

Dean leaned forward, "Okay," he said and quickly lowered his voice. "Okay, I'm listening. So…so you think that you're in some kind of a what…?"

"Time loop," he finished.

Dean raised his head and nodded, "Like _Groundhog Day_?"

"Yes. Exactly. Like _Groundhog Day_."

"How is it like Groundhog's Day?" Sarah asked.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "Remind me to sit you down some time and rent old movies," before looking back at Sam. "So, uh-huh."

Sam shrugged, shaking his head. "So you don't believe me."

Dean laughed. "It's just a little crazy. I mean, even-for-us crazy. You know, like…" He looked down at the table.

Sarah finished for her father, "Dingo-ate-my-baby crazy?"

Dean looked back at her, surprised she knew what he was going to say. Were they that close they could finish each other's sentences? "How'd you know I was gonna say that?" he asked of his daughter.

"Because you said it before, Dad," she told him.

"That's my whole point," Sam added as well before the waitress returned with the drinks, setting them on the table. This time, Sam caught the hot sauce without even looking and held it out for her. The waitress took it, thanking him before setting it on the table and walked away.

"Nice reflexes," Dean complimented to Sam.

"No," he replied, flatly. "I knew it was gonna happen."

Dean stared down at the table, thinking it over before he said, "Look, I'm sure that there's some explanation…"

"You just have to go with us on this, all right, Dean. You just have to. You owe me that much."

"Calm down," he told his brother.

"Don't tell me to calm down. I can't calm down. I can't, because…." Sam paused like he had done before and looked away.

"Because what?"

Sarah looked over at her uncle to see if they should tell Dean this time and looked down, biting her lower lip.

Dean noticed out of the corner of his eye. "Baby Girl?" he asked, brushing his hand along her hair.

Sarah shifted to sit on her legs so her uncle couldn't nudge her, this time and forced herself to look at her father. "You die today, Dad."

He raised his eyebrows at that, "I'm not gonna die. Not today."

Sam spoke, getting Dean's attention, "Twice now, we've watched you die." He took a breath in. "And we can't. I won't do it again, okay? I can't let Sarah see that again. You just have to believe us."

Sarah felt her eyes water and laid her head against her father's shoulder, facing the back of their seat. Dean stared at his brother, seeing a look in his eye that said he was telling the truth and looked down at his daughter. He kissed the top of her head.

"All right," he told them. "Whatever this is, we'll figure this out." Dean still thought they were crazy but he wasn't about to say that in front of Sarah when she had problems with people not believing her in the past.

Sarah petted the same dog and the same woman bumped into Dean as they walked down the same sidewalk, followed by the two guys and the piano.

"And you think this cheesy ass tourist trap has something to do with it?" Dean was asking them.

"I didn't buy it at first, Dad but what other explanation is there?" Sarah shrugged.

"I don't know," he looked away. "It all seems a little too _X-Files_ to me."

"I don't know how else we can explain it, Dean," Sam shot at him.

"All right. All right. We'll go there tonight after they close and have ourselves a nice, long look."

Sam stopped Dean in his tracks, "No, no, no. We can't."

He asked, "Why not?"

Sam looked away, taking a deep breath and looked down. "Because you…"

"I what?"

Sam looked away again for a brief moment.

"I die there?"

Sarah nodded when Dean looked down at her. "By shotgun," she said, sadly.

"Huh," Dean said, looking at the ground as Sam looked away. "Okay, let's go now." He started walking. Just as he was about to step off the sidewalk, Sam and Sarah quickly grabbed him and pulled Dean back. He looked at the two of them who were panting, heavily and looked at the car that was driving away. "Wait, did he…?"

"Yesterday. Yeah," Sam answered in a serious tone.

Dean looked out the corner of his eye for a second. "And?"

Sarah stared up at her father, "And what?"

"Did it look cool like in the movies?" he smirked.

Sarah dropped her face into her left hand as Sam huffed, looking across the street for a second. "You peed yourself," he answered.

Dean looked at the ground and shrugged, trying to shrug it off. "Of course I peed myself. A man gets hit by a car you think he has full control of his bladder? Come on."

"He's right, actually," Sarah told her uncle as Dean started across the street. "When we die, everything is released. Our bladder, and even our bowels, too, I mean everything comes out."

"Thanks for sharing, Peanut," Sam forced a smile. "A little too much information though." He then followed after Dean. Sarah ran after the boys to catch up.

They interviewed the owner of the mystery spot who seemed like a whole other person during the day and not so jumpy. At first, the owner explained how his family owned it until Sam got on his case, asking for further detail. Finally he gave in and said he had bought the place from an auction and that he had no clue who Dexter Hasselback was, that the police searched everywhere and could not find him. Eventually, Dean had to remove themselves from the premise when Sam went overboard. Sarah was just as anxious as her uncle was and wanted answers, too but she tried to have a little more self-control but every fiber in her wanted to leap out at the poor man.

"Well, I hate to say it but that place is exactly as I thought," Dean was saying when they were outside again. "It's full of crap."

"Then what is it, Dean? What the hell is happening to us?" Sam demanded of him.

Dean looked ahead as he walked, "I don't know," and stopped to turn towards them. "All right, let me just…" as he held up his hand to Sam. "So every day, I die."

Sam nodded, staring back at him, "Yeah."

"And that's when you both wake up again, right?"

He shrugged, "Yeah."

"So let's just make sure I don't die," Dean told them. "If I make it until tomorrow, maybe the loop stops and we can figure all this out."

"How are we supposed to do that? Put you in a plastic bubble?" Sarah questioned.

"Or we could grab some take out, head back to the motel, and lay low until midnight. We can find out what happens to Ponyboy and Johnny next." He touched the top of her head, smiling at her.

"Okay, sure. Sounds great," she agreed even though she already knew what happened next, already.

Sam just nodded and hoped his brother was right.

"All right, good. Who wants Chinese?" Right as Dean stepped away, the two guys from before lost their piano when the rope snapped from the weight and landed right on top of him like an old Warner Bros. cartoon.

Sam's shoulders slumped as he sighed while Sarah just fainted. By the time Sam noticed her, the day had started over with the same music and same reaction and Dean's morning greeting. Sarah didn't even bother to look once she was on the floor. She just covered her eyes with one hand while Sam just slowly fell back onto the pillow.

Why them?


	109. Chapter 109- Mystery Spot (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 109

Sam explained the whole thing over again to his brother while Sarah sat next to her father with her forehead on the table and her arms dangling underneath. She didn't even want her chocolate milk this time.

"So, uh…" Dean said, looking at the table. "…if you're stuck in _Groundhog Day_ , why? What's behind it?"

Sam took a deep breath, shaking his head. "First I thought it was the mystery spot. Now I'm not so sure."

"What do we do?"

"Try to keep you alive and make it to tomorrow," Sarah spoke up without lifting her head.

Dean rubbed her upper back, affectionately, "Shouldn't be too hard."

Sam scoffed at that remark. "Yeah. We've watched you die a few times now and can't ever seem to stop it."

"Well, nothing's set in stone," he shrugged, still moving his hand gently along Sarah's back. "You say I order the same thing every day, right?"

"Yeah, pig in a poke, side of bacon," Sam nodded over to the menu.

Dean called over to the waitress, "Excuse me, sweetheart. Can I get sausage instead of bacon?"

"Sure thing, hon," she replied and turned back away.

He smiled at Sam, "See?" and leaned over to wrap his arm around his daughter, kissing the side of her head. "Different day already," he smiled at her, too.

Sarah looked up, not lifting her head. Dean smiled at her which she forced one for him.

"You see, if we decide that I am not gonna die…" Dean shook his head at both Sam and Sarah. "I'm not gonna die."

The waitress brought Dean's order over and set it in front of him which he thanked her for. Picking up his fork, Dean poked it into one of the sausages and took a bite of it, smiling over at Sam.

When Sam looked away, Dean started choking on it, making Sarah's head shoot up.

"Dean," Sam told him as if Dean was messing around with him before realizing he wasn't. "Dean?"

Then, Sam and Sarah woke up yet again to the music. Thinking it was better not to leave the motel, they stayed inside. That didn't work either when Dean slipped in the shower, ate a bad taco, and got electrocuted by the outlet when he plugged in his electric razor, among many other things. After seeing Dean, die many different ways, even Sarah was fed up and the two of them grabbed an axe and dragged Dean to the mystery spot where they tied up the owner. Having Dean, wait beside him, Sam and Sarah got to work. Sarah had to work a little harder due to her strength but with the adrenaline and rage built up inside, it helped keep her going until she heard blood splatter and looked back to see her father on the floor and Sam standing over him in shock.

Once they woke up, Sarah jumped to her feet and grabbed the clock off the nightstand, yanking the cord out of the outlet and flung it across the room, breathing heavily.

Dean stared at his daughter, confused. "Not an Asia fan, I see," he remarked. "You okay, Baby Girl?"

"Ask me again when it's Wednesday," she told him and threw herself back onto the bed, face-first. Sam couldn't agree more with his niece.

They entered the diner with the same people which Sarah used her pickpocket skills to swipe the old man's car keys from his sweater pocket as the family made their way to the table. Dean let her slide in first before he slid in after her.

"Hey. Tuesday. Pig in a poke," Dean pointed at the menu.

Sarah placed the car keys on the table.

"What are those?" he asked her, staring at them.

"That old man's," she replied, lowering her head onto the table again.

"And what did I saw about pickpocketing, Sarah Lynn?" Dean raised his eyebrows at her in reminder.

Sarah lifted her head long enough to say, "Trust me. You don't want him behind a wheel," and lowered it back down, shutting her eyes.

The waitress walked up to take their order.

Dean stared at his daughter, "Uh, yes." He slowly looked up at the waitress. "I'll have the special, side of bacon, and coffee."

"Hey, Doris," Sam spoke up next, "what I'd like is for you to log in more hours at the archery range. You're a terrible shot."

The waitress stared at him surprised he knew that. "How do you know I…?"

He nodded, "Lucky guess."

The waitress looked over at Dean who nodded, smiling before she walked away. Dean then looked over at Sam. "Okay, so you both think you're caught in some, what again?"

Sam stared down at the table, his hands in his jacket pockets, "Time loop."

"Like _Groundhog Day_ ," he nodded.

"Doesn't matter, there's no way to stop it."

"Jeez. So you're grumpy, too, I see," Dean laughed.

"Yeah, we are. You wanna know why?" Sam asked.

"Why?"

"Because this is the hundredth Tuesday in a row Sarah and I have been through and it never stops," he told him and raised his eyebrows once, "Ever. So, yeah, we're a little grumpy."

Out of nowhere, to Dean anyway, Sarah said, "Hot sauce."

Dean looked over in her direction, "What?" he asked as the waitress walked up and placed Dean's coffee in front of him and Sam caught the bottle and set it on the table without even looking. "Nice reflexes."

"We knew it was gonna happen, Dean," Sam told him. "We know everything that's gonna happen."

"You don't know everything," he scoffed.

"Yeah, we do."

Together, the brothers said, "Yeah, right. Nice guess."

"It wasn't a guess," Sam told him.

"Right, you're a mind reader," they said together as Sarah sighed, obnoxiously loud. "Cut it out, Sam. Sam." The brothers moved closer to each other. "You think you're being funny, but you're being really, really childish." Pausing for a second, they continued, "Sam Winchester wears make-up."

Dean looked away to think of something else to say and continued, with Sam joining in once more. "Sam Winchester cries his way through sex. Sam Winchester keeps a ruler by the bed, and every morning when he wakes up…" Dean waved his arms out and looked out the window, "Okay, enough!" He stared at his brother, terrified of him now.

"That's not all," Sam added, quietly and looked over at the cash register. "Randy, the cashier," he looked back at Dean, "he's skimming from the register."

"That guy sitting over at the counter," Sarah spoke up, "he wears a bunny suit, at night."

The older man she was referring to tried to set his drink down but accidentally spilled it when he wasn't paying attention when he heard her.

"Over there," Sam nodded over at another guy, younger this time, "That's Cal. He's gonna rob Tony the mechanic on the way home."

"What's your point?" Dean stared between Sam and Sarah with just his eyes.

"The point is, we have lived through every possible Tuesday. We've watched you die every possible way, we have ripped apart the mystery spot, burnt it down, tried everything we know to save your life and neither of us can."

"No matter what we do, you still die," Sarah said.

"And then we wake up," Sam said.

"And it's Tuesday all over again."

Thankful they got through breakfast and the Winchesters left the diner.

"The dog," Sam stated as Sarah touched its head.

"'Where's my dang keys,'" Sarah stated next, right before they passed around the old man.

"'Excuse me.'" The woman bumped into Dean.

Dean looked back, "She's kind of cute."

Neither one of them was fazed.

They continued walking for a few steps before Dean stopped and hurried after her. In all the Tuesdays, he had yet to do something like that and returned with a missing person flyer of Dexter Hasselback, the guy they were looking for. The young woman was his daughter. Sam grabbed it before he and Sarah dashed after her next to ask her some questions about what happened to the man. Unfortunately, with Dean's luck he was mauled by the same dog Sarah had petted each time and started the day over.

While Dean ate his breakfast, Sam checked his laptop while Sarah sat on his side, this time. "So the police report says Dexter Hasselback is a professor but that's not all he is," he explained as Sarah skimmed it in her mind.

Dean asked, "What is he?"

"Sarah and I talked to his daughter," Sam nodded at him, "The guy's quite the journalist. Columns in magazines, a blog. He writes about tourist attractions: mystery spots, UFO crash sites. Gets his kicks debunking them."

Sarah nodded at her father in agreement, "Yeah, and it's ironic he gets lost in one."

"He's already put four of these places out of business. Here," Sam turned his laptop around so Dean could skim through the article.

" _Dexter Hasselback: Truth Warrior_?" Dean read in disbelief. "More like a pompous schmuck if you ask me."

Sam agreed, "Yeah, tell me about it. We read through everything the guy's ever written. Must've weighed a ton, he was so full of himself."

"When did you have time to do all this research?" he asked them, barely looking up from the computer screen.

Sam looked over at Sarah, who looked back at him, sharing sympathetic looks between each other before he closed his laptop and packed up. Dean laughed, remembering what Sarah had said about it being ironic Dexter Hasselback got lost in something he made a living tearing down before walking over to the register. Sarah squeezed out of the table behind Sam which he had noticed one of the men who sat at the counter every single time had strawberry instead of maple.

"Peanut, hold up for a sec," he stopped her.

Sarah stopped and looked back, "What?" she asked.

Sam nodded over to show her and Sarah caught it, too.

Dean returned, "What's wrong?"

"That guy changed from maple syrup to strawberry," Sarah told her father.

"It's a free country," Dean shrugged at her. "Man can't choose his own syrup, huh? What have we become?"

"Not in this diner," Sam shook his head. "Not today."

"After every Tuesday we lived, nothing has ever changed," Sarah explained. "Ever."

"Except us."

Sarah quickly looked up at her uncle and knew exactly who they were dealing with. When the day started over once more, both of them knew what to do. While Dean did his routine in the bathroom, Sam and Sarah opened the trunk of the Impala and dug out two wooden stakes. Sam made sure they were sharp enough and stuffed them inside a paper bag.

While Dean ate his breakfast, Sam and Sarah eyed the syrup guy until he stood up to leave and followed after him. Confused, Dean hurried after them, leaving the money on the table. Once outside, they waited until they were isolated from witnesses and Sam pinned the guy up against a metal fence, holding his own stake to the guy's throat while Sarah held hers to the guy's stomach.

"We know who you are," Sam told him. "Or should I say what?"

The guy was panicking, "Oh my God. Please don't kill me."

"Uh, Sam, Sarah," Dean tried to object beside them, not sure what was going on.

"Took a long time but we got it," Sam continued.

The man asked, "What?"

"It's your M.O. that gave it away, going after pompous jerks, giving them their just desserts. Your kind loves that, don't they?"

"Yeah, sure. Okay." The man glanced down at Sam's wooden stake. "Just put the stake down."

Dean tried to persuade them, too.

"No," Sarah snapped at her father which got an eye raise from him and she quickly continued. "After all Uncle Sam and I been through, Dad. There's no way this jerk's getting away." She pushed the stake in more.

"Wait," the man continued to object. "My name is Ed Coleman," he tried to tell them. "My wife's name is Amelia. I got two kids at home. For crying out loud, I sell ad space."

"We know who you are. You're just like the first one we killed, you're a trickster."

Suddenly the man changed form right in front of them. "Actually, bucko, you didn't."

Dean looked between the trickster and his family, surprised, who both glared at the trickster.

"Why are you doing this?" Sam demanded of him.

"You're joking, right?" the trickster replied and nodded at him, "you chuckleheads tried to kill me, last time. Why wouldn't I do this?"

Dean shifted on his feet, "And Hasselback, what about him?"

The trickster looked over at him with just his eyes, "That putz? He said he didn't believe in wormholes, so I dropped him in one," and laughed. "Huh? Then you three showed up. I made you the second you hit town."

Neither Sam nor Sarah was unmoved. "So this is fun for you?" Sam demanded of him in a very serious tone. "Killing Dean over and over again?"

"One: yes, it is fun," he nodded making Dean raise his eyebrows again. "And two: This is so not about killing Dean."

Sam was breathing in and out fast while Sarah was fighting back the tears.

"This joke on you and Sarah. Watching Dean die every day. Forever."

Sarah was holding her wooden stake in a tight grip, wanting so badly to push it all the way in.

"You son of a bitch," Sam muttered, angrily.

The trickster just smiled. "How long will it take you both to realize…you can't save him…no matter what."

Dean noticed how much this was affecting his daughter as she was starting to bite down on her lower lip, spotting a drizzle of blood. He tried to reach in between his brother and the trickster to pull her out but Sarah shoved him off and pointed the stake at the trickster again.

"Oh yeah?" Sam asked. "I kill you, this all ends now."

The trickster felt both stakes dig in deeper, painfully. "Okay. Okay. Look. I was just playing around. Neither one of you can take a joke, fine. You're out of it. Tomorrow, you wake up, it'll be Wednesday. I swear," he said, looking between the brothers.

"Yeah, right, and Ash Ketchum will eventually grow up and win a league," Sarah glared at him, not believing a word.

The trickster tried to look down at her without having to move his neck, "If I'm lying, you know where to find me. Having pancakes at the diner."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them.

"How about we just kill you," Sarah glared at the trickster.

"Sorry, kiddo," he told her, "can't have that." With that, the trickster snapped his fingers and Sam and Sarah woke up in the motel room. Only this time, the radio was playing difference music.

They sat up and looked over to see Dean brushing his teeth at the sink. "Were you gonna sleep all day?" he asked them.

"No Asia," Sam said suddenly.

"Yeah, I know. This station sucks."

Sam looked at the clock and saw it was Wednesday. "It's Wednesday," he said, excited, getting Sarah's attention. She was just as excited. Sarah stood up and started jumping on the bed, chanting _It's Wednesday_ over and over again.

"Sarah, quit jumping before you fall and hurt yourself," Dean scolded her. "And someone turn that thing off."

Sam shoved the covers back, "What, are you kidding? This isn't the most beautiful song you ever heard?"

Sarah leaped over to Sam's bed and tackled him back down, "You bet it is, Uncle Sammy!"

He wrapped his arms around her as he smiled.

"Jeez," Dean spectated, walking from the sink. "How many Tuesdays did you two have?"

Sam and Sarah looked over at him when they heard Dean remembered something from the day before. "You remember, Dad?" Sarah was the one to ask.

"I remember you were wracked out of it yesterday, then I remember running into the trickster," he told them and shook his head. "But no, that's about it."

"All right, pack your stuff," Sam said, reaching over to grab his collared shirt to throw it on. "Let's get the hell out of town. Now."

"No breakfast?"

Sam buttoned up his shirt before looking back up at him to respond, "No breakfast."

Sarah was standing again on the foot of Sam's bed. "Hey, Dad," she said. "Since I just lived through a hundred Tuesdays that counts for a hundred days, right? So I'm not grounded anymore?"

"Nice try, Sarah but that was only one day that you lived over and over again," Dean told her. Sarah slumped her shoulders, defeated. "But I guess I could count them as separate days as long as you finish that essay I told you to write."

That brightened her face, "Yeah, I did, Dad, and Uncle Sam already read it, too. He loved it, right, Uncle Sam?" She twisted her body to look back at her uncle.

"It was beautiful. I loved it," he agreed.

"Then with the hundred Tuesdays and the essay finished, I'd say you are a free woman." Dean smiled at his daughter and got jumped on by her, squeezing his neck, tight.

"Thank you, Dad and I promise to never hurt Uncle Sam like that again," she told him from his shoulder. Dean just smiled as he held her in his arms.


	110. Chapter 110- Mystery Spot (Part 4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 110

While Dean packed the car, Sam and Sarah stayed up in the motel room, packing up the rest of their stuff. Sarah stuffed the rest of her clothes inside her duffel bag, sitting sideways on hers and Dean's bed.

"Uncle Sam," she finally spoke after a while of silence.

Sam acknowledged his niece as he packed his clothes in his backpack, "Hm."

"Do you think there's any truth to what the trickster said yesterday? Do you think there's really no way of saving Dad?" Sarah asked.

"Don't let the trickster's words get to you, Peanut. I said we would save your dad and that's exactly what I plan to do." Sam stuffed the last shirt in his bag.

Sarah sat there for a moment before continuing to pack, stopping again when she picked up her framed photo of her and her father together at some point over the last two years. Both of them were smiling as Dean held his head against hers as he held Sarah in his arms. Those two years had been the best years of her young life and now the clock was clicking down and it seemed Dean was still going to hell. Seeing him die over a hundred times never got any easy and if she had to do it again it would kill her. Each time, her emotions twisted and turned, and her chest felt like someone was squeezing the heck out of her heart, and drained all life from her. By the fiftieth time, Sarah was exhausted.

A gunshot snapped Sarah out of her thoughts. She quickly looked over at her uncle before springing to her feet and dashed outside just time to see that Cal guy run off and Dean on the ground, bleeding from his chest.

"Daddy!" she screamed just as Sam had dashed outside, behind her and ran down the stairs and dropped behind her father, turning him from his side, onto his back against her lap. "No, this wasn't supposed to happen today. No, please, Daddy. Stay with us, please don't go. Please don't…"

Sam hurried and dropped beside his niece. "Dean. No, no, no. Not today, not today," he kept saying.

Sarah looked at her uncle as tears ran down both sides of her face, "Do something, Uncle Sam. Please do something."

Sam closed his eyes but when he opened them he was still staring at a lifeless brother. Sarah tried it but got the same results. Suddenly, she got to her feet and ran off in the direction of the diner with Sam calling after her.

She ran as fast as she could and shoved the front door open, drawing attention to herself as Sarah ran inside and stopped. The trickster was nowhere to be found. He wasn't sitting at the counter eating pancakes with any kind of flavor.

More tears filled Sarah's eyes as she shook her head, backing away and out of the diner. Standing there in the middle of the sidewalk with new activity going on, Sarah let the tears fall. That was it. She lost him. She lost her hero, her best friend, her father.

"We tried, Dad. We tried."

At that point, Sam ran up behind his niece. "Peanut?" he said as he walked closer. Sam kneeled down to her level and placed his hands on her upper arms. "It's okay, Peanut, I'm here. It'll be okay." His voice was breaking and though he was trying to reassure his niece, he tried to reassure himself as well. His brother was gone. The one person who had always been there for him since as long as he could remember. The one he turned to more than his own father and who he looked up to was now gone.

Sarah turned around on the spot and grabbed onto her uncle's neck, crying into his collar bone. No words came from her mouth as she just cried, letting it all out.

"Shh, it'll be okay, Peanut. We're gonna find that trickster, all right. We're going to find that son of a bitch and make him fix this, no matter how long it takes." Sam held onto his niece in a tight embrace and let her have as much time as she needed. None of them cared who stared at them or what they murmured. It really didn't matter when the man they loved was gone.

Over the next six months the two of them kept their eyes and ears open for any sign of the trickster as they continued with other hunting jobs they came across. Nothing else mattered at that point but trying to undo what happened that Wednesday.

If one thought Sarah grew up too fast before, it was nothing what those six months did. In fact, she shipped most of her stuff to Bobby's house, leaving just her clothes and hygiene stuff. That was also the last time Bobby heard from any of them. She and Sam got so obsessed with finding the thing they lost contact with the outside world. They kept to themselves and barely a word got said unless needed to. He tried to call them, calling Sam's cellphone every few weeks, hoping someone would pick up. Until one day, Bobby got wind of the trickster and Sam finally called him back.

Bobby told Sam to meet him at the mystery spot where it had all started. Sam and Sarah wandered inside to find the old hunter had everything all set up. He looked back and stood up to go over and hug Sam first who didn't budge an inch before moving onto Sarah. All the cheerful and youthfulness she had left was now drained out of her and she looked tired like Sarah hardly even slept. Bobby looked at the little girl with sadness in his eyes as his heart broke for her. She just didn't seem the same to the old hunter.

He stood up. "It's good to see you two."

"What are we doing here, Bobby?" Sam was the first of the two to speak.

"This is the last place we're sure the trickster worked its magic," Bobby shrugged.

"So?"

"So you want this thing?" he asked Sam as he backed away. "I found a summoning ritual to bring the trickster here."

Sam stepped around the ritual Bobby built, "So what do we need?"

"Blood," he replied.

"How much blood?"

"Ritual says near a galleon," Bobby shrugged. "And it's gotta be fresh, too."

Sarah hadn't moved from her spot, staring at the floor. She finally looked up, "Where are we supposed to find a galleon of blood? We would have to let someone bleed to death to get that much." Her words sounded like the way Sarah looked, like she was forcing herself to speak.

"And it'll have to be tonight," he added. "Or not for another fifty years."

"Then let's go get some," Sam stated, turning to leave.

Sarah may have been obsessed over finding the trickster but not even that could overcome her huge heart. But she was too out of it to argue and nothing more was uttered as she looked down at the floor again. She wanted her father desperately, every single day and night. The only reason she kept going was for Sam and the possibility that everything could be fixed and he had made damn sure to drill that into his niece's head.

Bobby watched the young man walk back towards the exit, telling his niece to follow before Sam realized he wasn't following, too. "You break my heart, kid," Bobby told him.

Sam was taken aback at that. "What?"

He shook his head, "I'm not gonna let you murder an innocent man. Is that really what you want to teach your niece?"

"Then why did you bring me here?"

"Why?" Bobby questioned. "Because it was the only way either of you would see me. Because I'm trying to knock some sense into you." He stepped towards Sam, "Because I thought you'd back down from killing a man."

"Well, you thought wrong," Sam told him, coldly. "Leave the stuff. We'll do it ourselves."

Bobby shook his head once, not budging an inch, "I told ya, I'm not gonna let you kill anyone."

Sam's anger got the best of him. "It's none of your damn business what I do!" he exclaimed.

Bobby noticed Sarah hadn't even flinched at the sudden volume change. She just stood there, staring at the floor. He remembered the life and energy that kid had. Where did it all go? What happened to the sweet, innocent kid he knew, in both her and Sam? Bobby looked back at Sam, "You want your brother back so bad…" He reached down and pulled out a sharp, black knife and held it out to him, "…fine."

Sam glanced at the knife then back at Bobby. "What are you talking about?"

"Better me than a civilian."

"You're crazy, Bobby," Sam told him, "I'm not killing you."

"Oh," Bobby nodded. "Now I'm the crazy one."

Sam stared at him, emotionless.

"Look, Sam. I'm old. I'm coming to the end of my trail. But you can keep fighting, saving folks. But you need your brother. Sarah needs her daddy. So let me give him back to ya." As Bobby said that, Sarah finally looked at him, switching between him and her uncle.

"No, Uncle Bobby, that's not right," she muttered.

"It's okay, Sarah," he assured her. "You, your dad, Sam…you three are the closest thing I have to family. I wanna do this." He offered Sam the knife again which he took this time.

Sarah looked up at the adults, feeling finally coming back to her eyes. "Then don't expect me to watch," she said before she turned to leave the room, stopping just on the other side of the wall and stared at the floor. It wouldn't be the first time someone had to die so her father could live. First it was that athlete from Nebraska, then it was her grandfather, and now it Bobby. Sarah hadn't cried since a couple weeks after they lost Dean. By that point, she didn't see any reason to continue when it drained her energy and made her heart ache. Now at the thought of losing Bobby made the tears return and when she heard the knife go in, they just flowed as Sarah heard Sam call out for the old man. There was a new voice in the room after that and Sarah recognized it and dashed back into the room, her sadness turned to anger and hatred as she saw him stand there holding a wooden stake in his hand, talking to Sam.

"Let me tell ya," he was telling him, "Whoever thought Dean was the dysfunctional one has never seen you with a sharp object in your hands."

"Hey!" Sarah protested, not sitting too well with her father or uncle being insulted, especially her father. She searched around the room for Bobby's lifeless body from the corner of her eye but he was nowhere to be found. What in the world was going on here? Where did Bobby go? The trickster was just laughing. "Bring my dad back," she ordered him.

The trickster looked over at where she was standing, confused. "Didn't my girl send you the flowers? Your dad's dead." He shook his head, "He ain't coming back."

Sarah breathed through her nose fast as her heart beat faster.

"His soul's downstairs doing the hellfire rumba as we speak."

"Just take us back to that Tuesday," Sam pleaded with him, tiredly.

Sarah looked over at her uncle before looking back at the trickster. "No, take us to that Wednesday," she pleaded instead.

"We won't come after you, I swear."

"You swear?" the trickster asked.

"Yes," they both said in union.

The trickster thought about that, looking up at the ceiling, "I don't know. Even if I could…"

"You can," Sam told him.

"True," he looked over at them. "But that don't mean I should."

Sarah sucked on her lip, which was becoming a habit now every time she wanted to cry. She just wanted her father back.

"Sam. Sarah," the trickster broke her thoughts. "There's a lesson here that I've been trying to drill into those skulls of yours."

Sam stared back at him, his voice breaking, "Lesson?" He shook his head, "What lesson?"

"This obsession to save Dean," he answered, walking towards them. "The way you all keep sacrificing yourselves for each other? Nothing good comes out of it." The trickster shook his head once, "Just blood and pain."

Sarah stared up at the demi-god trying to hold everything back, feeling it get lodged in her throat and she couldn't swallow. The bottom lip she had been sucking on was now starting to quiver.

"Dean's your weakness. Both of you," he continued. "The bad guys know it, too. He's gonna be the death of you." The trickster shrugged and backed away, "Sometimes, you just gotta let people go."

"He's my brother," Sam shrugged.

"And my dad," Sarah managed to mutter.

The trickster tossed the stake into his other hand, looking to the side, "Yup," he said and looked back at them, "and like it or not this is what life's gonna be without him."

"Please," Sam and Sarah both continued to beg.

He scoffed, shaking his head at the ground. "I swear, it's like talking to a brick wall. And I would expect better from you, Sarah with your whole what's-dead-should-stay-dead philosophy you follow."

"It's not bringing him back from the dead, just taking us back to when he was alive," she said.

He sighed, one last time, "Okay, look. This all stopped being fun, months ago," the trickster shrugged. "I'm over it."

"So you'll do it?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever, kid." The trickster snapped his fingers, and Sam and Sarah woke up back in that motel room.

Sarah looked up to see her father brushing his teeth at the sink. "You gonna sleep all day?" he asked. No one said anything which Dean stepped towards them. "I know. No Asia. This station sucks." She looked over at the clock which said it was Wednesday then switched back to her father.

Bolting to her feet on the bed, Sarah dashed over and jumped on Dean, surprising the crap out of him and squeezed his neck the tightest she ever hugged her father.

"It's Wednesday," Sam muttered and threw back the covers to stand up and walk over to hug his brother, opposite from his niece.

Dean raised his eyebrows at the hugs he was receiving. "Dude, how many Tuesdays did you two have?" he asked them.

"Enough," Sam replied for both him and Sarah and let go to look at him. "Wait. What do you remember?"

Dean scanned his brother's face as he shifted his daughter and rubbed her back. "I remember you both being whacked out of it, yesterday," he explained. "I remember catching up with the trickster." Dean shook his head, "That's about it."

Sam stared at Dean for a moment and nodded at the floor. "Let's go," he said, softly.

"No breakfast?" he asked.

Sam scoffed, "No breakfast."

"All right, I'll pack the car," Dean made to set his daughter down on her bare feet but Sarah wouldn't let go.

"Wait," Sam stopped him. "You're not going anywhere alone."

Dean looked at his brother, "It's the parking lot, Sam."

"Anything can happen, anywhere," Sarah muttered which Dean caught.

"Just…just trust us," Sam said.

"Okay," he nodded and focused attention on trying to put Sarah down. "Come on, Baby Girl. You need to get down so we can pack and get ready to go. Remember what your grandfather said about being a big girl."

Sarah sniffed back a few tears. "Not yet, Daddy. Just…just a little bit longer, I swear."

"Well, I think you're starting to bruise my neck but, okay." Dean gave in and carried her over to the bed to sit down and shifted his daughter to have her sit on his lap so he could hold her. "It's gonna be…"

"Please, Daddy. Don't say that word. I'm sick of it."

Dean nodded and rubbed her back, sliding his hand underneath her t-shirt. No one said anything as Sam packed all of their bags so Sarah could a moment to regain some of what she had lost. He felt guilty taking his niece down that path they took those six months and vowed never to do it again. It shouldn't have happened.

After what seemed like forever, Sarah finally spoke, lifting her head from his shoulder. "Dad, since Uncle Sam and I spent over a hundred Tuesdays in a row, does that mean I'm not grounded anymore?"

"You spent one day over and over again." He smiled, "But I guess I could count them as separate days as long as you finished that essay I gave you"

"I did and I let Sam read it already, too," she told her father.

"It was beautiful, I loved it," Sam spoke up over from the table where all the bags were ready to go.

"Then with the hundred Tuesdays and the essay finished, I'd say you are a free woman," Dean told his daughter.

Sarah smiled back at him. "I love you, Dad, so much."

"I love you, too, Baby Girl, always, no matter what." He kissed her forehead. "Now, come on. Let's hit the road."

Sarah slid off his lap and went over to grab the clothes her uncle left out for her and went into the bathroom, telling no one to look since it was an open bathroom. When the Winchesters were finally ready to leave, she and Sam gave one last look at the unmade beds before Sam turned out the light and closed the door to follow after Dean. This would probably be one hunting job they would never forget.


	111. Chapter 111- Jus in Bello (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 111

Sarah sat on the small metal cot in the narrow jail cell, leaning up against her father who was sitting on the edge. The three of them were handcuffed and the brothers were chained together at the ankles. The Winchesters had caught wind of Bela's whereabouts but was double-crossed and was arrested on the spot, meeting a "friend" of the brothers they haven't seen in over a year, Hendrickson who had been chasing them since the shapeshifter hunt that took place during a bank robbery.

Sarah was confused why she was being brought in but Dean had neglected to mention that unlike other authorities, Hendrickson had done some deep research and knew all about Sarah and her school records. So he didn't hesitate to arrest her, as well.

"Dad, why didn't you tell me about all this?" she finally asked.

Dean was hunched over, staring at the cement floor as he leaned on his forearms. "I didn't want to scare you, Baby Girl. I was trying to protect you," he told her, softly.

Sarah looked up at her father upside down for a moment then looked at the far wall, "I know, Dad, I know. Something like being tracked down by police just seems like something that should be told." She felt him kiss the top of her head and apologize.

Hendrickson returned at that point but didn't say anything. He just stood there for a moment, staring at them. "You know what I'm trying to decide?"

Dean scoffed, "I don't know, whether Cialis will help you with your little condition?"

"What to have for dinner, tonight. Steak or lobster?"

"How about bite me," Sarah told him.

Hendrickson just ignored her, "What the hell, surf and turf." He shrugged, "I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you three in chains?"

Dean lifted his head again with a smirk, "You kinky, son of a bitch. We don't swing that way." Sarah smacked her hand over her eyes in embarrassment.

"Now, that's funny," Hendrickson remarked.

"You know, I wouldn't bust out the melted butter just yet," Dean looked forward. "Couldn't catch us at the bank," he returned his head towards Hendrickson, "couldn't keep us in that jail," he shrugged.

Hendrickson shrugged at the floor. "You're right, I screwed up. I underestimated you. I didn't count on you being that smart. Well, your daughter maybe. But now I'm ready."

"Yeah, ready to lose us again," Sarah snickered.

"Ready like a court order to keep you in a super-maximum prison in Nevada till trial." Sam bolted his head up when he said that. "Ready like isolation in a soundproof, windowless cell so small that between you and me, probably unconstitutional. How's that for ready?"

Sarah had bolted into an upright sitting position to look behind her at the man, "Wait, including me?"

"Oh no, Sarah," Hendrickson assured the little girl. "You will be going away to a tight juvenile detention center for severely messed-up kids. So take a good look at your family. You three will never see each other again." Sarah's eyes widened when she heard she wouldn't see her family again as she stared up the man. "Aw, where's those smug smiles? I wanna see them."

"You got the wrong guys," Dean shook his head at the floor.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. You fight monsters," Hendrickson pointed at them. "Sorry, Dean. Truth is, your daddy brainwashed you with all that devil talk and no doubt touched you in a bad place. That's all, that's reality."

Sarah glared over at him, angrily as Sam sat up from his spot on the cot, "Don't you ever talk about my grandfather that way."

"Well, guess what? Life sucks, get a helmet," he shrugged as he continued. "Because everybody's got a sob story. But not everybody becomes a killer," Hendrickson shook his head. There was a sound of a helicopter landing just outside in the parking lot. "Now I have three less to worry about." He looked at his watch, tapping on it as he smirked, "Mm. It's surf-and-turf time," and laughed as he walked away.

Sarah glared at him as he walked away before looking up at the small, barred window then looked over at her father who caught a look with her. Throwing herself against him. Wishing she could hug him better, Sarah cried on his right shoulder.

"I can promise you, Baby Girl, nothing's gonna happen," Dean assured his daughter. "We're gonna get out of here." He lifted his arms up over her head so he could hold Sarah some way. Things were quiet for a few minutes until they heard someone else walk in and shut the door before walking over to their cell.

"Sam, Dean, and Sarah Winchester," the man said. "I'm Deputy Director Steven Groves." He stepped closer, "this is a pleasure."

"Glad one of us feels that way," Dean mumbled, still holding his daughter.

"I've been waiting a long time for you three to come out of the woodwork." The deputy director suddenly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dean, shooting it into his left shoulder. Dean leaped sideways onto the cot, shielding Sarah from the wave of bullets as Sam wrestled the gun away from the guy.

As Sam wrestled with the guy, he saw his eyes turn black and immediately broke into Latin until black smoke shot out of the guy's mouth and dropped limply to the floor. Almost everyone came running with their guns raised. When they saw the deputy director lying on the floor they demanded answers and Sam told them he was possessed which no one believed and ordered someone to prepare the helicopter outside. No one responded, all there was, was static. Soon, after one of the men went outside to check it out, there was a loud explosion.

While everyone ran around like madmen trying to figure things out, all the electricity went out.

"That can't be good," Dean said.

Sarah couldn't pass up an opportunity. "They're here," she said in a voice like the girl from _Poltergeist_.

Sam rolled his eyes at his niece as she snickered. "I swear it's like living with two Deans," he mumbled for the umpteenth time. Sam helped his brother's shoulder as Dean grunted in pain.

"And you gave me a hard time," Sarah reminded her father when she was in his same position.

"I wasn't telling you to suck it up, Sarah," Dean pointed out. "You kept squirming all over the place where I couldn't do anything."

Hendrickson returned, angrily. "What's the plan? Kill everyone in the station and bust you three out?"

Dean demanded, "What the hell you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your psycho friends," he replied. "I'm talking about a bloodbath."

"Who's ever out there ain't no friends of ours," Sarah told the man.

"Look," Sam added, quietly, "you gotta believe us. Everyone here is in terrible danger."

Hendrickson asked, "You think?"

"Why don't you let us out of here so we can save your asses," Dean said.

"From what?" The Winchesters each let out a deep breath, looking everywhere but Hendrickson. "You going to say demons?" he asked and raised his gun towards the ceiling. "Don't you dare say demons."

"Okay, fine," Sarah shrugged, "Fluffy, pink bunnies has taken over the world and they came here to steal all our chocolate Easter eggs and jelly beans. Is that what you would like to hear? Is that so much…ow!" Sarah grabbed the back of her head and started rubbing it where her father had lightly smacked her upside the head and scowled up at him.

"Now's not the time to be a smartass, Sarah Lynn," he scolded his daughter. "We're trying to convince him, not piss him off even more."

Hendrickson was pissed off, "Let me tell you something. You should be a lot more scared of me." With that said, he stormed away.

"How's the shoulder?" Sam asked when Hendrickson was gone.

Dean pulled out a wad of bloody toilet paper from his jacket and looked at it. "It's awesome," he replied, sarcastically and tossed it into the toilet. "I'll live. You know if we get out of here alive. So you got a plan?" Dean squeezed his eyes in pain before noticing the secretary from when they first arrived. "Hey," he got Sam and Sarah's attention and looked over at her.

"Hey, uh, hey," Sam tried to call out to her, gently as he could but the secretary backed behind the wall. Sarah stopped her uncle and tried herself. Who would be afraid of a kid anyway?

Sarah stepped over to the bars of the cell. "Don't be afraid," she assured the woman. "I'm Sarah. You're Nancy, right?"

The secretary nodded, still hesitant.

"Look, my dad is bleeding really badly. Do you think maybe we could get some towels? Just a towel. I promise we won't hurt you, I swear."

The secretary, Nancy turned and left.

Sam and Sarah sighed as Dean said, "Nice try," and turned around. However, when they looked back at the spot, Nancy had returned and was holding a white towel which Sarah thanked her for. Nancy walked slowly and hesitantly towards the cell as Sarah held her hand out through the bars. When Nancy was close enough, Sam reacted and grabbed her, making Nancy scream out until one of the officers came running in with a shotgun, ordering to let her go and backed out of the room.

Sarah turned on her uncle, slapping his leg, "You bonehead. I had everything under control, you know."

Sam held up the beaded cross chain Nancy had been holding since the Winchesters had arrived there. He blessed the chain and dropped it in the toilet.

Sarah asked, of course, "What if one of us has to go?"

Dean looked over at her from his spot on the cot. "Hold it," he said, knowing his daughter was just being a smartass.

Time flew by, very slowly. It wasn't long before the Winchesters' stomachs were growling. They passed the time discussing who it could be the demons were possessing and it was getting to the point where the brothers could tell Sarah's bored, rebellious phase was coming out as she was lying on the cold, hard floor, kicking the metal frame of the cot.

"Knock it off, Sarah," Dean warned her.

"I'm bored," she replied.

He rolled his eyes up towards the ceiling, "Yeah, I heard you the first ten times. Find a way to entertain yourself, _please!_ And without annoying us," Dean quickly added.

"Careful," Sam warned his brother. "This is exactly how it started that night you went after Bela and the rabbit's foot."

"Please don't mention that name in my presence, right now," Dean shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand. "I swear, when I get out of here, I'm gonna…" At that moment, the sheriff walked in and over to their cell, unlocking it. "Well, howdy there, sheriff," Dean greeted, fake cheerfully as the three of them jumped up. The sheriff was looking at the ground.

Sam was confused, "Uh, sheriff?"

"It's time to go." He stepped towards the brothers who backed away.

"Uh, you know what," said Dean, "We're just comfy, right here," and nodded, "but thank you."

Hendrickson appeared at the cell next. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked of the sheriff.

"I'm not gonna sit around here and wait to die," the sheriff said. "We're gonna make a run for it."

"It's safer here," Hendrickson argued.

"There's a SWAT facility in Boulder."

Hendrickson stepped inside the cell, passed where Sarah was standing at the foot of the cot, watching him, carefully along with the sheriff. "We're not going anywhere."

The sheriff finally looked up at the man, "The hell we're not." At that point, Hendrickson held up his gun and shot the sheriff in the chest. Sam and Dean started to wrestle him into the toilet where Sam began the exorcism. The water burned Hendrickson's face as he cried out. Dean had swiped his gun and pointed it at the same officer who had come when Nancy had cried out for help, who had his own gun raised.

"It's too late," Hendrickson told them. "I already called them. They're already coming." Sam shoved his head back inside the toilet and continued before the black smoke finally left Hendrickson's body. Sam moved and Hendrickson's body became limp, falling on the floor as Sam panted.

"Is he…is he dead?" Nancy asked, still afraid.

Her question was answered when Hendrickson suddenly started coughing.

"Hendrickson," Sam said. "Hey. Is that you in there?"

He sat up, his mind lost and confused of what just happened. Hendrickson stared at the floor as he pushed himself up onto the cot. "I, uh…" he shook his head, "I shot the sheriff."

Dean looked away and smirked, "But you didn't shoot the deputy."

Sam gave his brother a hard look while Sarah threw up her hands. "Oh, so I can't make a wiseass joke but you can, Dad?" she asked, annoyed.

The smirk quickly left his face as he looked back at Hendrickson.

"Five minutes ago I was fine and then…" Hendrickson tried to clear his head.

"Let me guess. Some nasty black smoke jammed itself down your throat?" Dean asked him.

Hendrickson just stared up at him until Sam spoke up, "You were possessed."

He looked over at Sam, "Possessed, like possessed."

"That's what it feels like," Sam smirked. "Now you know."

"I owe you the biggest I-told-you-so ever," Dean told him and handed Hendrickson back his gun who took it, looking down at the ground and stood up.

"Officer Amici," Hendrickson looked over at the officer and asked for the keys which made Dean, sigh in relief. He then uncuffed the Winchesters. "All right. So how do we survive?"

While Nancy doctored Dean's shoulder, Sam and Sarah spray-painted devil traps at every single entrance and window. Once Nancy was finished, Dean rushed outside to the impound lot out back and grabbed his duffel bag from the trunk, loading everything he needed. Lights flickered and a gust of wind blew as a huge black cloud of smoke rolled in. Dean grabbed what he could and dashed back inside where Sarah was finishing up the devil trap she was working on.

Dean tossed her a shotgun as he dashed passed her and Sarah quickly leaped to her feet to follow, dropping the aerosol can. Since the entrances were all blocked with salt, the black cloud just passed right over the building. Dean then went into his bag and took out a bunch of charms, passing them out to Hendrickson, Nancy, and the officer. He, Sam, and Sarah showed them they were covered themselves when someone asked.

The group waited it out, preparing for another attack while another group of demon-possessed people waited outside, watching them. Dean and Hendrickson talked while Sarah was busy preparing her own shotgun. That is, until they heard glass break and everyone quickly went to check it out.

Ruby and two other people were standing there. The small window behind them was shattered. Dean couldn't believe who the two people that were with Ruby. Sarah pushed her way through the group as Hendrickson asked how to kill them and stopped in her tracks.

"What. The. Hell?" she said in shock as she stared at the last people she wanted to see at that point.

"You watch your language, Sarah Lynn," Greg scolded her.

Sarah just glared at him. "How did you and Gram know we were here?" she demanded of him.

Hendrickson cleared his throat. "I may have called them, informing them you were being taken into custody."

She looked up at him, "Why?"

"They were looking for you, and thought they deserved to know."

"They're not even on my emergency contact anymore," Sarah continued to stare her grandparents down.

Greg looked over at Dean, "Yes, nice job with that, by the way," he said, sarcastically, "Made our search a whole lot harder."

Dean shrugged, "Couldn't have you going after my little girl, now can I?" he said with a smirk.

"And because of you, our granddaughter is going to a juvenile detention facility," he said, angrily.

"Not right now she's not," Hendrickson spoke up. "Right now, we got a problem to take care of."

Greg nodded, "Fine, you take care of whatever it is you're doing, and my wife and I will take Sarah, and trust me, she will stay out of trouble from now on."

Sarah's anger rose. "Did you not see what was going on out there, you twit? There are several demons out there, waiting to kill us. We go out there we will die."

"I see you haven't been reading your Bible, Sarah," he folded his arms.

Ruby, who seemed forgotten in all of this, rolled her eyes. "We don't have time for this," she said and pushed her way through the group since the devil trap was already broken. Everyone but Sarah and the Holdens followed.

Dean stopped in the doorway to look back at his daughter, "Come on, Baby Girl," he held his hand out to her. Sarah glared at her grandfather one last time before obeying her father. Dean gave the back of her neck a reassuring squeeze as they returned to the main office.

"How many are out there?" Dean asked Ruby.

"Thirty at least," she replied. "That's so far."

"Oh, good. Thirty," he said, sarcastically. "Thirty hit men all gunning for us. Who sent them?"

Ruby had sat down on the edge of a desk. She looked over at Sam, "you didn't tell Dean? Wow, I'm surprised."

"Tell Dad about what?" Sarah asked, looking between the demon and her uncle.

"There's a big new up-and-comer. A real piped piper."

"Sarah, what's going on here? What's she talking about?" Greg asked of his granddaughter.

Sarah ignored him, "So who is he?" she asked Ruby, still pointing her own shotgun at her.

Ruby looked over at her, "Not he. Her. Her name is Lilith."

Dean questioned, "Lilith?"

"And she really wants Sam and Sarah's intestines on a stick. Guess she sees them as competition."

Dean and Sarah looked over at where Sam was leaning in the doorway. "You knew about this?" Dean asked of his brother.

Sam did not respond.

"Geez, Sam. Is there anything else I should know, especially about my own kid?"

Sam looked away as Ruby scoffed, "How about the three of you talk about this later?"

"No," Greg spoke up again. "I want to know more about why this Lilith person wants my granddaughter dead."

"She's not a person, you dumbass," Ruby spat at the old man. "She's a demon."

Greg raised his voice, "I will not stand to be talked to in that way."

Sarah covered her face in complete embarrassment and anger. "Will you just shut up?! Unless you want to die, I suggest you let us do our job and save your pathetic ass."

"You, Sarah Lynn, know full well of showing me some respect," he argued with her.

"I will show you some da..." Dean wrapped his arm around Sarah's mouth, pulling her in. "Baby Girl, just drop it, okay? It ain't worth getting all hyped up over. It's not gonna do a bit a good with them and we have more important things to worry about. Don't let them get you into trouble."

Sarah calmed her nerves at her father's words and nodded before Dean removed his hand. "Yes, sir," she replied and received a kiss on the head before he let her go.

Dean turned back to Ruby, "You were saying?"

"We'll need the Colt," she told him and looked between the Winchesters neither one of them saying a word. "Where's the Colt?"

Sarah rubbed the back of her head as Dean tried to come up with a good excuse. It was Sam who answered honestly, "It got stolen."

"I'm sorry I must have blood in my ears. I thought I just heard you were stupid enough to let the Colt get grabbed out of your thick, clumsily, idiotic hands."

Sarah made a move to do something to the demon until Dean grabbed her by the back of her jacket and pulled her back. "Easy, Sarah," he reminded his daughter. That didn't stop Sarah from glaring at Ruby.

Ruby just stood up and walked away. "Fantastic," she mumbled out loud to herself. "This is just peachy."

"Ruby…" Sam tried to say but she interrupted him with her hand.

"Shut up."

Dean tightened his grip he still had on Sarah which she then reminded him she still had a shotgun in her hands. At that, he took it from her.

"Fine," Ruby finally said and turned around, slowly. "Since I don't see that there's any other option there's one other way I know how to get you out of here alive."

Dean asked, "What's that?"

She looked over at him with her left hand on her hip, "I know a spell."

"A spell? Like witchcraft?" Greg questioned. "No thank you."

"You don't really have a choice since your grandkid and her idiotic family lost the only weapon that could have saved you," Ruby turned on him and looked around at the rest of the group. "It will vaporize every demon in a one-mile radius." She looked over at Dean and Sarah, "Myself included."

Sarah smiled at that, "Oh joy," she said, sarcastically. "We can get rid of you, too. Everyone wins."

Ruby looked down at her, placing both hands on her hips. "Yes, you all let the Colt out of your sight and now I have to die."

"Guess that's how the cookie crumbles," Sarah shrugged.

"Just be more careful next time," she said. "How's that for a dying wish?" Ruby sat back down on the edge of the desk.

Dean let go of Sarah. "Okay. What do we need to do?"

"Aw, you can't do anything. This spell is very specific. It calls for a person of virtue."

He shrugged, "I got virtue."

Ruby laughed, "Nice try. You're not a virgin."

Dean laughed, "Nobody here is a virgin."

Sarah cleared her throat, loudly. "Uh, Dad," she told him, "Remember me?"

She and Dean noticed everyone was looking at Nancy. "No," said Dean. "No way. You're kidding me. You're…"

"What? It's a choice, okay?" Nancy said.

"What, so you…? You never…Not even once? I mean, not even…?"

"Dad, not everyone sleeps with almost every person they meet, you know," Sarah defended the young woman. She then turned back to Ruby, "So what can Nancy and/or I do?"

Ruby stood up, "One of you can hold still…" She walked over to them and stopped. "…While I cut your heart out of your chest."

"What?" both of them questioned.

Dean stepped in, "What are you, crazy?"

"I'm offering a solution," Ruby slowly turned her head towards him.

"You're offering to kill somebody," he argued.

"Isn't that what you do?" Greg asked Dean, sarcastically with his hands on his sides.

Dean rolled his eyes but tried his best to contain himself.

"What do you think is gonna happen when the demons get in?" Ruby asked of him.

"We're gonna protect them, that's what," Hendrickson spoke up.

She glared at him, "Very noble."

Nancy tried to speak up for herself but no one was listening.

"I'll do it," Sarah finally said. "Let the other girl live."

"Hell, no," Dean objected to that. "You're not sacrificing yourself, Sarah Lynn."

She shrugged, "Why not? I got nothing else to lose. Last I checked, Dad, you're still going to hell. I can't…." Sarah shut her eyes tight at the floor. "If it'll save everyone else, I'm all for it. I risked my life many times before, what's so different about now."

"Those other times we had a chance to keep you alive, Sarah. This you're actually willing to die and I'm not gonna allow it."

"We don't have a choice, Dad. Let me do this!" She argued back. Sarah wasn't one to want to argue with her father like this but she wasn't going to let someone die in her place, not when she could stop it.

"I agree with your father on this one, Sarah," Greg added. "You're just a child. You have your whole life ahead of you."

Sarah turned on her grandfather, "I don't care! I want to do this. Nancy's still young, too. She still has time to do stuff." She turned around to face Ruby, "Do it, but make it quick!"

"Certainly," Ruby replied but Dean stepped between them.

"I said no, Sarah Lynn. We will figure something else out, no one has to die. Not you. Not Nancy."

"We don't sacrifice people," Hendrickson added. "We do that, we're no better than them."

Sarah was silent for a moment before she finally gave in. "Okay, but if we can't think of something soon than we're trying it Ruby's way." She just realized what she just said. "Did I seriously just agree with Ruby?"

"Whether you agree or not, we don't have a choice," Ruby said.

"Well, your choice is not a choice," Dean told her, angrily.

"Sam," she turned to look at Sam who's been silent all this time. "You know I'm right."

Sam tossed it around his head. They had two choices and he sure as hell wasn't going to use his niece.

Dean chuckled over at his brother, "Sam?" No response. "What the hell is going on? Sam, tell her."

Sam sighed, "Peanut, if Nancy is willing, let her do it."

"I'm fine with it if it'll save everyone out there," Nancy admitted.

"Hell, no," Sarah spat. "If we're gonna do it then it will be me."

Dean yelled, "Stop!" looking around the group. "Stop! Nobody kill any virgins. Sam, Sarah, I need to talk to you." He started walking out of the office and into the hallway. Sarah looked at Ruby before following after her father, and then Sam followed. "I can't believe you're actually considering this, Sarah."

"I do what my heart tells me to do, Dad and you said it once, too: this is a dangerous job."

"Yeah but you save that for a very last resort. You're not sacrificing yourself, Sarah. Sam, a little help, here," he turned to his brother.

"We don't have a choice, Dean and Nancy said she'd do it," Sam shrugged.

"That is not what I want to hear, Sam."

"We're talking about saving thirty people. Innocent people who are all gonna die, along with everyone here."

Dean looked away for a moment. "It doesn't mean we throw away the rulebook and stop acting like humans. I'm not gonna let that demon kill some nice, sweet, innocent girl who hasn't even been laid."

Sarah cut in, "That's why I should do it. It'll save her and save everyone else, just let me do it."

"I said no, Sarah Lynn. If that's how you win wars then I don't want to win," he shook his head.

Sam asked, "Then what? What do we do, Dean?"

Dean shrugged, not saying a word. He looked down at his daughter. If she wanted to sacrifice herself, she was going to do it, fighting. He looked up again, "I got a plan. I'm not saying it's a good one, I'm not saying it'll work but it sure beats killing virgins."

"Okay," Sarah shrugged, "So what's the plan?"

"Open the doors," he said, "Let them all in. And we fight."


	112. Chapter 112- Jus in Bello (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 112

Sarah stood at one of the entrances to the building, rechecking her shotgun. Her grandfather was there as well, much to her liking but Greg said he wanted to talk while everyone prepared and he wanted to make sure his granddaughter would be fine, after losing to another argument, this time not wanting Sarah to fight in the first place.

Greg was loading his own, having some experience with guns from hunting wildlife with colleagues. "So this is what you've been doing all this time? Hunting demons?" he was asking.

Sarah focused on her shotgun, shoving the last of the salt-filled ammo inside the barrels. "Demons, werewolves, vampires, ghosts," she said.

"Basically everything you used to read?"

"Yup, and some."

"And they're all real?"

Sarah cocked the barrel closed and cocked it to be ready when her father gave the signal. "All real," she repeated and looked up at her grandfather. "If it makes you feel any better, Bigfoot's a hoax." Sarah had heard Dean tell Hendrickson that.

"What gets me is that your father lets you near those things, lets you near weapons," Greg said, amazed and outraged. "You could get hurt, or worse, killed."

"I don't mess around or play with these things," Sarah assured him. "If I did, I'd get it from Dad. Besides, guns came natural to me. I remember when Dad took me shooting at Uncle Bobby's place that day we met. I could see how proud of me he was, in his eye. Ever since I started hunting, I feel I found my calling, what I've been yearning for all my young life. I rarely get in trouble anymore like I used to with you and Mom, may she rest in peace."

"So, your eye…. What really happened to it?" he asked, curious.

"A Daeva, it's a shadow demon another demon, named Meg was controlling to come after my other grandfather because she knew he would come to our rescue," she explained.

"And the car accident?"

"We had found the demon who killed my other grandmother, and Mom and Aunt Kyra," Sarah began.

Greg interrupted his granddaughter, "What?"

"A demon is what killed them, Papa," she told him.

"Your mother died of a brain tumor and your aunt died in a fire," he reminded her.

Sarah shook her head, "Mom had a tumor that would have gone away after a couple surgeries. It was the demon who enlarged it and killed her so there would be an excuse for you and Gram to search for Dad and get me into hunting. Aunt Kyra woke up while the demon was feeding me demon blood and it didn't like that she tried to get in its way so the demon pinned her to the ceiling and caught the place on fire."

"So is that Lilith the demon who did all that?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head again. "The demon that did all that is dead. Dad was the one to shoot him dead with the Colt, a special gun that could kill anything supernatural. That demon is no longer walking around or breathing."

"Wait, you said it was feeding you demon blood. What does that mean?"

Sarah stared at the floor, kneeled there on one knee, resting her left arm on her upturned knee. "I don't know," she shrugged. "I guess I have demon blood inside of me, and Mark said Mom knew which explains why she was so afraid of me."

"Your mom wasn't afraid of you, she loved you. You just frustrated her a lot," Greg shook his head, speaking softly.

"No, she was afraid, trust me. I saw the look in her eyes." Sarah looked up at her grandfather, "I don't know how she and the demon knew each other but whatever. I understand now why. She wasn't raised a hunter like Dad was and that's why he was never afraid of me, and that's why I eventually forgave her. She's still my mother, after all and honor her as God commands."

Greg seemed really impressed. "Wow, you sure have grown up the last few years," he complimented. "You seem more mature than what you were before."

Sarah looked ahead at the doors. "Yeah, hunting does that to you. My grandfather's dying wish was for me to be a kid as long as possible. That just because I had to be a hunter, doesn't mean I had to let myself grow up too fast."

"Speaking of that, why were you so intent on sacrificing yourself back there? What did you mean you had nothing else to lose?" Greg asked.

Sarah continued to stare at the doors. "You wouldn't understand. It's a family issue between Dad, Uncle Sam, and me."

Suddenly, her father's voice was heard, "All set?"

Sarah stood up at once. "Get ready, we don't have time to lag," she told her grandfather.

Greg stood up, too. "Just remember, Sarah," he told her. "We're still family just as much as your father and uncle are."

She didn't say anything. Instead, Sarah whipped out her knife Dean had given her for Christmas from her back pocket and flicked it open to kneel down and scratch a corner of the devil's trap away before standing up and closing the blade, sliding it back into her pocket and waited for the signal. "All set here, Dad!" she called back.

"Let's do this!" she heard him yell.

Sarah bolted to the left door and kicked away the salt which Greg did the same to the right side.

"Just tell me what to do, Sarah," he told her.

Sarah shoved the door open and backed away, holding the shotgun at the ready. Greg opened the other door and hurried back to stand beside his granddaughter. They waited until the demons started dashing inside.

"Shoot!" Sarah told her grandfather and aimed at the first one, knocking it back.

Greg did not hesitate and shot the next one, backing up along with his granddaughter. More kept coming and the two of them kept right on shooting. When one managed to get close, Sarah jumped into the air to kick the demon in the chest, knocking them back. It impressed Greg a lot. He hadn't seen so much energy before that Sarah was exerting.

Eventually, the two of them backed into the main office, meeting up with Sam and Dean. There was a point when Greg was paying more attention to Sarah and got attacked by one of the demons. Sarah held up her shotgun to shoot it but was sent back against the wall, along with her father and uncle, pinned there.

Greg sat up, painfully, "Sarah!" he called out.

The Winchesters struggled as Dean called out to Hendrickson to turn on a tape player

Soon, a recording of Sam's voice came over on the loudspeaker, speaking in Latin. The demons struggled against it, painfully. After what seemed like forever, they couldn't resist and black smoke shot out of their mouths into the air and swirled into one big, dark cloud before exploding. The Winchesters dropped to the ground and Greg looked over to see Dean struggle up on his knees to check Sarah, making sure she was all right.

Hendrickson walked in, panting like the Winchesters were and exchanged looks with them. They stood up and Dean just shrugged as Hendrickson chuckled. The lights came back on as the bodies were starting to come to.

Sarah walked over to her grandfather and kneeled down beside him, "You okay, Papa?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm too old for this kind of stuff," he replied and forced a chuckle himself.

"You kidding? You should see Uncle Bobby. He's around your age and one of the best. Of course, you didn't do so bad yourself." Sarah smiled at her grandfather which made him smile in return.

As everyone was being taken care of, the Winchesters talked with Hendrickson.

"I better call in," Hendrickson was saying. "Hell of a story I won't be telling."

"So, what are you going to tell them?" Sam asked, curious.

He smirked, "The least ridiculous lie I can come up with in the next five minutes."

"Good luck with that," Dean nodded at him. "Not to pressure you or anything but what are you planning to do about us?"

"I'm gonna kill you."

Sarah looked up at the man when she heard that, "Wait, what?"

"Sam, Dean, and Sarah Winchester were in the chopper when it caught on fire," Hendrickson explained. "Nothing's left, can't even identify them with dental records."

Sam gave a small smile.

"Rest in peace, guys," he nodded.

Sarah grinned, "If only, right?"

Dean smiled down at his daughter and gripped the back of her neck, playfully. Each one exchanged handshakes with Hendrickson before turning to leave.

Outside, the Winchesters headed over to the impound yard where the Impala was parked. They heard Greg call out to Sarah. They stopped and looked over at the man standing by his own car, along with his wife. Greg and Beth started walking towards them. Dean prepared himself for a fight but it never came.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to fight with you, Dean. Not anymore," he assured the man which took Dean by surprise. "Look, I'm not too keen on my granddaughter doing something as dangerous as hunting and I think you're a horrible father for letting her do this, but after what I seen last night, I know now that she's in the best of hands."

"What are you saying?" Dean asked.

Beth agreed, "What are you saying, honey?" Beth had safely hid in one of the cells away from all the action so she didn't see anything.

Greg looked down at the ground, his hands hanging out of his jeans pockets. He looked over at Sarah, "Apart from the whole guns and killing part, I am proud of the person you've become, Sarah. I never thought of just how much your father was influencing you. I just saw what I wanted to see. To tell the truth I was a little jealous, I guess, especially when that day I saw you run to your other grandfather when I hit you. That ate me up inside, Sarah for a long time. I never intended on hurting you and I'm so sorry for what I did. For everything."

Sarah stared up at her grandfather in shock. She had never heard him apologize, not to her anyway.

"If you want to stay with your father, then that is okay by us." Beth tried to object but Greg stopped her. "It'll be fine, Beth. Our granddaughter is in good hands, trust me," he assured her.

"You really mean all this?" Sarah finally managed to speak.

Greg nodded at her, "With my whole heart, as God as my witness. But, can you at least write now and then, or call? We really would like to hear from you, especially now that we know what you do for a living. Just so we know you're still alive."

"I'll try but I make no promises," she admitted. Sarah then felt her legs move and went over to hug her grandfather around the legs. Greg lifted her up and hugged her in return.

"We love you, Sarah, we always have even when it didn't seem like it," he told her and put her down on her feet so Beth could hug her.

Dean cut in, "One question though that's been on my mind the past year."

Beth stood up straight, "What's that?"

"You sent our dad photos of Sarah. How come?" He shrugged, "Why not give them to me when I first picked Sarah up?"

The couple exchanged looks between each other. "I didn't think of it at the time," Greg turned back to Dean. "Your dad and I talked a couple times over the phone. He personally asked me for some and so Beth and I went through our photo albums and mailed them to your father, hoping you would get them, too."

"We found them in the envelope you sent them in when we were going through his things." Dean turned to look at Beth, "you wouldn't happen to have more embarrassing photos, would you?"

"Dad," Sarah moaned which Sam snickered to himself.

Beth lit up, "I have tons more. Would you like me to send some more?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Our home base is our friend, Bobby's house," Dean told her.

"We still have his information so I will get those photos out to you as soon as possible," she smiled.

Dean smiled in return, noticing his daughter turning a shade of red in the face. "I loved the one of her at three in the bathtub but somebody here decided to rip it up," he was enjoying embarrassing Sarah.

"Oh, I have plenty of those and I think I have a couple home movies of it, too."

Sam cleared his throat, "As much as I am enjoying this, we really should be leaving before somebody sees us since we're supposed to be dead now."

Greg and Beth exchanged looks between each other before turning back to the Winchesters.

"I will explain one day," Sarah assured them and the five of them parted ways. Beth still did not understand any of it though.

The Winchesters rested up in a motel before hitting the road. Sarah was actually able to catch an episode of Pokémon. It was a rerun but she wasn't picky. She lied on her stomach, hanging off the foot of the bed, with Dean lying right next to her, engrossed in the anime, as well.

Sam asked, "Explain to me again what is the point of this show?" But the only answer he received was a shushing sound. When there was a knock on the door, Dean motioned for him to answer it. Sam stood up and walked over to answer the door which Sarah quickly moved her head when he walked in between her and the TV. It was Ruby. Sam stepped aside to let her inside and she walked over to the other two.

"Switch over to the news," she told them.

Sarah looked up at the demon and pulled out the remote from underneath her, reluctantly switching the TV over to the news. The female news reporter was talking about an explosion that had happened hours before at the police station and everyone the Winchesters had tried so hard to save were all dead.

Sam was the first to speak, "Must have happened right after we left."

Dean had sat up while the news reporter was talking.

"Considering the size of the blast," Ruby tossed three pouches to each of them, "smart money's on Lilith." Each of them caught them in their hands.

"What's in these?" Dean asked of the demon.

Ruby was crossing her arms again, "Something that'll protect you. Throw Lilith off your trail. For the time being, at least," she mumbled the last part.

"Thanks," Sam thanked her.

"Don't thank me. Lilith killed everyone." Ruby started walking across the room, "she slaughtered your precious virgin plus a half a dozen other people." Ruby stopped to look over at Dean, "So after your big speech about humanity and war turns out your plan was the one with the body count," and looked back at Sam, "do you even know how to fight a battle? You strike fast and you don't leave any survivors so no one can go running to tell the boss. So next time, we go with my plan."

Ruby turned to leave the motel room and stopped halfway, turning back around to add one last word. "Maybe you should listen to your kid more." Once that was said, she opened the door and was gone, the door closing behind her.

Dean closed his eyes at the floor and sighed to himself. When he opened them, Dean looked over at Sarah who was staring at the pouch in her hands and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Sarah looked up, "I don't blame you for what you did, Dad. You were just being my dad and looking out for me." At that, she was pulled in towards him and Dean squeezed her tight to him.

Why couldn't they ever catch a break?


	113. Chapter 113- Ghostfacers

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 113

A couple weeks after the incident with Lilith and the explosion, the Winchesters went on a ghost hunt in an abandoned house. Sarah was glad to be back on a regular old ghost hunt just like they used to do before her family got yanked into dealing with demons being released from hell and her father's deal of going there himself. However, they ran into a bunch of clowns Sam and Dean were not excited to see.

Posing as police officers, they asked the group of camera-welding fools for some kind of identification when one of the guys recognized Sam and Dean.

"Whoa. I know you," he told Dean, shining his flashlight on him.

Dean looked back at him for a second before he said, "Sure you do. Give me some identification. Come on."

"Hold on a second. I know the both of you guys," the guy scoffed and lowered his flashlight. "Yeah."

The guy's friend asked, "What?"

He knew for sure. "Yeah."

Sam stared at him in realization. "Holy shit."

"What's wrong, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked her uncle. "Do you really know these losers?"

"Uh, West Texas," Sam said, shifting on his feet, looking between the guy and his niece. "That time you stayed at Bobby's while your eye was healing and we had that tulpa to take out. Those goofballs your dad and I told you about that almost got us killed. Uh, Hellhounds or something?"

Dean looked over at the guy as it started coming back to him who he was. "Fuck me," he said in realization, as well.

"We're not Hellhounds anymore," the guy stated, matter-of-factly. "It didn't test that well."

"What's going on?" the other guy asked.

"They're not cops, buddy," he shook his head at him. "No."

"So these are them?" Sarah asked, looking the two guys up and down.

"Well, one of them," Dean told her and asked the guy, "Ed, thought you had a partner, didn't you? A different guy?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Is he around here somewhere?"

"Yeah, yeah. He's running around here, chasing ghosts."

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Okay. Well, listen, you and Rambo need to get your girlfriends and get out of here."

The guy Dean called Ed just laughed.

Sarah shined her flashlight on him, "It's not funny, bonehead. Either get your friends out of here or you will all be killed."

"All right, listen here, shorty, okay? We were here fir…" Ed was cut off when Sarah punched him in the groin, sending him to his knees.

"Call me, shorty again, I dare ya," she threatened.

Dean had a heck of a time keeping a straight face and tried to be stern. "Sarah, that wasn't…" he cleared his throat, "…necessary. What did I say would happen if you did that again and no one was threatening you first?"

Sarah groaned, "But Dad, he…"

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Sarah Lynn. You and I will be having a chat later after this job is over. As much as the guy needed it, you don't just punch people in the groin for no reason. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," she moaned at the floor and apologized to Ed who was helped up by his friend.

Much to the Winchesters' dislike, they had to work with the losers until the ghost was defeated. They had lost one of Ed's friends though and it devastated them but at least the ghost was destroyed and they showed the whole show to the Winchesters once they put it together.

"What the hell was that?" Sarah just blurted out when it was finished.

Dean patted her upper back, looking at the floor, "Way to be subtle, Baby Girl."

"Seriously, that was the cheesiest thing I ever seen and now I want to go throw up."

"That, my young friend is reality which we will show to the world," Ed said.

Sarah raised an eyebrow up at him, forcing a grin. "Oh yeah, sure. Well, maybe you will get a few hits on YouTube then." The Winchesters stood up to leave.

Once outside, standing on either side of the Impala, they heard Ed and his friends scream and quickly slid inside and Dean drove out of there and decided to drive over to Bobby's place in Sioux Falls to see if his package had arrived. The guy had never been this much excited to receive any kind of mail before in his life as he was for this one. To be fair, besides credit cards, Dean had never received any mail before.

Calling ahead, Dean learned he did receive a package in the mail from Sarah's grandmother and basically floored it all the way there, pulling into the savage yard at first light, the next day. The Winchesters greeted the old hunter first and Bobby brought the package into the kitchen as they ate breakfast.

Dean asked for Sarah's knife so he could cut it open. He wasn't expecting it to be a box and his curiosity got the best of Dean as he tore into it like a kid on Christmas morning. Once the box was open, he looked inside not only finding more photos but a couple stacks of DVDs as well, and along with some other stuff. He picked up the folded letter on top and unfolded it to read it out loud.

"Dear Dean," he read. "My husband and I had a long talk on the way home and he told me everything that happened. Though I greatly do not approve of what you are doing…. Dean paused to say, sarcastically, "shocker," before continuing, "…at least our granddaughter is happy and cared for. That's what counts, I guess. I know you just asked for more photos but I figured you might want some other things like her school awards, past report cards, and honor certificates. We were so proud of her accomplishments despite what we didn't understand of her and I'm sure you will be, as well when you look through this box. Your own father was really proud when my husband told him all about her. The important thing you should know, that is if Sarah hadn't told you which she probably has, is how much she grew up wanting to meet you. I am sure that is only natural for any child who never knew their father. I'm also sure we're probably not your favorite people in the world considering we gave you trouble trying to get Sarah back, but if you ever want to, you are welcome over here for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner, as well as your brother. Take care and God bless you and yours. Sincerely, Beth. P.S. Give Sarah a hug and kiss for me. I miss her hugs and kisses and was so glad to get one that day."

"Wow," Sam said when his brother finished reading the letter. "I can't believe it."

Dean smirked, "Me neither," and tossed the letter on the table before looking through the box, pulling out a stack of papers to go through them, "Amazing."

Bobby asked, "What?"

"Honor roll, straight As, I'm surprised you don't have perfect attendance, Baby Girl. Don't they give out awards for that anymore?"

Sarah was sitting across from her father and stopped in mid-bite of her scrambled eggs. "Uh, yeah, they do. I was sick, sometimes," she told him, nervously.

Dean looked back at her but said, "Oh. Well, it happens sometimes. At least you didn't ditch like I used," and grinned which Sarah forced one, too.

Sam shook his head smiling at his brother and reminded him how old Sarah had been, "Dean, who ditches first grade?"

He just told Sam to shut up with a smirk and took out a small trophy the size of Sam's they found in their father's storage unit and read the words on it, "Summer 2004, Youth Little League: Sarah Winchester."

Sarah perked up at that. "My little league trophy," she said, excitedly and reached across the table to take it from her father and look at it herself, before smiling up at him, "I kept this in my room until I could show it to you, one day."

"You did, huh?" he smiled in return.

Sam was looking through the stack of papers now, sitting at the end of the table. He was looking over Sarah's past report cards, reading teacher comments. "Sounds like you were a fairly good student, Peanut," he praised, proudly.

Sarah just shrugged, "It's no big deal, really."

"But it is, Peanut. I am very proud to read what your teachers had to say about you."

She smiled and thanked her uncle.

Dean was now going through the photos that were in the box, secretly showing Bobby and his brother when Sarah wasn't looking, the embarrassing photos and awed at the sight. Eventually it got Sarah's attention.

"What do you guys keep awing about?" she asked, looking between the men.

"Nothing," Dean said, trying to hide the last photo they were looking at.

"It's an embarrassing photo, isn't it," she nodded this time.

"Maybe," Bobby grinned at the little girl which made her face turn red and hide it in her folded arms on the table.

Sarah moaned, "You guys are horrible."

"But we love ya, Peanut," Sam assured her, reaching over to rub her back and turned towards the other two men, "Hey, should I boot up my laptop so we can watch those DVDs in there?" he nodded at the discs inside the box.

"Hell yeah," Dean replied as if that was the best idea he ever heard.

Sam stood up and went outside to grab his laptop from the trunk of the Impala and booted it up at the kitchen table. Dean looked through the DVDs, trying to decide which one they should watch first. He spotted one that said, _Sarah Lynn's First Game_. Wondering if it meant her little league game, he passed it to Sam when he asked for one. Sam opened the disc drive and the case and popped the DVD inside which automatically popped up on the screen and after loading for a minute, started with a younger Sarah sitting in the middle of the backseat of a car dressed in a red little league shirt and a cap with a badger on the front, and the word Badgers underneath.

"You all ready for your very first game, Sar Bear?" came Mark's voice from behind the camera.

The younger Sarah smiled, "You bet."

"Are you going to hit a grand slam?" he asked her.

"Yeah, right out of the park," she replied and turned to Emily who had been sitting on the opposite side of her. "Do you think Dad played baseball when he was my age, Mom?"

Emily was staring out the window, leaning on her left elbow. "I don't know, Sarah. Quit asking about your damn father," she told her, sounding like she was annoyed.

"Emily, don't curse in front of your daughter," Beth scolded her.

"Well, she needs to stop bringing the guy up, Mom. I'm tired of it."

Dean exchanged looks with Sam and Bobby before looking back at the computer screen. The video switched to when the game had started and Sarah was preparing to bat.

"Sar Bear, look over here," Mark had been walking up to the fence behind Sarah as she swung a few practice swings.

Sarah turned around and smiled before doing some more practice swings for the camera. "Make sure you get it, Mark. I'm gonna dedicate my first homerun to my dad in case he ever sees this."

"But what if he doesn't?" Mark asked.

Sarah shrugged, "I'll still dedicate it to him wherever he is. Besides, Miss Cathy says with God, all things are possible." When she was called up by her coach to bat, Sarah took off at a run.

Mark followed her with just the camera. "Kiddo, I wish I had the faith you have," he muttered.

Dean wrapped his arm around his daughter, exchanging smiles between each other before watching again as the ball was pitched, and Sarah swung and missed the first one as the umpire yelled, "Strike one."

The next one also flew by her. Sarah stepped away as her team's side of the crowd clapped and cheered her on. Taking a deep breath, she walked back to home plate and repositioned the baseball bat over her shoulder. The pitcher, which was the other team's coach, pitched another one to her and this time, it connected. Sarah hit the ball into outfield where a couple little kids were messing around.

The coach yelled for them to grab the ball as Sarah took off at a run, rounding first since they hadn't gotten it yet. It turned out both of the kids wanted to throw it and had started fighting over the ball, giving Sarah the chance to round second, then third. It wasn't until she rounded third did the ball get thrown and she raced towards home plate even though her own coach was yelling for her to stay at third. Mark was telling her, too. The freckle-faced kid on third threw it to the catcher who had dropped the ball and stumbled to get it as Sarah slid into home plate, bringing up a cloud of dust.

The crowd on Sarah's team's side cheered loudly as she stood up and was declared safe. Her whole front of her uniform was covered in dirt as she walked over to the dugout and was showered with praise from her coach and teammates before she reached the back where Mark was now standing on the other side of the chain-link fence.

"Did you get it, Mark?" she asked, breathing hard.

"You bet, the whole thing," he replied.

"Good," she smiled. "For a minute there, I thought I was gonna have to cut me being struck out, out when you edit this." They laughed before Mark praised her. "Mom, did you see that?" Sarah called over to where Emily was sitting on the bottom, metal bleacher.

"I saw it, Sar Bear. Good job. Next time, listen to your coach, okay? No need to be an over achiever," Emily called back.

Dean could see the look of disappointment in his daughter's eyes as she looked over at her mother. Slowly, Sarah removed her helmet. Dean was glad when her coach tried to cheer her up. He, Sam, and Bobby had burst into applaud like they were watching the World Series and Sarah had made the winning hit when she scored a homerun and took turns, hugging and kissing the little girl from where she had been sitting on her father's leg. Sam had switched seats with his brother so Dean could have the best seat of watching Sarah's childhood they missed.

They finished watching Sarah's game before switching to another DVD. This one was just random clips from the year Sarah was four years old, starting with Sarah just being a goofball.

"How old are you, Sarah?" Beth's voice asked behind the camera, this time.

"I am three and a half years old," an even younger Sarah replied, happily, making Dean smile to himself.

"How much longer until your birthday?"

Sarah kneeled down like a frog, thinking for a second before jumping up into the air, "Two months and five days."

"How old will you be?"

"Four," Sarah replied again. "Hey, look what I can do, Grammy." Sarah hurried over to the center of the room and tucked herself into a ball on the floor and somersaulted, landing crookedly on her back.

"Beautiful, angel," Beth praised her, "Simply beautiful."

Sarah smiled up at the camera. "I can do a handstand, too," and tried to attempt a handstand but was only able to stand for a half second. To a little kid, that was enough.

As Sarah watched herself, she couldn't help hear a sniffle and looked back at her father to see a tear on his face. "What's wrong, Dad?" she asked.

Dean smiled back at his daughter, "Nothing, Baby Girl. You're just…so beautiful." He then pulled Sarah into a hug and held her close as the video switched to Sarah on top of a boy two years older than she was, holding his arm behind his back.

"Say uncle," she kept telling the boy. "You have to say it or I won't let you up."

"No, never," the boy struggled against the little girl.

"Then I can't let you up," she said.

Mark laughed from behind the camera, "Sarah, let your cousin up. I think Jacob has had enough."

"Not until he says uncle," Sarah looked over at Mark.

Bobby couldn't help snicker at the scene. "Sound familiar, Dean?" he asked.

Dean looked up at the older man, "what do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"You used to hold Sam down like that until he said uncle," Bobby reminded him.

Sam remembered, too. "Hey, that's right. You did pin me down like that, all the time when we were kids."

Dean laughed at that, "Oh yeah, forgot about that. It was too easy not to, Sammy." He slapped Sam on the shoulder, playfully to which Sam said, "Bite me." Dean turned to his daughter again and held his hand up for a high five as the little boy on the video yelled uncle in defeat. "Awesome job, Sarah," he praised her, proudly as Sarah returned the high five.

The video switched to another day. Emily was actually smiling and in a good mood as she held Sarah in her arms. "Tomorrow's your big day, Sar Bear," she told the little girl. "Are you excited for your birthday?"

Sarah nodded, brightly.

"What would you like for your birthday?" Emily asked her.

"For my daddy to be there," Sarah blurted out.

Well that smile did not last long. "Honey, you need to stop, okay? Your father doesn't care a thing about you. If he did, I'm sure he would be here."

Anger rising inside of him, Dean slammed the laptop shut and stood up to walk over to grab a beer from the fridge, stating he didn't want to watch anymore.

Sarah asked her father, confused, "Why not, Dad?"

"Because in almost all of them it has your mother saying…just forget it. I can't believe your grandmother wanted me to hear that." He walked out of the kitchen.

"Dean, I'm sure Sarah's grandmother probably didn't think about the things her daughter said about you. She just thought you wanted to see Sarah growing up and see the highlights you missed," Sam tried to assure his brother.

Dean stared at the floor with his back to them. "I just can't take hearing how she could tell our daughter all that," he admitted.

"But, Dad," Sarah spoke up. "I never believed it. I never wanted to. I kept telling myself Mom was wrong, that you did care. That you just didn't know and how you would have cared if you did know, and I was right."

He ran his left hand along his hair as he sighed. "I need some air. I'll be back in a few." With that, Dean walked outside to be alone for a while. Sam and Bobby exchanged looks between each other as Sarah stared after her father even after he was gone. She just stared at nothing.


	114. Chapter 114- Long-Distance Call (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 114

The Winchesters didn't stay long at Bobby's and hit the road to continue looking for a way to break Dean's deal, driving all over the country while Dean bonded some more with his daughter, taking her to spring training games, the movies, and anywhere else they could think of. Dean had wanted to finish watching the DVDs so badly and see his little girl when she was younger but Emily was still getting to him. He returned later and tried again while Sam and Sarah continued their research on his deal. Things were pretty good for a while and there were even moments when Emily and Sarah got along great without Dean being brought up and Dean smiled through most of them as he watched his daughter grow before his eyes. The DVDs were from age three to age seven, including her kindergarten graduation and Dean even found himself rewatching his favorites. Sam had to kick him off a couple times, which Sam felt guilty for but needed his computer for a few things. In fact, when Dean wasn't looking, Sam watched some of the DVDs, as well and couldn't help smile at his niece's cuteness.

Dean couldn't help think of only having just three years of Sarah's life as he drove down the highway, the car in complete silence as they drove towards yet another college to talk to a professor who may or may not know how to save him. Secretly, he was hoping there would be something the professor could do but knew in reality there wasn't. There was no way of saving him from the pit and Sarah was going to lose her father for good, this time.

Once they arrived at the college, Sam headed inside to talk to the professor alone. Since the Mystery Spot, Sarah had stuck by her father's side like glue, wanting to spend every waking moment she could with Dean while he was alive in case they couldn't save him.

The two of them waited for Sam on a bench near a small, portable concession stand. Sarah had gotten a hotdog and decided it would be funny to paint ketchup and mustard mixed together on the end of Dean's nose when he least expected it.

Dean grinned over at her. "Hey, you little brat," he said and fished up some ketchup and mustard out of his own hotdog to paint it on the end of Sarah's nose, making her giggle. Dean continued to smile at her and decided to take out his cell phone, flipping it open and brought up the camera feature to snap a picture of Sarah.

Sarah wanted to take a picture of her father like that, also so Dean handed her the phone and let her snap a crazy picture of him before taking one together. Dean moved his head afterwards until the ends of their noses touched and smeared the ketchup/mustard combo around before finally wiping it away. They continued to eat. Since no one was saying anything, Dean decided to start up a random conversation just so they could talk.

"So, who's the best Pokémon that exists?" he asked. "From what I've seen, that dick, Paul seems to have the best ones."

Sarah munched on her hotdog, staring around the campus. She looked up at her father, "Yeah but that's only because he battles and trains them constantly without rest. I think the best Pokémon I've seen, not counting legendaries, is Lucario. He's my favorite."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, "Yup."

"I like that flying scorpion one that Ash has, Gliscor. He looks pretty cool," Dean said.

"Of Ash's Pokémon, I like Buizal because he's tough and hates to give up," Sarah stated.

Dean smiled back at her from leaning on his forearms and looked at the ground to finish his hotdog.

"Dad," Sarah spoke after a few minutes.

"Hm?" he acknowledged her.

"Thanks for taking an interest in my favorite show. I know not many parents do."

Dean leaned back in his seat and wrapped his left arm around Sarah's shoulders and kissed her head. "You're welcome, Baby Girl. Besides, I like it. It's pretty good and I like the message it sends to kids about not giving up and trying your best." He stared down at his daughter for a while just watching her until his cellphone rang and answered it. It was Bobby. He told Dean about a man who killed himself and how it seemed like there could have been a spirit involved.

Sam was walking towards them as Dean and Bobby was wrapping up their phone call. Sarah stood up to run over and meet her uncle halfway. He lifted her up as Sarah asked if the professor knew anything that could help.

"Nope, the professor doesn't know crap," he replied.

"Shocking," Dean said, sarcastically as he stood up, shoving his phone inside his pocket, eating the last bite of his hotdog. "Pack your panties, Sammy. We're hitting the road."

Sam turned around to follow Dean with his eyes, "What? What's up?"

Dean turned around to face his brother. "That was Bobby. Some banker guy blew his head off in Ohio and he thinks there's a spirit involved."

"So you two were talking a case?"

"No, we were, uh, we were talking about our feelings," he said, walking back towards Sam. "And then our favorite boy bands. Yeah, we were talking a case."

Sam placed Sarah down on her feet, "So a spirit…? What?"

"Yeah, well, a banker was complaining about some electrical problems at his pad for like a week. Phones going haywire. Computers flipping on and off." Dean shrugged, "Eh?"

"Sounds like a spirit to me," Sarah shrugged, as well.

"Uh-huh," was all Sam said.

Dean asked, "This not ringing your bell?"

"Well, sure, yeah," he shook his head. "But, Dean, we're on a case."

Dean looked away for a second with just his eyes, "Whose?"

"Yours."

"Right, yeah. Well, could have fooled me." Dean turned to walk away.

Sam forced a smile, "What the hell else we've been doing lately other than trying to break your deal?"

He turned back around again. "Chasing our tails, that's what."

Sam sighed.

"Sam, we've talked to every professor, witch, soothsayer, and two-bit carny act in the lower forty-eight," Dean shrugged with his hands in his jacket pockets as he walked back over to him and shook his head. "Nobody knows squat."

"Dad's right," Sarah agreed. "Since we're coming up short with Dad's case, may as well take on another one until something else comes up."

"Exactly, Sarah. We can't find Bela and we can't find the Colt. So until then, I'd like to do my job."

Sam just stared back at his brother. "Well, there's something we haven't tried," he said after a few seconds.

"No, Sam…" Dean turned his head away.

"Dean," Sam tried to argue.

"No."

"We should summon Ruby."

"I'm not gonna have this fight with you."

Sam raised his voice a tab bit, "She says she know how to save you."

"If Ruby can save Dad then why hasn't she done it already, Uncle Sam? The year's coming to an end and I haven't seen her do a single thing about it," Sarah stepped into the brothers' argument.

"Because she can't," Dean answered.

"Oh really, you know that for sure?" Sam asked him.

He nodded, "I do."

"How?"

"Because she told me, okay?"

Sam stared at his brother in surprise for a moment. "What?" he finally asked.

Dean looked away for a moment. "She told me…flat out…that she could not save me. Nobody can."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at that, wanting so much to yell out, _I told you so_ , so much to her uncle but didn't, knowing this whole mess wasn't easy on him either and contained herself as Dean's eyes were searching the ground. Sam couldn't believe what he just heard and tried to find any words to say.

"You just somehow neglected to mention this to me?" he finally asked.

Dean looked away. Yeah, well, I really don't care what that bitch thinks and neither should you, so…" He turned to walk away.

"So what, now you're keeping secrets from me, Dean?"

"You really wanna talk about who's keeping secrets from who?" Dean pointed out, turning back around to look at Sam yet again.

No one said anything for a while before Sam stormed passed Dean. Dean threw his head back in frustration and turned his head to look over at his brother.

"Now where are you going?"

Sam shrugged his arms up, "Guess I'm going to Ohio," he said, walking backwards and turned around to walk forward.

Dean sighed and looked down at his daughter. "Be thankful you're an only child," he told her and started walking after his brother.

Confused, Sarah stood there, pondering that before running to catch up with her father heading over where they parked the car. It was a couple days drive to Ohio where they met with the victim's wife first who stated her husband was on the phone, one morning talking to no one, it was just static on the other line. Sam looked up the phone number that was on the caller ID while Dean and Sarah surfed the web, looking for anything on the girl, Linda, the husband was supposedly talking to. It turned out Linda was the man's high school sweetheart who had died and the phone number was a century old when phones had cranks.

The Winchesters ran the number by a guy at the phone company who worked in filth while looking at porn on his computer. He wasn't able to find out where the number came from but that it was calling ten different houses in the past two weeks. Splitting the list up, Sam looked into one half of the places the number called while Dean and Sarah took the other half. Pretty much, Sam got the better half while Dean and Sarah had a nice chat with an eighty-year-old woman who's been having phone sex with her dead husband who died in Korea.

"Hey Dad, can I ask you a question?" Sarah asked once they had gotten outside.

Dean asked, "What is it?"

"How do you have sex over the phone?"

Dean stopped in mid-step and was so thankful when Sam called him. "Uh, can't talk, Sarah. Have to take this," he told her and answered it.

Sam asked, "Find anything?"

Dean told him what the two of them had found out, including the old woman before they eventually hung up.

"Well?" Sarah reminded her father.

He sighed and then an idea popped into his head, "Why don't you ask your uncle when you get the chance, I'm sure Sam would love to explain it to you."

"Okay, sure." Sarah walked around the Impala and opened her door as Dean's phone rang again.

He answered it, thinking it was Sam again, "Yeah, what?" There was static on the other line but nothing else. "Sam?"

" _Dean_ ," came a familiar voice Dean knew instantly. " _Dean, is that you_?"

Sarah had already gotten inside the car. She scooted over to her father's side who was leaning on his door. "Dad, what is it?" she asked, worried something might be wrong with her uncle.

Dean finally replied, "Dad?"

Sarah's eyes widened at that and grew hopeful it really was her grandfather. The call ended up dropping out and Dean looked at the phone before closing it.

"Was that really Grandpa?" she asked.

"I don't know, Baby Girl," he answered, honestly. "It sounded like him."

"But why is everyone in this town getting phone calls from their dead relatives? Why are we?" Sarah tried thinking it over in her head which only gave her a headache.

Dean shrugged, "Beats me. Scoot over."

Sarah moved back to her seat so her father could slide in and headed back to their motel and told Sam about John calling.

"I mean, Dad?" Sam was asking. "You really think it was Dad?"

Dean was pacing around the room. "I don't know. Maybe," he said.

"Well, what did he sound like?"

He turned back to look at his brother, giving Sam a weird look. "Like Oprah," Dean shrugged. "Like Dad, he sounded like Dad, what do you think?"

Sam shrugged, too. "What did he say?"

Dean was pacing towards him, "My name."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, call dropped out," he looked away, placing his hands on his sides and slowly looked at the floor.

"Why would he even call in the first place, Dean?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know, man." Dean turned around and paced towards the door. "Why are ghosts calling anybody in this town?"

Sarah was lying on the other bed, next to the one Sam was sitting on. "Well, they do say there are possibilities of ghosts communicating with the living, especially when something bad is supposed to happen. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe we're in danger," she shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe, Peanut," Sam said.

Dean was facing them again, looking at the floor. "Okay, so what if…" He walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing his brother, his back to Sarah. "What if it really is Dad? What happens when he calls back?"

Sarah stood up to lean on her father from behind, resting her chin on his right shoulder. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"What do I say?" he asked.

Sarah thought about it while Sam responded, "Hello."

"Hello?"

Sam shrugged.

"That's what you come back with? Hello?"

"Uh…" Sam tried to say but came up speechless.

"How about, 'what's heaven like?' I've always been curious about that," Sarah said.

Dean looked back at her, "It's a little better than hello. Not that I'd use it." He sighed, looking over at Sam before standing up and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket, stealing one last look at his brother. "Hello?" His mind couldn't get passed that one. Opening the door, Dean left.

Sarah looked over at her uncle when the door closed. "Nice, Uncle Sam."

Sam shrugged, "What did I do?"

"Hello? Really?" she questioned him. "A dead relative calls and all you would say is hello? Not, 'oh God, it's you, it's really you. I missed you?'" Sarah stood up off the bed and headed for the door. "I'll be right back. I need a root beer."

Sarah headed in the opposite direction her father went as she turned everything they learned so far in her head. Nothing seemed to make sense. Thinking about it though, if her grandfather could call again, that would be great and not for her either. With everything that happened this past year, Dean deserved a phone call from his father. If Sarah could, she'd make sure that happened. Sarah wanted to do something for him if they couldn't save Dean.

Back in January for his birthday, Sarah used what little money she had left over from Christmas and bought ingredients to make a birthday pie and a present, making a card, too, to surprise him. Sam helped her, taking her to the store and helped bake the pie but Sarah did most of the work, sending Dean to the store to buy something that didn't even exist so that it would take him a long time. When he returned they surprised him as Dean walked in the door and presented the pie to him (while they were surprised he had actually found it after checking four different stores). Long story, short, it was one of the best birthdays Dean ever had, excluding the wild goose chase.

Sarah slid a dollar into the machine and pressed the button for a root beer with her thumb. A sound was made inside and soon a bottle of root beer popped out which Sarah grabbed and twisted the cap off. Chugging some of it down, Sarah then returned the lid to it and walked back to the motel room.

On the way, she passed a pay phone. It started to ring, making Sarah stop in her tracks. Sarah looked over at the old, worn-down pay phone and looked around as it rang again. She didn't even know one could call a pay phone and wasn't sure what to do as it kept ringing. Finally, Sarah reached up and answered it.

"Hello?" she said into the phone.

There was static on the other line. _"Sarah?"_

Sarah froze. She hadn't heard that voice in a long time. "Mom? Is that you?"

 _"Yes, it's me, Sar Bear. It's so good to hear your voice again."_

"Like you even cared," Sarah blurted out, bitterly.

 _"Sarah, stop it. I do care. I love you."_

She sighed, "Yeah, I love you, too…to a point, I guess."

 _"Sarah…_ " her mother said, sadly.

"I don't mean…I'm sorry, Mom, I didn't mean it," Sarah assured her mother. "We found Dad. You were wrong about him, Mom. He loves me so much, he really does. He would have been there for me if he knew."

 _"If he cares about you then why is he leaving you?"_

Sarah froze again. Did her mother know about her father's deal? "What do you mean?"

 _"I know about your father's deal, Sarah. I know he chose his brother over his own child just like I told you many times."_

"That's not true, Dad thought I was dead. He didn't want to live without me," Sarah tried to defend her father.

 _"You may be smart like me but you're still naïve as a child. Look at the man, Sarah. He cares more about his brother than he does you. Your father doesn't care what happens to you, why do you think he lets you hunt?"_

Sarah clenched her hand around the soda bottle, "That's not true, Mom. You're just jealous I have a better relationship with Dad than I did with you!" With that, she slammed the receiver back onto its hook and dashed back to the motel room, shoving the door open until it bounced off the wall.

Sam had turned on his laptop, sitting over on the couch. He looked up when the door opened and saw his niece slam the door. "What's wrong, Peanut?" he asked, concerned. She walked over to hers and Dean's bed and threw herself down, face-first on one of the pillows and hugged it to her. Sam stood up and walked over to sit on the edge of his bed, leaning forward on his knees. "Did you and your dad get into a fight?"

Sarah moved her face from the pillow away from her uncle, "No, someone else."

He asked, "Who?"

She didn't answer right away.

Sam looked away at the far wall, breathing through his nose before looking back at his niece. "Come on, Peanut. I told you before, don't shut me out. I know I'm not your dad but I care, too."

Sarah sat up, slowly, staring at the bedspread as she folded her left leg in towards her. "I know, Uncle Sam." She breathed in, closing her eyes before letting it out and looked up at her uncle. "She called me."

"Who did?" he asked.

"My mom."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Your mom? But's she dead, right?"

She nodded. "She called me on the pay phone outside."

"But how did she know you were here?"

"I don't know," Sarah shrugged. "I was walking back from the soda machine and it just started ringing."

"What did she say?" he asked.

Sarah chewed on her lip, looking downward.

"What did she say, Sarah?" he repeated, a little firm but gentle.

"She…Mom…" Sarah tried to tell her uncle what her mother had said but couldn't. "I can't…" She lied back down on the pillow, looking away.

Sam nodded at the floor. He couldn't push his niece into it. He had to be patient like his brother said. "Okay, Peanut. When you're ready, I'll be here for you." Sam stood up and bent over to kiss her on the left side of her head and rubbed her back a few times, setting her soda from the bed to the nightstand, heading back over to the couch.

Sarah lied there until her eyes closed and sleep overcame her. She slept for three hours until she heard her father wake her, rubbing her back up and down. Sarah stirred, moaning in her sleep, annoyed she was woken up.

"Come on, I found something that can help us on this case. Wake up, Baby Girl," he told her.

Sarah opened her eyes, lifting her head. "How long was I out for?" she asked, still a little groggily.

"Three hours, Peanut," Sam replied, throwing his jacket on.

She rubbed her eyes, trying to wake herself up. "What did you find, Dad?" Sarah asked, looking up at her father.

"Do you know who Thomas Edison is?" he asked her.

"Isn't he the guy who invented the light bulb?"

"Yup."

She shrugged, "So what? What does he have to do with people's dead loved ones calling?"

Sam wandered over to the coffee table and picked up a pamphlet, bringing it over to drop in his niece's lap. "Read for yourself," he smiled at her.

Sarah looked up from the pamphlet at him, "You can't just tell me?"

"Just read it, Peanut," Sam rolled his eyes.

Sarah grabbed it up, glaring at her uncle and opened the pamphlet, reading what it says. "Okay, there's a museum all about the guy. I still don't understand what he has to do with all of this."

Dean sighed, "Just come on, kid." He stood up and headed for the door. Sarah quickly leaped off the bed and hurried after him which Sam got the door.

They took a tour at the museum, listening to a woman who overused quote fingers a lot. Sarah tried to tune her out until Sam told her to listen because he was going to make up a test later as part of her homeschooling. When they reached a particular object of Edison's and the woman started explaining about it, Sarah looked up at her father and uncle, surprised which they nodded.

The tour group moved on, allowing Sam to run the EMF meter on it but didn't get any reading.

"What do you think?" Dean asked as Sam put it away.

"I think I now have a whole new point of view on Mister Thomas Edison," Sarah replied. "He's one crazy dude."

"I mean on this thing," he told her, nodding at the very old machine they were standing around.

"Honestly, it kind of looks like an old pile of junk to me," Sam said.

Dean shrugged, looking down at it again, "It's not even plugged in."

"Maybe it doesn't work like that." Sam looked behind him.

"I got nothing," Sarah admitted.

"Maybe it's like a radio tower, you know? Broadcasting the dead all over town," Dean guessed.

Sarah started examining the old phone, walking around it while Sam shrugged. "Could be," he said.

"Well, the caller ID is over a hundred years old, right? Right around the time this thing was built."

"Yeah, but why all of a sudden would it start working now?" Sam asked.

"I don't know. But as long as the moldy are calling the freshes, it's the best reason we got."

"True," Sarah agreed.

Dean was still staring at it, "So maybe it really is Dad and Emily," he said, making Sarah's head bolt upward.

"You know Mom called me?" she asked her father.

"When are you gonna learn that I know everything?" he joked with her which he got a look from her with her arms folded. "Sam told me before I woke you up. Want to tell me what she said, Baby Girl?"

Sarah looked at the floor, unfolding her arms.

"Sam said you two got into a fight. What did she say?" he asked.

Sarah looked up with just her eyes before looking at the floor again. "I think we better catch up to the group," she finally said.

Dean nodded and started walking in the direction the tour group went, pulling Sarah's head against his leg.


	115. Chapter 115- Long-Distance Call (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 115

Sarah didn't eat anything as she thought about her phone conversation with her mother. The one chance she had to talk with her mother again and she spent it arguing with the woman, just like when she was alive. There were people in the world that would kill for a chance like that and Sarah had to talk back to her. She kept beating herself up over it as she sat across from her father at the small kitchen table inside their motel room, staring at her cheeseburger.

Dean was staring at his phone, waiting to see if his own father would call back. Now and then he would glance over at his daughter. "What's wrong, Baby Girl?" he finally asked after a while.

"Nothing," she replied, not looking up at him, leaning against her right hand.

"I know for a fact it's something," he said. "You're quiet, you're not eating. Come on, Baby Girl. I don't like it when you don't eat. You need your strength for the job. If you're not going to talk to us, at least eat a little."

Sarah lifted her head from her hand and tried to eat her fries, dripping them in ketchup. She started out good but slowed down to the point she stopped eating. Dean hated seeing his little girl all depressed and wished there was something he could do. Then an idea clicked on in his head.

"Hey, what was that?" he asked, looking around, pretending he heard something.

Sam looked up from his laptop, over on the couch again. "What was what?" he asked.

Dean winked over at him with a smirk and turned back to his daughter. "I think someone's coming for you, Baby Girl," he grinned and stood up from the table, slowly making his way around to Sarah's side.

"Dad, I'm not in the mood," she told him, swirling a French fry around in the ketchup.

"Oh no, here he comes. He's here for you. Here comes the tickle…" Dean suddenly started tickling Sarah, "…monster!"

Sarah tried very hard not to laugh and hold a straight face but her father just continued, showing no mercy.

"Oh no, the tickle monster's got you, Baby Girl," he laughed.

"Dad…I'm too…old…for this," in between gasps of air.

"Aw, come on. You're never too old for the tickle monster."

"Dad…stop it!" Sarah tried moving off her chair but Dean lifted her up and flipped her over his shoulder. "Put me down, Dad."

"Not until I see a smile or hear a laugh," he told her and started tickling her again, this time getting her bare stomach that was showing.

Sarah tried protecting her stomach, pushing his hand away. The pressure was too much for her and her cheeks puffed like a chipmunk's. Before she knew it, a laugh escaped from her mouth and Sarah was laughing. "No fair, Dad…Stop it," she laughed.

"I could have gotten the tickle monster's partner in crime to pin ya down," Dean said as he continued to tickle his daughter, getting her ribs.

"Still could," Sam smiled, watching the scene.

"Stay…out of…this…Uncle Sam….," Sarah told her uncle in between laughs.

"Oh, sounds like my cue," he said and jumped to his feet to walk over and lifted his niece from his brother's shoulder and carried Sarah over to his bed where he dropped her. Sarah made to roll away but her uncle was faster and pinned her down to tickle her himself. "Stay out of what? Huh? Stay out of what?" Sam teased his niece as he tickled all over her torso area.

Sarah rolled around, trying to protect herself from her uncle. "Uncle…Sam…! Stop it!"

Sam kept it up for a few minutes before he stopped and sat back so Sarah could catch her breath. Sarah lied there on her back, breathing hard. "You…and Dad…are unfair…you know...that?"

Sam just grinned at his niece. Out of nowhere, he was ambushed and knocked onto his back with a little girl sitting on top of him, on her legs, as she grinned at him.

Sarah looked over at her father, "Hey, Dad. Is Uncle Sammy ticklish?"

"You bet, Baby Girl. Very ticklish," Dean told her with a grin. "Here, I'll even hold him down for you." He walked over as Sam made to sit up to get away.

"Dean, don't even…Dean…" Sam shook his head but Dean had him pinned by his arms in no time.

"Get him, Baby Girl," Dean snickered at his brother.

Sarah grinned at Sam and started tickling him where he had tickled her. Sam tried to hold it in like Sarah had done but found it a difficult task and eventually failed. He laughed as his niece found all of his ticklish spots.

"Come on, you two, stop," he laughed. "Let go, Dean. This so isn't right."

"Payback, Uncle Sammy," Sarah laughed along with him, tickling the middle of his stomach and kept it up for a few minutes before letting Sam catch his breath.

Sam sat up and shook his head at her as he caught his breath. When he had it back, Sam motioned for Sarah to come towards him, assuring her he wasn't going to do anything. Cautiously, Sarah crawled over to her uncle which he held his hand to her ear as he whispered, "How about getting your dad back?"

"Do you think I could?" she whispered in a low voice.

"Yeah," he said. "I'll help you."

Sarah grinned a devilish grin and looked over at her father. She stood up on the bed while Sam stood up, facing his brother.

Dean started backing away, holding his hands up at his sides. "Whoa, what are you two up to?" he asked of them.

Sam bolted into a sparring match with his brother, trying to get him pinned down for Sarah. Eventually, it was Dean who had him pinned on the floor but Sam managed to flip Dean onto his back and maneuvered around to pin his arms like he had done to Sam on the bed.

"Okay, quick, Peanut. Get him!" Sam called back over to his niece.

"Oh, come on. Really?" Dean said, struggling against his younger brother.

Sarah jumped off the bed, landing on her feet and rushed over to squeeze underneath her uncle to tickle her father.

"Forget it, Sarah." Dean raised his eyebrows, "I ain't ticklish like Sam is."

"We'll see, Dad," Sarah shrugged and continued, getting his ribs and stomach.

Dean held out as long as he could until Sarah hit a ticklish spot and cracked. "Okay, I give, Baby Girl. I give. No more, you win," he laughed.

"I'm just getting started, Dad," she smirked.

For the record, if Dean really wanted to he could push Sam off but figured it was only fair for them to get him back. He wasn't going to tell them that, though. In fact he was laughing so hard, Dean wasn't sure if he ever laughed this much before.

When Sarah eventually stopped, Sam let go and sat back on his heels while Sarah sat back on her legs, letting Dean, sit up to catch his breath. When she least expected it, Dean grabbed his little girl around the waist and pulled her into an embrace, placing a big kiss on her cheek.

"Feelin' better, Baby Girl?" he asked when he pulled back from the kiss.

Sarah smiled up at her father and nodded. "It helped a lot, you don't even know."

"I'd like to know but I won't push it."

She looked downward for a few seconds then looked up again. "Okay," she nodded.

"Okay, what?"

"I want to tell you guys what Mom said," Sarah said.

Sam asked, "So what did she say?"

Sarah told the brothers about the whole conversation, including what she told her mother.

"But how would your mother know about your dad's deal?" Sam asked when she was finished. "Or about what we do?"

Sarah shrugged, "I don't know, she didn't say."

"She probably is jealous of the two of us," Dean shrugged, himself.

"But Dad, I had said that out of anger. There's no sin in heaven and jealously is a sin," she told her father.

"Was your mother cremated?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. "Mom's buried in a cemetery in Sioux Falls, where Uncle Bobby lives."

"Wait, seriously?" Sam asked, astonished to hear how close his niece's mother is buried.

Sarah nodded.

"Maybe your mom hasn't passed over yet. Maybe she's still walking around in ghost form because she can't let go of you or her family, or there's still something in life she needs to do," Dean suggested.

"I never felt any cold spots or noticed any sign of ghostly activity when I stayed with my grandparents, or even with us."

"Just in case, maybe after we're done here we should pay a visit to your mom's grave and salt-and-burn her corpse."

"Mother's Day is a couple months away." Sarah thought about it before she agreed it was best.

The three of them stood up and Dean told Sarah to finish eating. This time, she was able to eat just fine. Dean sat down in the chair next to her.

Gripping her left shoulder, he told her, softly, "I do care about you, Baby Girl. Don't you ever let someone tell you otherwise, you understand me?"

Sarah nodded, holding her burger in two hands, "Yes, sir."

"Come here," he said, holding his arms out. Sarah slid off her chair and went over to hug her father around the waist. Dean wrapped his arms around her, too. "I love you and I hate that I am gonna be leaving you behind, especially when I know just how much you asked for me, growing up." He tightened his embrace on his little girl. "You were right. I would had been there if I had known. I wouldn't have been happy at first but I would have warmed up just like I did when we met, remember?"

She nodded again, against him.

He kissed her head and finally let Sarah eat her dinner before making her go take a shower, that it seemed like it had been a while from how oily her hair was when he kissed it.

Later, that night, Dean stayed up into the night after running out to grab some coffee. He sat at the table staring at his phone, waiting for his father to call back, hoping his call would go better than his daughter's. Sometime around one in the morning, Sarah crawled out of bed and wandered over to her father.

"Anything yet?" she asked, still half asleep.

"No, nothing yet," he told her, softly. "Go back to bed, Baby Girl."

"Can I sit and wait with you?"

"No, I want you in bed. Okay?" he said with a little sternness in his voice.

"But…" she tried to protest.

"Go back to bed, Sarah Lynn," he gave her a look that said she had better listen or else.

Defeated, Sarah went back over and climbed into bed. It wasn't long before sleep overcame her again either. She was still sleeping with her monkey Pokémon.

Dean continued staring at his phone until it finally rang, showing the same caller ID on the front. He grabbed it up and flipped it open, walking towards the bathroom. "Dad?" he said into the phone.

There was static on the other line like before. _"Dean,"_ came a reply.

He went inside the bathroom, looking back over his shoulder where his daughter and brother were fast asleep, "Is it really you?" he asked and shut the door.

 _"It's me."_

"How can I be sure?" he asked his father.

 _"You can't. Dean, how could you do it?"_

"Do what?"

There was just static for a moment. _"Sell your soul."_

"I thought Sarah was gone. I couldn't live without her, Dad." Even with the door closed, Dean kept his voice down.

 _"Well, now it's Sarah who's going to have to live without you, Dean. That's why I did it for you. I never wanted this, never. You're my boy. I love you just like you love Sarah. I can't watch you go to hell, Dean."_

Dean's voice cracked, a little, "I'm sorry," he told his father, looking out the window for a second and looked elsewhere. "I don't know how to stop it."

John asked, _"Because if you break the deal, Sam dies, right?"_

"No, that's just it. I tried going back to the crossroads demon and breaking the deal, letting Sam die. The demon wouldn't budge," he explained.

 _"Well, I know a way out. For both of you."_

"How?"

 _"The demon who holds your contract,"_ John explained. _"It's here. Now. I know an exorcism that can kill it."_ John told Dean the words before the call cut off.

Dean stared at the phone. The demon was here? Now? That was the best news they got that whole year. Since it was late already, Dean decided to head to bed, climbing in beside his daughter and wrapped his arm around her.

A couple hours later, the motel room phone rang a few times before Sam woke up and answered it. There was static for a moment before whoever was calling hung up. He just shrugged and headed for the bathroom before going back to sleep. While Sam was in the bathroom, the phone rang again.

This time, Sarah woke up to it ringing and reached over to check the caller ID. Sam had been half sleep to bother checking himself. It was the same phone number as before.

Reaching for it, Sarah picked up the receiver and spoke into it, "Hello?"

 _"Sarah,"_ her mother's voice responded.

"Mom, why are you calling back?" she asked, surprised. "And at four in the morning?"

 _"I miss you, Sarah. I wanted to hear your voice."_

Sarah rubbed her left eye, looking down at the pillow she was laying on, "I want to talk to you, too, Mom but I'm tired. Can't you call during the day?"

 _"Sarah, I'm sorry about earlier,"_ her mother said, not listening. _"I don't want us to fight like we did before. I want us to be together again…as a family."_

"What do you mean, Mom?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

 _"Your father's leaving you, isn't he? You're gonna be all alone. Use your knife and you and I can be together again. I promise to make things right, this time."_ It sounded like Emily was starting to cry.

Sarah stared in horror at nothing. "Mom, what are you saying?" At that moment, she heard the toilet flush, followed by the faucet turning on. "You're scaring me."

 _"Don't be afraid, Sarah. Remember what I said? There's nothing to be afraid of. I want another chance, please. Just come to me, Sarah. Come to me."_

Sarah quickly stared at the receiver, alarmed and returned it to her ear. "You're not my mother. Who are you?"

 _"It's me, Sarah. Honest."_

"No, you're not. You're not my mother." Sarah's voice started to rise without meaning to. "I swear, whoever this is, we are gonna hunt you down. In fact I think I have a pretty good idea what you are."

The call cut off and there was nothing but a dial tone.

Sam was coming out of the bathroom, "Who are you talking to, Peanut?"

Sarah sat up to look back at her uncle. "I think I figured out what we're dealing with," she said.


	116. Chapter 116- Long-Distance Call (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 116

Sarah's suspicions were confirmed when Sam went to check on a young girl, tagging along after the three of them got into an argument with Dean. Sarah tried to tell her father about her own phone call and her suspicions but he wasn't having it, stating her mother probably just had some issues.

It turned out, the girl's mother was communicating from beyond the grave as well. When the girl admitted how her mother wanted her to kill herself, Sarah asked if her mother had told the girl to come to her. It wasn't dead loved ones calling people; it was a crocotta, just as Sarah figured it might be.

As they were leaving the house, Sam told the girl not to use the phone or computer. That was when she noticed her younger brother was missing. Exchanging quick looks with her uncle, Sarah bolted over to the doorway of the kid's bedroom and noticed a toy phone with the phone number on the small screen.

Hurrying from the house, Sam and Sarah took off at a run, looking for the little boy. Sam found him, shoving the boy out of the way of a passing truck just in time.

Sarah came running up to them. "Is he okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's fine." Sam stood up, lifting the boy to his feet as well and took him home to his sister before jumping into Sam's rental car, calling Dean. "Dean, it's not Dad just like Sarah said."

" _Okay, then what is it?"_ he asked, annoyed.

"A crocotta," he replied.

" _Is that a sandwich?"_

"Some kind of scavenger. Mimics loved ones," Sam explained, "it whispers, _come to me_. Then lures you into the dark and swallows your soul."

" _Crocotta, right. Damn, that makes sense,"_ Dean said.

Sam sighed, "Dean, look, I'm sorry, man. I know…"

Dean interrupted his brother, _"Hey, don't those things live in filth?"_

"Yeah."

" _Sam, the flies at the phone company."_

Sam realized who the crocotta could be and hung up the phone.

"What did Dad say?" Sarah asked her uncle.

"You know how crocottas like to live in filth?" he reminded her.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Who in this town do we know lived in filth?"

It dawned on her, too. "The pervert at the phone company which is perfect. Easy access to all the phone numbers in town."

Sam agreed and drove to the phone company, figuring Dean would be meeting them there. He wasn't when they arrived though but headed inside anyway, casually walking inside, stopping at the pervert's office and looked through the window on the door. Sam did, anyway. Sarah was too short to reach the window. The man was inside at his desk, working.

Suddenly there was a loud, banging noise which Sam ducked away from the window as he and Sarah looked around. Sarah took her gun from her jacket and carefully cocked it. Sam placed a hand on his niece's shoulder. When the coast was clear, he looked back inside the window to see the man walking into another room. Sarah slipped her gun back inside her leather jacket and followed her uncle the way they had come.

Sam called Dean once they were back in the parking lot, leaving a message letting him know where they were and to hurry before hanging up, keeping an eye on the man. At the right moment, Sam and Sarah came up behind him and pinned the man forward against his car, with Sam holding a knife to his neck.

Sarah stood beside her uncle, her hand inside her jacket, wrapped around the handle of her gun when she felt a sudden pain upside her head and everything went dark. Sam cried out to her but by the time he turned around, he was knocked out as well.

When the two of them came around, the man was pleading with another man who had knocked all of them out and tied them each to a chair. Sarah guessed he was the crocotta, not the pervert.

"You're awake," the crocotta looked over at Sam and Sarah, his arm wrapped around the man.

"You're not a killer, Clark," the man was pleading. "No. There's a good man inside of you, I know it."

"What do you think, Sarah? Sammy?" the crocotta asked them. "Am I a good man?"

"Just let him go," Sam said.

The crocotta twirled Sam's knife around in his hand, standing up, straight, "I would. I really would. If only I'd had more than a salad for lunch." He was staring at Sam, standing behind the man, holding the knife close to him, freaking the man out. "You see? I'm starving." The crocotta suddenly raised the knife into the air as Sam and Sarah cried out and shoved it into the man's heart.

Sarah quickly shut her eyes, looking away and cautiously opened them when she thought it was over. She looked over at her uncle who had done the same and was now staring at the crocotta. The sound of teeth cracking returned her attention to it and saw the crocotta's teeth were replaced by what looked thin, wooden teeth and watched as it sucked out the man's soul. If only they had known beforehand it was the manager, maybe the man could have been spared.

Sarah sat there, staring at the floor when she heard her uncle speak, "My last call with Dean…" he took a deep breath, "…that was you. You led us here."

The crocotta cracked his neck, "Some calls I make, some calls I take." He pointed over at Sam, "But you have to admit, I had you fooled for a while. All that Edison phone crap," the crocotta said, backing away and laughed, "Oh well." He turned around and touched a glass case with red, lit dots, turning them on.

Sam asked, "What are you doing?" as Sarah was trying to reach for her knife in her back pocket.

The crocotta pulled his head back and opened his eyes to look over at Sam, "I'm killing your brother."

Sarah's head shot up at the sound of that, her heart beating fast. She couldn't lose her father for a second time before the year was up. They still had two more months together.

"Or maybe I'm killing another guy." The crocotta shook his head, looking towards the ceiling, "We'll just have to see how this goes."

Sarah continued, frantically trying to reach her knife. She didn't want to lose her father but she didn't want him to kill an innocent person either. She had to do something and fast. Sarah watched as the crocotta walked over to the man and yanked out the knife before he stared over at Sam.

"You know, mimicking Dean is one thing," he was telling the crocotta. "But my dad, that's a hell of a trick."

"Well, once I made you three as hunters, it was easy." The crocotta shoved the man's lifeless body away, still sitting upright in the chair he was tied in. "Found Dean's number…" The crocotta started walking towards Sam. "…then your number, then your father's numbers." He looked over at Sarah, "then your grandfather's number, leading me to your mother, Sarah." The crocotta turned back to Sam, "Then to emails, voicemails. Everything," he said as he placed his hands on his knees, waving the knife in a circle in front of Sam. "You see, people think that stuff just gets erased. But it doesn't. You'd be surprised how much of yourself is just floating out there…waiting to be plucked."

"My dad won't fall for it," Sarah tried defending her father, but had to admit was a little doubtful which she felt guilty for.

The crocotta looked over at the little girl, "Then the guy kills him."

Meanwhile, Dean was staking out in someone's house when the owner pulled up into the driveway. Dean had gotten another call from who he still thought was John. He waited until the person was inside, holding a blue jug filled with holy water. Unfortunately, it didn't go as he had planned.

A guy burst through the door, holding a shotgun in his hands and aimed at Dean who ducked just in time, making him drop the water jug. The men went head to head, the shotgun getting knocked out of the guy's hand and Dean winning.

While this was going on, the crocotta was pacing around. Sarah had finally managed to find a way to reach her pocket, trying to pull out her knife as he talked.

"Technology," the crocotta was saying as he walked back over and pointed the knife at Sarah, running it along her hair. She swallowed hard but tried to stay strong. "Makes life easier."

"Leave her alone," Sam warned.

The crocotta continued passed her, "used to be, I'd hide in the woods for days, weeks…whispering to people."

The crocotta circled around Sam, "Trying to draw them out into the night. But they had community. They all looked out after each other. I'd be lucky to eat one, two souls a year." He pointed the knife at Sam again. "Now when I'm hungry, I simply make a phone call. You're all so connected. But you've never all been so alone." Suddenly, the thin, wooden teeth were back but Sam was ready for him and lunged at him. The crocotta threw Sam over into a window and came after him with the knife.

Sarah finally pulled out her knife but still had to cut herself loose as she watched her uncle and the crocotta, helplessly while her father had his own fight to deal with.

Dean continued until he had the man right where he wanted him and started the exorcism, reading the words he had written down when the crocotta gave it to him. As he read them, the man walked forward, making him stop reading.

"You did this to my daughter, too?" the man demanded, stepping out of the devil's trap Dean had painted on the floor.

Dean stared at it in shock and stared up at the man. "How the hell did you get out?"

The man repeated himself, louder and angrier, "You did this to my daughter, too?"

"Wait, this is a mistake," he tried to tell the man.

"You killed her."

"No. Wait," Dean said.

The man grabbed him, shoving Dean backwards, "You killed her, you son of a bitch."

Both of the brothers struggled in their quarrels. Sam was holding the crocotta as he held the knife, trying to stab at Sam. Sam noticed a metal peg and started to push the crocotta towards it. When he was close enough, Sam punched him into it, which went into the lower, back part of the crocotta's head as blood leaked out of his mouth.

Dean was still struggling in his, trying to convince the guy it was all a mistake and wasn't going to kill him.

"She was nine years old," he heard the man cry out, reminding Dean of his own daughter.

"Stop," Dean told him, rolling on the floor with the man. "I didn't. You gotta believe me," he said as the man threw punch after punch at him. Dean reached out and grabbed the man's shotgun, knocking him off with the handle and got to his feet, panting as he walked over to stand over the man.

"Why did you kill her?" the man was crying now.

Dean shook his head, "I'm sorry. I didn't kill your daughter."

The man glared up at him, demanding through clenched teeth, "Then what are you doing here?"

Dean swallowed hard, feeling really foolish as he looked around him. "I don't know," he told the man and tossed the shotgun away and held his hand out to help him to his feet. The man never took his eyes off of Dean as he stood up. "I have one, too. A daughter, I mean. Same age as yours so I know how you feel. I'd do the same if someone ever laid a hand on her."

Sam had gone over to untie his niece, impressed she was able to cut herself loose. Too bad it was after the fight ended but it was still impressive, to say the least. On the way back to the motel, Sarah had fallen sleep. Sam carried her inside, noticing the light in the bathroom and peeked in to find his brother, applying first-aid to himself. Dean had called Sam on the way there.

"I see they improved your face," Dean joked.

Sam scoffed, "Yeah, right back at ya."

Dean shrugged and tossed the washcloth he was using into the sink and walked over to take his daughter from his brother, carrying her over to the bed. "So, crocotta, huh?"

"Yup," he replied.

"That would explain the flies." Dean very carefully laid Sarah down on the bed and removed her shoes and leather jacket, covering her up with the comforter.

"Yeah, it would," said Sam.

Dean went over to an arm chair by the door and laid Sarah's jacket with his. He then sat on the foot of their bed while Sam sat down on the foot of his.

"Hey, um…." Sam spoke again and sighed through his nose. "Look, I'm sorry it wasn't Dad."

He scoffed at the floor, "I gave you and Sarah a hell of a time on this one."

"Ahh," Sam looked up at the ceiling.

"No, you were right," he said.

"Forget about it."

There was a moment of silence before Dean said, "I can't," and shook his head, still looking at the floor. "I wanted to believe so badly there was a way out of this. I mean, I'm staring down the barrel at this thing. You know, hell. For real, forever. And I'm just…."

Sam looked over at his brother, leaning on his knees. "Yeah."

Dean looked up for a moment then over at Sam, "I'm scared, Sam. I'm really scared. Not just about hell either. I'm scared about leaving behind my little girl when she still needs me."

"I know," he told him in almost a whisper.

Dean nodded a little and looked forward again. "I guess I was willing to believe anything. You know, last act of a desperate man." He forced a laugh.

Sam glanced at the floor, "There's nothing wrong with having hope, Dean. I mean, look at Sarah. She had hope for you all her life."

"No," he told him, staring at the floor again, "hope doesn't get you jack squat. Sarah only knew me for three years out of her ten-year life span." Dean forced another laugh, "I can't expect Dad to show up with some miracle at the last minute. I can't expect anybody to, you know?"

Sam looked ahead for a moment and looked down at his hands.

"And the only person that can get me out of this thing is me."

Sam stared at the floor before looking over at his brother. "And me," he said.

Dean stared over at him. "'And me?'" he questioned.

"What?" Sam asked, shaking his head.

"Deep revelation, having a real moment here, that's what you come back with? 'And me?'"

"Do you want a poem?"

Dean looked at the floor, "Moment's gone." He reached next to him and picked up the TV remote, turning the TV on before handing his brother a beer, "Unbelievable," he said and took a swig of his own beer.


	117. Chapter 117- Salt and Burning Memories

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 117

After they were done with the crocotta hunt, Dean drove to Sioux Falls, stopping for gas when they pulled into town. While the gas pumped, he headed inside to pay for it and grab something to drink. Sarah tagged along, carrying the drinks for him while they walked up to the front counter. While the cashier rung everything up, Sarah noticed roses for sale by the lighters and stared at them, remembering her mother liked roses.

She looked up at her father, "Dad, can I have two bucks?"

Dean was already inside his wallet, pulling out a couple twenties to give to the cashier. He was going to ask, _what for_ but decided to look through the other bills and handed a five to her. "Keep the change, Baby Girl," he told her with a smile.

"Thanks, Dad," she replied and reached up to pull an rose out of the container they were in, handing the cashier the five dollar bill when Dean was finished. The cashier gave her the change and the receipt, wishing them a nice evening.

Dean held the door for his daughter as they headed outside to the Impala. "That for your mom?" he asked as they walked across the parking lot.

"Yeah, Mom loved roses," she said, looking at it. "Too bad it's not real though."

"It's the thought that counts, isn't it?" he tried to make his daughter feel better.

Sarah nodded.

The two of them slid into the Impala where Sam was waiting for them once Dean returned the gas pump back on its hook and drove over to the cemetery. Dean pulled up near the entrance and parked.

Sarah was sitting on her right leg, looking out the window on her uncle's side of the car. Sarah hadn't been there since the day she visited her mother's grave with her grandparents. There she was again, two and a half years later. She slowly opened the door and stepped out, her eyes never leaving her mother's gravestone that could be visibly seen from the entrance even at night.

Dean was standing at the trunk with it open. "Sarah, can you come help carry the stuff?" he asked her, not trying to sound insensitive.

She stole one last look and walked over to the trunk where he handed her the duffel bag of stuff they needed for the salt-and-burn. Even though it was really the crocotta that had called, Sarah still felt it was necessary. Not only for her mother but for her as well to maybe bring some closure.

As they neared the grave, the brothers couldn't help watch the little girl, knowing this must have been hard for her to handle. Eventually, they stopped at the patch of soil that held Emily's corpse. Sarah kneeled in the dirt, setting the duffel bag down beside her and reached out to pick up a bouquet of red roses with a white one in the middle.

"Mark was here recently," Sarah said as she stood up and moved it beside the gravestone.

"How do you know, Peanut?" Sam asked her, softly.

"Because he always gave Mom red roses with a white rose, it was his thing," she told him.

He nodded and stuck the shovel he was holding into the earth to lean on it. "Whenever you're ready, Peanut," he told her.

Sarah had laid the rose she brought with Mark's beside the tall, stone angel that was the grave marker of Emily's grave and nodded at her uncle, taking her shovel from her father. Shoving it into the center of the grave, she tossed the dirt to the side, the only light from the full moon. The brothers joined in and started digging, as well, no one saying a word.

As Sarah dug the shovel into the earth, she couldn't help remember her last few months with her mother. A particular time stuck out the most. It was right before the surgery that caused her mother to lose her memory.

Sarah sat on the edge of the hospital bed, talking with her mother. "Mom, I don't want you to die," she was saying.

Emily was lying in bed, propped up as she held her daughter's hand on the bed, stroking it with her thumb. "Would you rather I'd live and not remember who you are?"

Sarah looked away. Truth was, she sort of hoped for her mother to lose her memory so hopefully Sarah could try and make their relationship better and tell her mother lies of things she wished her mother was but it didn't feel right to do that. "No," she finally said, sadly.

"I'll try really hard to remember you, Sar Bear. With everything I got, okay?"

Sarah nodded at her mother. "If you do die what's gonna happen to me?"

"Well, with Mark overseas, and Papa and Gram living in that retirement community, there isn't really any options but don't worry, I have one. I think it could help you in the long run," Emily nodded.

"Contacting my dad?" Sarah asked, hopeful.

Emily closed her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh and opened them again. "You're stubborn, you know that? What makes you so sure your father will want anything to do with you if we do find him?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just do and I'd wish you would support me on this."

"Sarah, how can I support you when all you do is live in a fantasy?" Emily took a deep breath in. "I mean, it's one thing to believe in the man but that other stuff that you read all about."

Sarah shook her head, "Mom, can we just stop arguing and enjoy what could be our last time together?"

"Right, that sounds like a good idea." Emily looked downward with just her eyes. "I remember the first time I held you in my arms. You were so beautiful."

"Am I still beautiful?" Sarah asked with a small smile.

She looked up at her daughter, opening her mouth to answer but no words came. Sarah could see it in her eyes that she couldn't answer and slowly turned her head away, a tear drifting down her cheek.

That was basically the last time Sarah was able to talk to her mother because even though Emily had survived that surgery, she had lost her memory and Sarah's grandparents didn't think it was good for Sarah to see her mother in a state like that. A few days later, Emily had another surgery when the tumor returned and died on the operating table.

"Sarah?" Sarah had stopped digging and was staring at the earth. Dean watched his daughter with great concern. "Baby Girl, if you want to sit this out Sam and I will finish digging."

Sarah shook her head and continued digging. "I'm fine. Really."

Sam and Dean exchanged concerned looks between each other before continuing.

It took a good twenty minutes to dig up Emily's grave which Dean got the coffin open with the head of his shovel and pulled himself out. Sarah looked inside, shining a flashlight on her mother's lifeless corpse. Her skin was already rotted away, along with most of her hair but Sarah could still see patches of dark blond. It was her grandfather and uncle, Sarah had gotten her hair color from while everything else was from Dean. The structure of Emily's face wasn't the same bone structure of Sarah's either. It had been hard to tell if Emily and Sarah were mother and daughter or not. There wasn't anything that the two of them shared and that was what made it hard for Emily to answer her. Sarah just reminded her mother of Dean.

Sam had opened the duffel bag and was pulling out the round containers of rock salt, passing one to Dean. The brothers poured salt all over Emily's corpse while Sarah continued to stare at it as more memories of when Emily was alive surfed through her mind. The arguments stuck out more than the happy memories. Dean poured gasoline over it next, emptying the plastic, red jug before screwing the cap back on and tossed it over by the duffel bag.

Finally, he pulled out a matchbook and held it over to his daughter. "Would you like to do the honor, Baby Girl?" he asked her.

Sarah shook her head out of her thoughts and looked up at her father then down at the matchbook in his hand. She pulled her left hand out of her jacket pocket and took it from him, removing the other hand to pull a match out. She stared one last time at her mother's corpse before taking a deep breath and lit the match, dropping it into the open grave and watched as the whole thing lit up in flames.

Sarah felt her father's hand on her shoulder and gave it a sympathetic squeeze. No one said a word. The only sound was the crackling of the fire and crickets chirping off in the distance. After a few minutes, Sarah moved towards the head of the grave and sat down as she relived the feelings she had the day of the funeral and folded her knees, wrapping her arms around them. Sam grabbed the duffel bag, and leaving the shovels there, he and Dean returned to the Impala so Sarah could be alone for a moment.

A tear rolled down her cheek as Sarah stared down into the fire. "I guess I'm gonna be doing this again in a couple months," she spoke softly to no one. "I don't know if I could do this again especially when it's gonna be for my own dad. It was hard enough when we salted and burned Grandpa and I thought doing this for you would help but it doesn't." Sarah shook her head, "Mom, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for always picking a fight with you and causing you grief with my stubbornness. I guess a Winchester and a Holden should never live together under the same roof." Sarah forced a small laugh before she frowned once more.

A moment passed as Sarah just stared into the fire, thinking. The fire was starting to die down by now. "I wish I could say I told you so," she finally spoke again, resting her chin on her knees. "You know, about Dad. He cares so much about me." Her voice broke as more tears rolled down both sides of her face. "But I'm gonna lose him, Mom. I'll be all alone again just like before. I'm trying so hard to be strong about this like I was with your death. It's hard though, it's so hard."

Sarah sniffed in. "I keep thinking this is like those other times Dad's been close to death and somehow at the last minute he pulls through and pray it won't happen. I swear, in both of our families, it feels like I've been the one with the huge faith and hope that everything will be okay while Dad holds everything else on his shoulders. Everyone depends on him and I can admit I'm guilty of it, too and it hurts to know I helped place that burden on his shoulders. I should never have been born. I ruined everything. I ruined yours. You could have been a big time attorney like you wanted. Maybe Grandpa would still be alive, and maybe Dad wouldn't have had to sell his soul. That damn demon gate would have never been opened if it weren't for me."

There was footsteps walking towards her and Sarah looked over to see they belonged to her father.

"Don't ever think anything is your fault, Sarah," he shook his head. "Nothing is."

Sarah looked back down at the fire. "I screwed everything up, Dad."

"No, you didn't. Your mom and I, we made the choice that night to have a few drinks and decided to go back to her place. If your mom wanted to finish school and be an attorney then she should have said no. I wouldn't have pushed her. You know I'm not that guy, Sarah, and I wasn't then either. And I probably would have still made that deal because it's my little brother who I've been looking out for since I was way younger than you. My father would have traded his life for mine because I'm his son. Trust me you did not screw anything up." Dean stood there with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I just wish you didn't have to carry all this crap on you, Dad," she said, sadly.

Dean stood there for a moment, staring at the ground before walking over to sit next to his daughter and wrapped his right arm around her. "Yeah, I pretty much carried it since your grandmother died. That's why I tried so hard to make sure that was never passed onto you but then I see you standing up for me, for Sammy, and I can't help see me."

Sarah continued to stare at the fire. That may have been the closest she'd ever get to have both of her parents together with her. She wiped away her tears. "I feel like throwing in the towel and give up my faith of being a Christian," Sarah admitted. "All God ever does is throw curveballs at me and now he's taking you away from me."

"Don't do that, Baby Girl," he told her, "I know I shouldn't be preaching when I'm still of a skeptic myself but if it really helps get you through the day then keep it. I'd hate for you to fall apart after I'm gone and if this praying thing keeps you going then I want you to keep doing it."

"I just don't see the point anymore. By this point, I want to just throw myself into hunting for the rest of my life and not give a crap about anything." At that moment, she felt her father's hand smack her upside the head and yelped out, rubbing the back of her head.

"Don't even think about not giving a crap about yourself, Sarah Lynn," he scolded his daughter. "I don't care if I'm gone or not. That is one thing I definitely don't want you picking up from me. If you want to keep hunting, that's fine but I want you to care about you. Do you understand me?"

Sarah looked up at her father, surprised, "Yes, sir."

Dean sighed, closing his eyes. "I just want to make sure you will be okay when I'm gone, Baby Girl. None of this has been easy, for any of us. It just freaks me out how you're gonna be able to live once that happens. Plus, there's one thing you'll still have you didn't have before we met."

"What's that?" she asked.

"A family."

"I had that before, too," Sarah shrugged.

"Not one that supported you. You have Sam and Bobby, and I've noticed you taken a liking to Ellen. She's probably been more of a mom to you than your own mom was," he nodded down at what were now ashes, the fire still going.

"I know, but it would be nice to have my dad, too," she said, sadly, looking at the fire again. "I don't know, Dad. I thought salting and burning Mom's corpse would help but it doesn't. Not even close."

"We never truly let loved ones go, Baby Girl," Dean told her. "Not really. It'll always hurt inside, trust me. That's why I can't go visit my own mom's grave."

Sarah took a deep breath in, letting it out. "I said it once, I'll say it again: life sucks."

Dean laughed at that, "And I still agree, Baby Girl."

Sarah looked at her father again and stood up on her knees to wrap her arms around him, squeezing his neck in a tight embrace. Eventually, once the fire died down and they made sure, they refilled the grave and headed for Bobby's place to get a few hours rest before continuing to find any information on the demon who holds Dean's contract, using any demon they could find and interrogate them. Nothing was coming up and Dean's last year was drawing to an end.

.


	118. Chapter 118- Time is on my Side (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 118

Time was running short and the Winchesters still have not found anything on who holds Dean's contract. They interrogated any demon they could get their hands on and none of them would say a thing, too afraid of what would happen to them if they did. Between Sam and Sarah, they must have exorcised several demons each.

Not sure what else to do, another hunt came up three weeks before the deadline, of a possible zombie attack. Jumping on the case, they talked to the guy in the morgue first and one of the survivors which neither of them were of help. The Winchesters did learn that it wasn't a zombie but someone who knew their way around a scalpel.

The Winchesters met up at the motel they were staying in after doing some more research. After a few moments, Sam came up with something just as Dean and Sarah were about to start eating their lunch they picked up. "So I got a theory."

"Yeah?" Dean asked, trying to decide which end to start on of his burger.

"I talked to Mr. Giggles' doctor," he explained, "Turns out his incisions were sewn up with silk."

Sarah shrugged, "Okay. What's strange about that?"

"Doctors don't use silk, nowadays." Sam turned his laptop around to face his brother. "Silk used to be the suture of choice back in early 19th century. It was really problematic. Patients would get massive infections. The death rate was insane."

Dean was scrolling through the pictures of human bodies on the screen of Sam's research, "Good times," he said, chewing.

"Right," Sam agreed. "So doctors had to do whatever they could to keep infections from spreading. One way was maggots."

"Dude, we're eating," Dean glared at his brother.

Sam just continued anyway, "It actually kind of worked because maggots eat bad tissue and leave good tissue. And get this, when they found our guy, his body cavity was stuffed full of maggots."

Sarah was in the middle of chewing as her uncle was explaining about the maggots. "Uncle Sam, please stop already," she told him, trying to hold her food in.

Sam shrugged, apologetically.

"All right, let me get this straight," Dean took a drink of his soda, "So people are getting ganked."

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

"A little _Antique's Roadshow_ surgery, some, uh, organ theft. Why is all this sounding familiar?"

"Sounds like something from _Saw_ ," Sarah said before taking another bite of her burger.

Dean looked over at his daughter, "You saw _Saw_?"

"Yeah, I saw _Saw_. You didn't see _Saw_?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I saw _Saw_ , I just can't believe you saw _Saw_ ," he said.

"Dad, you've known me for three years now and you're still questioning my sanity? Yes, I saw _Saw_."

Sam was looking between his brother and niece. Finally, he asked, annoyed, "Are you both done?"

Dean returned to his burger, "Yeah, we're done," he said and took another bite.

"Anyway, it sounds familiar because you heard it before. When you were a kid, from Dad," he continued to explain and flipped to a page in their father's journal about a man who studied alchemy, slamming it on top of his laptop. "Doc Benton. Real-life doctor, lived in New Hampshire, brilliant…"

Sarah leaned on her arms to look over at the journal as her father was holding it up to him, remembering reading it herself. "Right, wasn't he obsessed with alchemy or something?" she interrupted Sam.

"Yeah, especially how to live forever. So in 1818, Doc abandons his practice…"

Dean interrupted Sam, this time, "Right, nobody hears from him for, like, twenty years and all of a sudden people start showing up dead."

"Dead," he shrugged, "Or missing an organ, or a hand, or some other kind of part."

"'Cause whatever was working, he just kept on ticking. Parts would wear out, he'd replace them. But I thought Dad hunted him down and took his heart out?"

Sam shrugged, "Yeah, I guess the doc must've plugged in a new one."

Dean dropped the journal back down on the laptop and picked up his burger again. Sarah was still munching on hers. "So where's he doing the deed?" Dean asked.

"According to this," Sam reached over for the journal and read through it, "Benton's picky about where he sets up his lab. He likes dense forests with access to a river or stream or some kind of fresh water."

Dean asked as he was chewing again, "Why?"

"Because that's where he likes to dump the bile," he looked over at Dean and Sarah, trying to keep a straight face, remembering what they had done to him when Sam was hung over, "and intestines, fecal matter." Sam gave a small laugh as he watched for a reaction. "Lost your appetites yet?"

Dean was able to hold his down just fine but Sarah immediately bolted for the bathroom and lost part of her lunch into the toilet.

"Uncle Sam, I hate you so much right now," she called from the bathroom afterwards as Sarah was keeled over the bowl which Sam snickered at.

"That was payback, Peanut," he called back with a grin. "I love you."

Sarah moaned as she stood up and flushed the toilet.

"Hey, make sure you brush your teeth before you come back over here," Dean called to her.

"No," she replied, sarcastically, "I thought I'd come over there and breathe on Uncle Sam."

"All right, smartass, that's enough," he warned her.

Sarah washed her hands first before brushing her teeth. The Winchesters looked up the surrounding forest areas, looking for any possible places the doctor could be. After a few hours, Dean's phone vibrated on the table where he left it. He stood up to walk over and answer it.

It was Bobby. _"Hey. I think I finally got a beat on Bela,"_ he told him.

"I'm listening," said Dean.

 _"Rufus Turner."_

"Is that like a Cleveland Steamer?" he asked.

"What's a Cleveland Steamer?" Sarah asked, innocently

Dean quickly covered her mouth as Bobby answered, _"He's a hunter, or used to be."_

Sarah shoved her father's hand from her mouth as Dean asked, "And now?"

 _"Hermit, mostly. Does a little selling on the side. Anyway, I put the word out on Bela months ago. He just called, said a woman wanted to buy some things."_

Dean looked over at his brother, "And he thinks it's Bela?"

 _"British accent,"_ said Bobby. _"Went by the name Mina Chandler."_

"She's used that name before," Dean remembered. "It's a sloppy move, isn't it, getting in touch with one of your old friends?"

Bobby scoffed, _"Friend? Haven't laid eyes on him in fifteen years. And he's not the Christmas-card type. I doubt she knows I know him."_ He breathed in, _"Canaan, Vermont."_

"Thanks, Bobby, we're on our way," Dean told him.

 _"One other thing,"_ Bobby added. _"Take a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue."_

"Okay," he replied and hung up to look back at his brother and daughter. "Come on, we're going after Bela."

Sarah hurried over to where she left her duffel bag and started shoving her clothes inside, dashing into the bathroom to grab her hygiene stuff.

Sam stayed where he was. "Wait, what?" he questioned. "Hold on a sec…"

"Get your stuff, the clock's ticking," Dean ordered his brother.

"Look, I think we should stay here and finish the case."

Sarah was coming out of the bathroom, "We can call Uncle Bobby back and ask if he knows of any hunters that can come down and finish the job," she suggested, walking back over to her duffel bag as she carried a green carrying case with her hygiene inside.

"There's no way Bela still has the Colt, that was months ago," Sam pointed out. "She probably sold it the second she got it."

Dean was throwing his jacket on. "Well, then I'll kill her. Win-win." He went over to the bed where Sarah was busying stuffing her stuff inside.

"Dean…" Sam tried to object.

"Sam, we're going," Dean told his brother, sternly dropping his own duffel bag on the bed.

"No," he argued, stubbornly.

Dean demanded, "Why the hell not?"

"Dean, this here, now. This is what's gonna save you," Sam said.

"What? Chasing some Frankenstein?"

"Chasing immortality."

Sarah looked up from her own packing as she and Dean looked at Sam, confused.

"Look, Benton can't die," Sam explained. "We find out how he did it, we can do it to you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sarah asked.

"You have to die before you go to hell, right?" he asked Dean. "If you can never die…"

"Wait, hold on there," she said walking around her father, closer to Sam, "Are you saying you want to tap into this alchemy crap?"

He nodded, "Yeah. It can help us, Sarah. Or bide us more time until we can think of something else."

"Okay, see, this is why you should be paying attention when I'm watching my Anime shows. Using alchemy is never a good idea. It always cost something and I think Dad paid enough, thanks."

"Take a chance on something, Sarah," Sam told his niece. "This isn't like your cartoons."

Sarah held up one finger, "One, cartoons and Anime are two completely, different things. And two, I am taking a chance. Dad says we're go…" Dean stepped in, breaking up the heated argument that was escalating and told her to go finish packing. "But…" she tried to object but he raised his eyebrows, giving her the look she knew that she had better listen and walked back over to where her duffel bag was.

Dean turned to Sam, "Did you know this was Doc Benton from the jump?" he asked.

Sam hesitated for a second, looking away with just his eyes, "No."

Dean looked at his brother, sideways as if Sam was lying.

Sam looked away again, "Look, I was hoping…"

"So the whole zombie thing, you were lying to me?" he asked.

"I didn't want to say anything until I was sure, Dean. All I'm trying to do is find an answer here."

Dean shook his head, "No, you're trying to do is-is chase Slicey McHackey here. And to kill him?" He raised his voice a little, sarcastically, "No, you want to buy him a freaking beer. You wanna study him."

Sam stared at him, in disbelief, "I was just trying to help."

"You're not helping," Dean told him.

Sarah sighed. "Dad, stop it. Uncle Sam _was_ only trying to help, even if it wasn't the right thing," she said, standing up for her uncle, this time. "Yelling at him probably makes him feel worse about all this." By this point, Sarah was just tired of the fighting and arguing her father and uncle had been doing, and jumping in herself, now and then.

Dean looked at the floor, running his hand along his face. "You're right, Baby Girl," he said and wandered back over to his duffel bag. "Let's just worry about getting the Colt back and killing the demon who holds my contract so the whole thing wipes clean."

Sam shrugged, holding his arms out, "Even if you had the Colt, Dean, who are you going to shoot? We have no idea who holds the ticket."

"I'll shoot the hellhounds then before they slash me up," Dean cursed out. "Now, are you coming or not?"

Sam stood his ground and said, softly, "I'm staying here."

Dean stared at his brother, "No, you're not." He walked back over to him. "Because I'm not gonna let you wander into the woods alone to track some organ-stealing freak."

Sam was looking at the floor, his hands on his sides. "You're not gonna let me?" he scoffed, looking up.

"No, I'm not gonna let you," he said, sternly.

"How are you gonna stop me?"

Dean tried to think of a comeback but came up short.

"Look, man," Sam said, calmly, looking at the floor again, "we're trying to do the same thing here."

Dean nodded, looking off to the side. "I know," he nodded and turned to walk away. "But I'm going. So if you wanna stay, stay." Sam folded his arms, looking away as Dean watched him. Finally, Dean lifted his duffel bag onto his right shoulder and looked over at Sarah. "You ready, Sarah?"

Sarah nodded, not saying a word.

Dean stole another look at his brother and headed for the door.

Sarah lifted her own duffel bag from the bed and followed after him, stopping in front of her uncle to drop it on the floor beside her and wrapped her arms around Sam's legs, burying her face in them.

Sam kneeled down to his niece's level and hugged her back. "You can stay, too, Peanut," he told her. "Go after this guy together."

"To kill him, right?" she asked, looking her uncle in the eye.

He didn't answer. Sam always found it hard to lie to his niece.

"I'm going with Dad then, Uncle Sam. I wish you would come with us. Please?" she pleaded with him and tried to bring out her best puppy-dog face.

Watching his niece's face, Sam couldn't look at her anymore and stood up to walk away, rubbing his eyes in one hand, his other hand on his left side. It hurt to turn his back on his niece but he felt he needed to stay.

Sarah watched her uncle walk away, sadly. "Come on, Baby Girl," she heard her father tell her. Sarah turned away and walked out of the motel room, feeling Dean's hand touch the top of her head as she walked by him.

Dean turned back for a moment to tell his brother, "Sammy, be careful."

Sam looked up from the floor but did not turn around. He couldn't, not with his niece still standing there. "You, too," he replied over his shoulder.

Dean stared at his back for a moment before he backed out of the room and closed the door on the way out. Sam finally turned around once he heard the door shut and sighed.


	119. Chapter 119- Time is on my Side (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 119

Sarah leaned against the door, staring off into space. The car ride was silent as Dean drove down the highway.

Dean looked over at his daughter then looked forward again. "You said it yourself, Baby Girl, Sam's only trying to help. You know how stubborn he can be," he reminded her.

"Yeah, I know," she sighed. "I just don't like leaving him behind like that."

"Whether we like it or not, he's a grown man. He can make his own choices."

Sarah continued to stare at nothing. Eventually, her eyes started to water. "Killing Bela isn't gonna solve anything even if she does still have the Colt. It won't stop you from going to hell."

Dean didn't say anything at first. He stared ahead, watching the road. "It'll serve some justice though," he finally said after a while.

"But justice will be served anyway. It always…"

"I don't want to hear that biblical crap right now, Sarah," Dean shot at his daughter, harshly.

Sarah stared at her father not saying anything, this time and looked away. Dean caught her out the corner of his eye and sighed. "I didn't mean to snap at you, Baby Girl. I'm sorry, okay. I really am. My year's almost up and I'm just a little on edge."

"I know," she said, staring at the floor ahead of her.

Dean continued to watch his daughter and held his arm out to her. "Come here," he told her, softly.

She scooted over, closer to her father and snuggled up against him as Dean held his arm around her, kissing the top of her head as he drove, watching the road.

They pulled into Canaan, Vermont that afternoon and drove to Bobby's friend, Rufus Turner's house, walking up the walkway. Dean pushed the door bell and knocked on the screen door before pulling Sarah back behind him, protectively.

A security camera turned in their direction. _"What?"_ came an annoyed male voice.

"Hi, uh, Rufus," Dean said into the intercom, looking down at the ground.

 _"Yeah, even if I am, the question is still the same. What?"_

"Uh, I'm Dean Winchester, I'm a friend of Bobby Singer's," he replied.

 _"So?"_

"You called him, this morning."

 _"So?"_ Rufus repeated in the same annoyed tone.

Dean smiled up at the camera before looking down again. "Uh," he cleared his throat, "you told Bobby about a British chick, made contact with you."

 _"Yeah, and so?"_

"Wow, this guy's like a broken record or something," Sarah muttered from behind her father.

"Sarah, shut up," Dean whispered to her and turned back to speak into the intercom. "Do you know where she is?"

 _"Yeah,"_ he replied.

"Great," Dean gave a small laugh. "Can you tell us where to find her?"

 _"No."_

"Of course not," he muttered to himself, shaking his head.

"Please?" Sarah pleaded with the man, herself. "It's really important to my dad here."

Dean touched his hand to his daughter's head as if say to let him handle the situation and started to speak into the intercom again, "Look, man."

Both the front door and screen door opened and an older, dark-skinned man stepped out, holding a bowl in his hand. "Look, let me point something out to you," he told Dean. "You are knocking at my door, so don't _look, man_ me." Rufus shook his head, "I'm not your man," and looked over at Sarah, "and I don't do charities either."

Dean nodded in agreement, "Sorry, sir."

Rufus shifted his feet. "Okay, I'm gonna tell you a little story. You see, once upon a time, Bobby asked me to call him if I got a whiff of this Bela Talbot. I got a whiff, I called. The End."

He was about to head back inside until Dean said, "Okay, but if you could just tell us where she is, I mean, that'd be great," shaking his head and gave a small laugh.

Rufus stared the young man down. "Dean Winchester, right?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Dean, do I look like I'm here to help you?"

"One shouldn't judge on just looks alone," Sarah pointed out, still behind her father. Dean wasn't letting her out from behind him until he knew it was safe. Dean had protectively raised his arm after she said that as Rufus looked around him at her.

"I'm gonna say no," Dean gave another small laugh.

"Then get the hell off my property," Rufus told him.

"All right, hey, fair enough," he shook his head, making Sarah look up at him. "I got one more question for you, though." Dean went into his duffel bag he was holding on his right shoulder and pulled out the drink Bobby told him to bring, "See, I got this," he cleared his throat, "this bottle of scotch and, uh…Is this considered good?"

Rufus stared at the dark blue box in the young man's hand and then smiled at him. He stepped back and let Dean and Sarah inside.

Dean thanked him as he walked past, keeping Sarah close. "This is Sarah, by the way," he introduced as Rufus closed the door.

"You're a hunter, ain't you?" Rufus asked of him.

"Yes, sir," Dean nodded.

"And you have your kid with you?" Rufus led them through his house and into an office-looking room with a round table in the center.

"Uh, Sarah's a hunter, too."

Rufus stopped to look back at the young man and stared at him. "Oh, so you're the one I heard through the hunter grapevine about the idiot who had already brought his kid into the hunting gig."

"Just doing what I thought was right," Dean shrugged.

"What's right is for her to be home, going to school. Not hunting." Rufus walked over to his kitchen and got three glasses from one of the cupboards.

"Sarah's a pretty good hunter, though," he smiled, proudly at his daughter which she smiled back at him. Dean combed his left hand along her hair, looking up again.

"Doesn't matter how good the kid is," Rufus said as he poured milk into one of the glasses and brought them back to the table, offering them a seat. He handed the one with milk to Sarah.

Sarah sat down next to her father and took it. "Thank you, sir," she told Rufus before taking a drink.

Dean handed Rufus the box which he opened, pouring the bottle inside into the other two glasses. Sarah explained to Rufus how she gladly went into the hunting gig. Rufus questioned why a smart girl like her would accept a life like that.

"School's always been too easy for me and I was constantly bored all the time, even outside of school. It was as if I was born for this life," she shrugged before downing the last of her milk like she was taking a shot.

"You know that's just milk, right?" Rufus pointed out to her. "There's no alcohol in that."

"In one of the _Legend of Zelda_ games, milk is considered alcohol served in a milk bar that only adults can go into and drink unless you're wearing a cow's mask," Sarah pointed out, as well.

Dean was shaking his head at his drink and looked up, "It's also a video game aimed at kids," he added.

"Actually, the _Legend of Zelda_ series is popular among all different age groups, not just kids. Mark was the one to introduce me to the game," she corrected her father.

"Oh, well excuse me, smartass," Dean told her, before taking another drink.

Rufus snickered into his drink, "You two should have your own TV show or something."

Dean pointed over to his daughter with his finger, "Yeah, she thinks she's funny," he grinned.

"I bet I would have more fans than you," Sarah smirked at her father.

"Yeah, right. People would so love me more. I'm handsome, funny, and a single father. Chicks dig a man who steps up and raise their kid on their own," he shrugged and allowed Rufus to top him off again. "Well, bottoms up."

"You know, I don't even bother drinking unless it's this stuff," Rufus changed the subject. "Nectar to the gods, I'm telling you."

"Yeah, it's a nice change, you know," Dean agreed. "Most of my whiskey comes from a plastic jug."

Both men laughed.

"Chocolate milk comes in a glass bottle sometimes, too," Sarah added, wanting to be a part of the men's conversation.

Rufus laughed, "Cute kid, you got there, Dean."

"I ain't cute," Sarah argued with a smirk.

He grinned at the little girl, "Oh, my mistake. Cool kid, then. Is that better?"

"Yes, much better," she replied and laughed.

"So," Dean changed the subject, this time, "Bela was here because…?"

"She wanted to buy a couple of things," Rufus answered. "Which is gonna take me some time to round up."

"Where is she now?" he asked.

Rufus took a drink and lowered it to lean on his arm, "Dean, can I ask you something?"

Dean shrugged at him, "Sure."

"You got three weeks left," he told him. "Why are you wasting your time with chasing after that skinny, stuck-up English girl?"

Dean smiled down into his drink, "How did you know about that?"

Rufus leaned towards the young man, lowering his voice as he looked off to the side for a second, "Because I know things. I know a lot of things about a lot of people."

"That so?" he nodded.

"I know no pea shooter ain't gonna save you," Rufus added.

Dean looked down at his drink again. "What makes you so sure?" he asked before taking a drink.

Rufus stared at him, "Because that's the job, kid."

Dean lowered his drink to look at the older man.

"Even if you manage to scrape out of this one there's just gonna be something else down the road. Folks like us…" he shook his head, "There ain't no happy ending. We all got it coming. That's why kids shouldn't be pulled into it, no matter what the previous life was." Rufus looked over at Sarah when he said the last part.

"Well, ain't you a bucket of sunshine," Dean scoffed.

Rufus slowly leaned back, staring at the young man. "I'm what you got to look forward to if you survive." He raised his glass to his lips and smirked, "Which you won't."

Dean looked down at the table with just his eyes as Sarah spoke up, "You don't know my dad," trying to defend him even though she knew not even her father could beat this. "My dad's the best hunter out there."

"How many hunters have you met?" Rufus asked her.

Sarah looked out the corner of her eye, thinking about his question. "A few," she admitted, looking at him. "I stayed at the Harvelle's Roadhouse a couple times and talked to some Miss Ellen trusted."

"How many did you actually hunt with?"

"Counting my dad and uncle, four."

"That ain't much, kid. There are plenty of good hunters out there, trust me," he told her. "Your dad is nothing special."

Dean looked down and noticed Sarah's left hand start to clench on the table and reached over to touch it, stroking it with his thumb. "So, Bela," he changed the subject again, looking over at Rufus.

"Hotel Canaan," Rufus finally said. "Room thirty-nine." He raised his glass to his lips, "But watch your back."

"I think I can handle Bela," Dean nodded, raising his eyebrows at the older man.

Rufus lowered his glass. "Oh, don't be so sure about that. There are things you don't know about her," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, and you do?" he nodded his head once and grinned, "Right, because you know things."

"Yep," he replied.

"And let me guess, you lift her fingerprint?"

"Yep." Rufus raised his glass to take another drink.

"And that got you jack."

"Yep." Rufus snickered to himself. "She burned them off."

"Ouch, that sounds painful," Sarah commented.

"Yep. Probraby years ago," he said as Dean took a drink of his own.

"Yeah," Dean shrugged, "so you're right where we are."

"Nope," he said, staring into his drink.

Dean and Sarah stared up at the man, confused. "You do her ear?" he asked them.

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Sorry?"

"You do her ear?" he repeated.

"Hey, man, I'll try anything once, but I don't know, that sounds uncomfortable." Sarah smacked her hand over her eyes in embarrassment for her father.

"Ears are unique to humans as fingerprints," Rufus explained.

"No kidding," Dean said, staring over at him.

"But I've been told I have my dad's ears though," Sarah pointed out, looking between the men.

"That's only referred to the shape of your ear. There are still differences between your ear and your dad's," he explained to her. "Course that don't fly in the courts over here, but in England? They're all over it." Rufus glanced behind him before leaning forward, "A friend of a friend…of a friend faxed me over ten pages of confidential files within a day. All I had to send him was one clean shot off the security cam."

Dean nodded, smiling, "Right." He shook his head and held his glass up to his mouth, "One clean shot of her ear."

Rufus stood up and walked over to the other side of his desk. He pulled out a vanilla folder and brought it over to drop in front of Dean. "The so-called Bela Talbot," he said.

Dean and Sarah stared up at the older man before Dean looked down and opened the folder. Sarah slid off her chair and walked around the corner of the table to stand next to her father, climbing onto his right leg. He helped her and the two of them scanned through it, shocked at what they read on Bela.


	120. Chapter 120- Time is on my Side (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 120

While Sam was checking out the doctor's place, Dean and Sarah went after Bela, staking out in her motel room until she returned. Once Bela walked in the door and shut it, Dean had her pinned against the door, holding her at gunpoint. Sarah had her own gun out, as well.

"Where's the Colt?" Dean asked.

"Dean," she breathed.

"No extra words," he told her, sternly.

Bela took another deep breath before she answered, "It's long gone. Across the world by now."

Sarah closed her eyes when she heard that. They were too late. Their only best weapon and it was gone.

Dean removed his arm from her, "You're lying." He grabbed her purse and held it up.

"I'll call the buyer," she said. "You speak Farsi?" Dean grabbed ahold of Bela's right arm. "What the hell are you…?"

He let her go and held up her gun in his hand, "Don't flatter yourself." Dean turned on both light switches with the end of his gun and told her not to move before telling Sarah to watch her.

"I told you, I don't have it," Bela told him again.

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely gonna take your word for it," he said, sarcastically.

Bela tried to inch her way for the door but Sarah stopped her with a shot at it behind her. "My dad said, don't move," Sarah reminded the woman, also in a stern tone.

Dean had looked up from his ransacking when he heard the gunshot and stared over at Bela before turning back again.

Bela was inhaling faster than normal. "It's gone," she said. "Get on a plane if you must. Track down the buyer. You may catch up to him, eventually."

Dean looked around the room, determined.

Sarah looked over at her father, her gun still pointed at Bela. "Dad, I think she's telling the truth….For once. The Colt may actually be gone."

Dean glared over at Bela before walking over to her, pointing his own gun at her again.

"You gonna kill me?" Bela asked.

He smirked, "Oh, yeah."

"You're not the cold-blooded type."

"You mean, like you?" he asked, raising his eyebrows at her. "It's true. See, I can't imagine killing my parents."

Bela just grinned, "I don't know what you're talking…"

"Yes, you do," Dean nodded. "You were what, fourteen? Your folks die in some shady car accident, police suspected a slashed brake line but it was too crispy to tell. Cut to little Bela…I'm sorry, Abbie…inheriting millions."

"How did you even…?" she questioned, surprised.

"Doesn't matter," he told her.

Bela looked down at the floor for a moment but then just smiled as if it was nothing. "They were lovely people." She leaned forward towards Dean, "and I killed them. And I got rich. I can't be bothered to give a damn. Just like I don't care what happens to you."

The anger was building inside of Dean but that was nothing compared to what was building up inside of Sarah. Her grandparents may have been wealthy and they may have been a little too strict at times, along with her mother, but never in a million years would she murder them. Sarah would have thought there was a good enough reason if Bela wasn't so smug and twisted in her ways.

Dean shoved Bela against the door, making what looked like some kind of a dried weed fall halfway off the top of the door frame and glared at the cold woman, breathing heavily through his nose while Sarah cocked her gun, holding it both hands, pointed at Bela. "You make me sick," he told her, scanning her with his eyes.

Bela just continued to smile at him, "Likewise."

Dean stepped back and pointed his gun at her again when the dried weed caught his eye from above. Dean knew exactly what it was. He thought on it before dropping his arm that held his gun and stared at her some more. "You're not worth it," he told her.

Sarah looked over at her father, surprised. Dean then shoved Bela out of the way and thrust opened the door, letting Sarah go first. Sarah took one last, angry look at the woman before leaving the room.

Once they were outside, Sarah questioned her father about what happened in there and Dean explained what he had seen. Dean called Sam while they were driving back to Ohio.

"Dean?" Sam asked when he answered.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Did you get the Colt?"

"What do you think?" Dean asked, annoyed.

Sam sighed, "So does that mean Bela is, uh…?"

"No, no. She deserves to die a dozen times over, but I couldn't do it," he said.

"Dean."

"I'm really screwed, Sammy.

Sam shook his head, "No, you're just…"

"You were right, Bela was a goose chase." Dean shook his head in hopelessness. "Colt's gone. And this time I'm really screwed, Sam."

Sarah was holding her monkey to her, listening to her father. This was it. In three weeks, the greatest man she ever knew would be gone for good. A tear ran down her right cheek as a nauseating feeling turned in the pit of her stomach.

"Maybe not," Sam said and stood up from the bed he was sitting on. "Dean, I found Benton's cabin."

"You okay? Was he there?" Sarah looked up at the sound of her father's voice when he asked.

Sam replied, "Yeah."

"Did you kill him?"

"No," he answered this time.

"What do you mean no?" Dean asked of his brother.

"Please, just listen for a second," Sam pleaded. "I found his lab book and it has the formula."

"What, the live-forever formula?"

"Yeah," he said a little excited.

"Great, let me guess. I have to drink blood out of a baby's skull?" Dean said, sarcastically.

"No, that's the thing. It's not black magic," Sam shook his head. "There's no blood sacrifice or anything. It's just science, Dean. Very, very weird science, but…"

"W-wait, what are you saying? You think…?"

"I think it might be doable," he said. "I know we've hit a lot of walls, but I think this formula, I think this might be it. This could save you."

Dean stared forward as he drove. "Okay, so this formula…."

Sarah shook her head, "Dad, no. We are not getting into that alchemy crap. I don't care if it is the only thing that can save you," as Sam said, "Look, we're not in the clear yet, there are things I don't get…"

Suddenly, Sam was grabbed from behind, causing him to drop his phone.

Dean grew worried. "Sam?" There was no answer just the sound of Sam's muffled voice as he struggled against the doctor. Dean looked at his phone before returning it to his ear, worry flooding his whole mind and face. Sarah grew worried by the sudden change in her father's voice and by the way she watched his motions. "Sammy?" After a few moments there was no sound. Dean hung up and stepped on the brakes, eager to save his brother.

They searched all over the forests around the town before pulling up to the doctor's cabin and went inside, carefully and quietly. Dean found a bottle of chloroform and soaked the knife he was carrying, as well as Sarah's, in it before they heard Sam's cries and quickly dashed downstairs, shooting the doctor in the back.

The doctor turned around, looking like something out of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ , all stitched up in places, his hair all white. "Shoot all you want," he told them and started walking towards them. Dean shot at him again before he was shoved back, landing on the floor. The doctor turned on Sarah who was staring up at him, angrily.

Retaliating on the spot as he reached down for her, she pulled out her knife from her back pocket and shoved it deep into him. The doctor looked down at it as blood soaked out of the wound, and laughed. "A knife?" He slowly rose back to his feet, holding the small knife in his hand. "What part of immortality do you not understand? Pity about the heart though. It was a brand new one."

"Good," Dean said over where he was sitting on the floor. "Should be pumping nice and strong," He pulled out the bottle of chloroform out of his jacket and held it up for the doctor to see, "sending this stuff throughout your whole body. See, we picked up your little bottle upstairs and dipped both of our knives in it."

The doctor backed away, groaning before he fell, passed out from the stuff.

Sarah looked over at her father, "And you said my little, tiny knife wouldn't do a thing." She smirked at him.

Dean rolled his eyes, hurting from the fall, "Shut up," he teased her. Sarah walked over and tried to help her father to his feet, taking ahold of his hand he held up to her. He allowed her to pull him up but Dean was mostly lifting himself, he knew how much his daughter always wanted to help him so what harm was there, letting her try.

He stumbled over to the table as Sarah walked beside him, holding him. It was mostly Dean holding his own weight though. They unstrapped Sam from the table which he helped strap the doctor to afterwards.

"Oh, hiya doc," Dean greeted when the doctor was awake again. "Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey."

Sarah looked up at her father from beside him. "Dad, don't ever say that again, please," she told him.

Dean just smirked at her then turned back to the doctor. "Please," the doctor pleaded with them.

"Please what?" he asked of him. "You've been killing poor bastards for over a hundred and fifty years, now you got a request?" Dean stood up straight, "Shut up."

"You don't understand, I can help you. I know what you need."

Dean ignored the doctor. "I'm gonna have to cut him into bits. This immortality thing is a bitch."

"I can read the formula for you," the doctor continued which Sam was listening to. "You know, immortality…forever young, never die."

Dean picked up the bottle of chloroform and stared at it.

Sam spoke up, anxiously, "Dean."

He looked up at his brother, "Sam."

Sam motioned with his head and headed into the other room. Dean followed, along with Sarah.

Dean asked, "What?"

Sam exhaled, looking over at the doctor. He looked at his brother, "We're talking hell in three weeks, Dean or needing a new pancreas in like, half a century."

Sarah was the one to speak. "Look, Uncle Sam. Even if this is the only thing to save Dad, I don't want him turning out like that," she held her right hand out towards the doctor. "I don't want to hug a rag doll and I don't want Dad having to steal people's stuff like he's been doing. This just isn't right, Uncle Sam, I'm sorry. Nothing about it is."

"It's not perfect but it buys us more until we think of something better," Sam told her. "We just need more time, Sarah. I mean, just think about it."

Sarah turned around to look at her father, "Dad, please tell me you're not considering this, too."

Dean was looking away. He turned to look at his daughter first and shook his head, "Don't worry, Baby Girl, I'm not."

Sam shook his head in outrage, "Dean, don't you want to live? What about Sarah?"

"What he is isn't living," Dean argued. "Look, this is simple."

"Simple?"

"To me it is, okay? Black or white. Human, or not human." Dean turned to walk back into the room where the doctor was still strapped to the table. "See, what the doc is….a freaking monster. I can't do it. I would rather go to hell."

Sarah followed just until she got through the curtain while Sam stayed right behind it as they watched.

"I don't understand, I can help you," the doctor still continued to plead with Dean.

Dean poured some more chloroform on a white rag and shoved it over his mouth. He looked up at Sam, "Now, I'm gonna take care of him. You can either help me or not, it's up to you."

Sam shrugged and looked away. Once the doctor was knocked out again, the three of them dragged him outside and placed him inside an old fridge, chaining it closed and placed a cinderblock on top as they dug a hole. The brothers dropped the fridge inside and Sarah dropped the doctor's book down on top. Eventually, they could hear the doctor yelling inside. Dean and Sarah just ignored it while Sam tried his best to ignore it, as well.

"Enjoy forever in there, doc," Dean said, staring down into the hole as he leaned on his shovel and started filling the hole back up. Sarah joined in next, and Sam followed suit, right after, reluctantly.

The Winchesters headed back to their motel room long enough to lay a couple of blow-up dolls under the covers on both beds, hiding them carefully. Once those were in place, they hit the road. A few minutes to midnight, Dean called the motel room phone.

"Hiya, Bela," he greeted, knowing full well it was her. "Here's a fun fact you may not know. I felt your hand in my pocket when you swiped that motel receipt."

 _"You don't understand,"_ she said.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I understand, perfectly. You see, I noticed something interesting in your hotel room," Dean said, looking over at Sam and Sarah, who was leaning on the back of the front seat. Something tucked above the door. An herb. Devil's Shoestring? Well, there's only one use for that. Holding hellhounds at bay. So I went back and took another look at your folks' obit. Turns out, they died ten years ago today. You didn't kill them. A demon did your dirty work. You made a deal, didn't you, Bela? And it's come due. So is that why you stole the Colt, huh? Try to wiggle out of your deal? Our gun for your soul?"

 _"Yes,"_ Bela replied.

"But stealing the Colt isn't quite enough, I'm guessing," Dean smiled over at his brother and daughter.

 _"They changed the deal,"_ she paused to swallow, _"they wanted me to kill Sam and Sarah."_

"Really? Wow. Demons untrustworthy," he said, sarcastically and gave a small laugh. "Shocker." Dean looked over at the clock on the front of the radio, "That's kind of a tight deadline, too. Uh, what time is it? Oh, look at that, almost midnight."

Bela sounded like she was crying now, _"Dean, listen. I need help."_

"Sweetheart, we are weeks past help," he told her.

 _"I know I don't deserve it,"_ she cried.

"You know what, you don't," he agreed. "But you know what the bitch of the bunch is? If you would've come to us sooner and asked for help we probably could've taken the Colt and saved you."

 _"I know, and saved yourself."_ Bela took a deep breath. _"I know about your deal, Dean."_

"And who told you that?" Dean asked of her.

 _"The demon who holds it,"_ she replied. _"She holds mine, too. She says she holds every deal."_

"She?"

 _"Her name's Lilith."_

Dean looked over at Sam and Sarah, "Lilith?"

Sarah lifted her head from her folded arms at the mention of that name again.

"Why should I believe you?" Dean asked of Bela.

 _"You shouldn't, but it's the truth."_

"This can't help you, Bela," he said. "Not now. Why are you telling me this?"

 _"Because just maybe you can kill the bitch."_

Dean stared forward, not saying a word for a moment before he said, "I'll see you in hell," and slowly removed the phone from his ear, closing it, ending the call.


	121. Chapter 121- No Rest for the Wicked (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 121

The year was drawing to an end for Dean and they still hadn't found a solution yet. Sarah tried to prepare herself for the final day but it was no use. She couldn't think about her father going to hell without breaking out into tears. To make matters worse, nightmares of what she saw when her grandfather was down in the pit had started, only they weren't visions and her grandfather was replaced. In John's place was Dean, tortured exactly how John was. Sarah would toss and turn in her sleep until she bolted into a sitting position, awake. She tried to tell her father about them but still found it hard to talk about what she saw, even to him and he was going to be experiencing hell for himself soon.

Sarah wasn't the only one having nightmares either. Dean started getting them, too but not of hell, of being chased by hellhounds until they caught him and ripped him to shreds. He bolted out a sound sleep, lifting his head from an open book he had been reading through, breathing hard. He squeezed his eyes shut tight as he panted, quietly.

Sarah walked in at that point and noticed her father leaning over the book, knowing he had just woken up from another nightmare. She walked over and hugged him to her. "It's okay, Dad," she assured her father with her head on his left shoulder.

Sam walked in, too. "Dig up anything good?" he asked as Dean sat up and closed the book that was open to a page on hellhounds.

"No," Dean cleared his throat, "Nothing good."

"Well, Bobby has," he smiled, "Finally."

Dean looked up at his brother, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, a way to find Lilith."

"Wow." Dean looked down at his watch, "and with just, uh, thirty hours to go." He looked downward with his eyes, pulling his left arm out to wrap around his daughter who was still hugging his shoulder.

Sam slowly sat down at the table Dean was sitting at. "Hey," he said, softly. "Hey, Dean, um…." He also was staring downward. "Look, we're cutting it close, I know. But we're gonna get this done." Sam reached over to rub his niece's back. "I don't care what it takes. You're not gonna go to hell, Dean. I'm not gonna let you."

Dean looked over at his brother who gave him a small smile.

"I swear. Everything's gonna be okay." From Dean's point of view, Sam looked like some sort of monster that twitched its head every which way.

"Yeah, okay," Dean finally said but deep down it was hopeless. It was his fault this happened. He looked down at Sarah and knew this was the hardest on her out of all of them. It pained him so much to watch his daughter try and hold it together for him. It felt like he was already in hell.

Bobby placed a tall, wooden stand on the table with a map of the United States underneath. "See, a name," he was explaining to the Winchesters, "That's the whole kit and caboodle. "With the right name, right ritual, ain't nothing you can suss out."

"Like wherever Lilith is hiding?" Sarah asked, leaning on her folded arms on the table, sitting on her right leg in a chair.

"Kid, when we get done, we'll know the street," he told her. Bobby released the pendulum and started chanting in Latin. The pendulum slowly started moving around the map as the Winchesters watched. Dean was standing across from Bobby with his arms folded behind Sarah's chair while Sam was standing between his brother and Bobby. Eventually, it stopped on a location. "New Harmony, Indiana." Bobby looked up at the brothers. "And we have a winner."

Sarah stared at the spot on the map, confused.

"All right," Sam spoke up, anxiously. "Let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean stopped him, "hold on. Holster up there, Tex."

Sam shrugged at him, "What's the problem?"

"What's the problem?" he repeated. "Where do I begin? I mean, first of all, we don't even know if Lilith actually holds my deal. We're going off of Bela's intel. When that bitch breathes, the air comes out crooked, okay?"

Sarah twisted around in her seat to look back at her father, "It's the only lead we got, Dad. What else is there?" she asked him.

"Okay, but even if it is Lilith and we can get to her, we have no way to gank her. And isn't this the same Lilith who wants yours and Sam's heads on a pike? Should I continue?"

Bobby scoffed, "Ain't you just bringing down the room."

"Well, it's a gift," Dean nodded.

"Then what are we supposed to do, Dad?" Sarah shrugged.

"Look, just because I have to die doesn't mean you have to," he argued with her. "Okay? Either we go in smart or we don't go in at all."

"Okay, fine," Sam stepped in. "In that case, I have the answer."

Dean stared over at his brother. "You do?" he said.

"Yeah, a sure-fire way to confirm it's Lilith. And a way to get us a bona fide, demon-killing Ginsu."

Sarah knew where her uncle was going with this, "Oh, hell no. We are not bringing Ruby into this. I don't care what she's done to help us, I still don't trust her."

"We are so past arguing, Sarah Lynn," Sam told his niece in frustration, "I am summoning Ruby."

Dean had shaken his head in disgust when he heard what his brother was going to do as he walked away. "The hell you are, we have enough problems as it is," he exclaimed.

"Exactly," Sam replied and stepped around the table to walk towards his brother. "And we got no time and no choice either."

"Come on, she is the Miss Universe of lying skanks, okay? She told you that she could save me, huh? Lie," Dean shrugged, "She seems to know everything about Lilith, but forgot to mention, oh right, Lilith owns my soul."

"Okay, she's a liar," Sam gave in. "She's still got that knife."

Bobby tried to step into the brothers' argument, "Dean…" But the brothers ignored him.

"She works for Lilith," Dean shot out.

"Give me another option, Dean," Sam replied, frustrated. "Tell me what else."

"Sam's right," Bobby tried to step in again.

"Do you not remember last year when I trusted a demon," Sarah pointed out to her uncles.

"No, damn it!" Dean exclaimed. The room was awkwardly quiet. He lowered his voice to a reasonable tone. "Just no. Sarah's right, we're not gonna make the same mistakes all over again."

Sam and Bobby stared at Dean.

"You guys want to save me? Find something else." Dean then walked away, back to where he was reading before as Sam and Sarah watched him.

Bobby grabbed his sleeveless jacket. "Where are you going, Bobby?" Sam asked, staring at the floor with his back turned to him.

"I guess to…" he paused for a few seconds. "…To find something else."

Sam sighed as he looked back up at his brother who was reading, again as Bobby left the room. Sarah slid down from the chair and walked over to grab her leather jacket off another table where she left it which Sam asked the same thing to her, this time.

"I…need to get something out of the car," she lied. "I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll go with you then," Sam offered.

"What are we, nuns? We don't have to travel in pairs when it's just right outside." Sarah threw on her jacket and headed outside. She stepped down the steps and walked across the yard, walking right pass the Impala as Bobby drove off in his two-door old car. Walking through the salvage yard, Sarah ducked under a lead pipe, into a tight spot of old, broken down cars she found once and made into a secret spot the last time her family stopped by and sat down in the dirt.

"Okay, God. I'm here again. Time is short and I mean short. What can we do? How can we save Dad? Show me what we can do, please," she pleaded, looking up at the grey cloud-covered sky and stared down at the dirt for a few minutes. "I can't lose him, God. I just can't. Whatever I need to do, I'll do it. We need help. Uncle Sam wants to bring that Ruby into this but I know it'll just be like what happened when I trusted Yellow Eyes. I can feel something wrong about that demon. I can feel it in my heart, Lord. And I feel something bad will happen if we do but if, just maybe…." Sarah folded her arms on top of her up-turned knees as a tear drifted gently down her right cheek and repeated herself, "I can't lose him, God. I…I just want a way to save my dad. He's a good person. Dad doesn't deserve hell no more than Grandpa did. Please, God, don't let Dad go to hell."

After ten minutes, Sarah added, "You know what, I guess if we do have to, I'll even consider letting Ruby help." Sarah hid her face inside her arms and sat there in the dirt, crying for her father, in disbelief of what she just said. Was she really getting this desperate that she would allow herself to make another dumb mistake? She cried until there was no tears left and stood back up to walk back into the house before her father got worried about why it was taking her so long. When Sarah was inside again and closed the door behind her, she heard commotion coming from the basement. Reacting quickly, Sarah rushed down there, stopping at the top of the stairs just in time to see her father get kicked in the stomach by none other than Ruby.

Angrily, Sarah charged down the wooden stairs and aimed a punch at the demon only to be knocked back herself. Dean was pissed to see someone hurt his little girl but Ruby was exactly where he and Sam wanted her.

Sarah moaned as she tried to get to her feet, holding her right eye and stomach. What caught her off guard was Ruby asking her father what he was grinning at. She looked up to see her father pulling out Ruby's knife.

"Missing something?" she heard him ask Ruby.

"I'll kill you, you son of a bitch," Ruby glared and tried to charge at him only to be suddenly held back.

Sarah looked up above the demon to see a devil's trap painted on the ceiling in red. What the heck was going on? Did her father change his mind after all? Sarah wasn't sure what to make of it and wished she hadn't gone outside in the first place. One can miss out on a lot when they leave the room, she guessed.

"Like I said," she heard her dad say, lowering the knife, "I knew you'd come." With that said Dean socked Ruby one last time for Sarah and walked over to help Sarah to her feet, making sure she was alright.

Ruby called after Dean as he headed for the stairs next, "Wait. You're just gonna leave me here?"

Dean called over to Sam as he ascended the stairs.

"Oh. Oh, so you're too stupid to live, is that it?" she continued to call over to him as the Winchesters climbed the stairs, ignoring her. "Then fine. You deserve hell. I wish I could be there, Dean. I wish I could smell the flesh sizzle off your bones. I wish I could be there to hear you scream!"

"And I wish you'd shut your pie hole, but we don't always get what we want," Dean said as he neared the basement door. Sam closed it behind him as they headed back to Bobby's study.

"So does this mean we're going after Lilith?" Sarah asked, following her father over to the table where the duffel bag of weapons was sitting.

"You're staying here, Sarah," Dean told her and picked up a rifle in his hands to start loading it up.

Sarah stared at her father, surprised to hear that. "The hell I'm not. I'm going, Dad," she shot back.

"You're not going, Sarah Lynn and that's final," he said, in a stern tone.

"Dean, maybe Sarah should come with us," Sam spoke up for his niece.

Dean stared over at his brother.

"I mean, what if Ruby's right? What if Sarah and I can take out Lilith?" he asked.

Both Sarah and Dean stared at Sam but for different reasons. "Wait, does this have anything to do with leading a demon army in a war?" she asked her uncle.

"It's our psychic abilities, Peanut," Sam told her.

"Sam," Dean warned his brother not to say another word about it.

"She has a right to know, Dean," he said.

"Know what? I thought all that psychic crap disappeared when Yellow Eyes died," Sarah shrugged, confused.

"I thought so, too, but Ruby says…" Sam tried to say but Sarah interrupted him, "So you're still going off of what Ruby says? After all she lied about, so far?" She raised an eyebrow at her uncle.

"I don't know what Ruby meant. We can go ask her."

"Why, so she can lie some more?" Sarah asked of him.

Sam looked between his brother and niece, "Last time, Lilith snapped her fingers and put thirty demons on our ass. And all we got is one little knife?"

Sarah shrugged, "Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?"

"That was before, Peanut. Knowing now we have something that may be better than the knife, I think we should use it."

"Uncle Sam, the day my abilities were gone was one of the happiest days of my life," she told him. "You may have had them for a couple years but I had them for a lot longer than that. I'm not about to bring them back out, so screw Ruby."

Sam sighed, "Fine, Sarah. It would probably be best if I just did it myself anyway to keep you safe but that means you are staying here."

"I said I wasn't using my abilities, I didn't say anything about staying behind. I'm going. I want a part of this fight, too. It's my dad's soul on the line and I'm gonna do whatever I can to make sure it doesn't become a resident of hell."

"That's exactly my point, Sarah," Dean spoke up.

Sam and Sarah looked over at him.

"We're not making the same mistake all over again."

"Uncle Sam's the one who wants to listen to a demon, not me," Sarah pointed out to her father.

"I'm not talking about just that," he shook his head. "Don't either of you see a pattern here? Dad's deal, my deal, now this?"

"What are you…" she tried to ask.

"You just said it, Sarah. Every time one of us is up a creek, someone else is begging to sell their soul. That's all this is." Dean looked over at his brother, "Ruby's just jerking your chain down the road, and Sarah," he turned his head back to his daughter, "you're too much like me, I know you'd end up going down the same road I took." Dean looked between them as he said, "You both know what it's paved with, and you both know where it's going," and he returned to packing up the weapons.

Sarah didn't say anything as she heard her uncle sigh, rolling his head up towards the ceiling. "Dean," he said and walked around the table where Dean was now sitting with his back turned to them. "What are you afraid is gonna happen?" Sam asked, sitting down next to his brother. "This is me. I can, at least, handle it."

Dean shook his head at the floor.

"And if it'll save you…"

"Why even risk it? Someone's gonna have to be here for Sarah," he said, raising his eyebrows at Sam.

Sam looked ahead for a second before turning back to him, "Exactly. You're my brother. And Sarah needs you a lot more than she needs me."

"I know. All I'm saying…." He paused for a moment, shaking his head as he looked down. "Sammy, all I'm saying is that you two are my weak spot, especially Sarah."

Sam looked up at his brother. Sarah walked over to stand on her father's other side.

Dean shrugged, "You are. And I'm yours."

"You don't mean that," Sam looked away then looked back. "We're family."

"I know," he nodded in agreement. "And those evil sons of bitches know it, too."

Sam looked away again.

"I mean, what we'll do for each other, you know, how far we'll go. They're using it against us."

"So you're saying we have to give up on each other?" Sarah asked, confused by what her father was talking about.

Dean looked over at her, "No, we stop being martyrs. We stop spreading it for these demons." He reached back on the table and picked up Ruby's knife, holding it up, looking between his daughter and brother. "We take this knife and we go after Lilith our way." Dean looked at Sam, "The way Dad taught us to," and looked over at Sarah, "the way I taught you."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at that, surprised, "So I can go then?"

"If that's your decision," he shrugged, "you came this far, why pull you out now?"

Sarah leaped onto her father, wrapping her arms around him.

"But know if we go down, uh…"

She looked up to stare into his eyes.

"…Then we go down swinging," Dean finished.

"Only for family, I would," Sarah gave a small smile.

Dean forced a smile for her and held her close, "What do you think?" he asked his brother.

Sam thought on what he just said, staring down at the ground. Finally, he replied, "I think you should have been jamming, _Eye of the Tiger_ right there."

"Oh, bite me," Dean told him, standing up slowly to turn around. "You know, I totally rehearsed that speech, too."

Sam chuckled to himself.

"So you knew I would rebel about staying back?" Sarah asked her father.

"Yeah, but I was hoping you might've considered it, at least," Dean shrugged. As they were about to sneak out before Bobby returned, he said, "By the way, I heard your prayer."

Sarah quickly looked up at her father. "What are you talking about? What prayer?"

"Don't play dumb, Baby Girl. When you didn't come back in I got worried and went out to see what was taking so long. I didn't hear it all but I caught some of it and I heard you were even willing to give in and trust Ruby, too. So yeah, I know how desperate you are."

Sarah looked at the ground, ashamed. Up until that point she had been so careful with her alone time with God and now this time, she was caught. "You weren't supposed to hear that," she said. "I'm not even proud of it, myself."

Dean put his arm around her, "We all get desperate, Baby Girl. You just gotta know when to not give in." They walked over to the Impala. They put everything in the trunk before sliding inside the Impala. Dean put the key in the ignition and tried to start it but couldn't. "What the hell?" he mumbled and continued to try and start it.

Sarah leaned over the back of the front seat, "Want me to get out and check under the hood, Dad?"

Dean kept trying until Bobby walked up to the car and knocked on the window. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked, holding up a car part that belonged under the Impala's hood.

The Winchesters exchanged looks between them before stepping out of the car, closing their doors. "We got the knife," Dean told the old hunter.

"And you intend on using it without me," Bobby shrugged. "Do I look like a ditch-able prom date to you?" Sarah made to open her mouth to say something but Bobby held up his finger at her, knowing she would say something smart, "Don't answer that."

"No, Bobby, of course not," Sam replied instead.

"This is about me," Dean added and nodded over at his brother and daughter, "and Sam and Sarah. Okay, this isn't your fight."

Bobby stepped towards him at once, getting in his face, "The hell it isn't."

Dean was taken aback by surprise.

"Family don't end with blood, boy." The old man stared him down.

Sarah looked up at him and softly agreed, "Family is where the heart is."

Bobby reached over and touched the top of her head, affectionately, looking over at Dean. "Besides, you need me."

Dean tried to object, "Bobby…"

"You're playing wounded," he said. "Tell me, how many hallucinations have you had, so far?"

Sam looked over at Dean.

Dean shrugged at him and looked back at Bobby, "How'd you know?"

"Because that's what happens when you got hellhounds on your butt. And because I'm smart."

"I knew that, too," Sarah said, "I just didn't say anything."

Bobby smirked at her, "Sure, kid," and handed Dean the car part. "I'll follow," he said before walking over to his car.

Dean looked down at the car part in his hands before walking over to the hood to attach it back in.

"Don't be stopping to pee every ten minutes either," Bobby called back over his left shoulder.

Dean shrugged at the ground in agreement and turned around to look back at his daughter, raising his eyebrows at her.

"Whatcha looking at me for?" she asked.

"Because you're the reason we make so many pit stops," Sam told her before walking back around to his side of the car.

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny," she replied.

"Just get in the car," Dean also told her as he lifted the hood. Once the car part was reattached, the hunters were on the road, heading for New Harmony, Indiana.


	122. Chapter 122- No Rest for the Wicked (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 122

For the next few hours as Dean drove down the highway, the car was in silence. Sarah sat in the backseat on her father's side, staring out the window. It was dark by now and she couldn't help glance at the clock on the car radio as midnight was drawing near. This was it. The final night. If they didn't stop Lilith, if she was the one who held her father's contract, he would be gone. A large lump kept forming in her throat as Sarah held back the tears, biting her lower lip.

After a while, Sam broke the silence. "Hey, Dean?" he asked.

Dean replied, "Yeah?"

"You know, if this doesn't, uh…. If this doesn't go the way we want it, I want you to know…"

He shook his head, "No, no, no, no, no, no."

Sam asked, "No, what?"

"You're not gonna bust out the misty good-bye speech, okay?" Dean looked between the road and Sam as he drove with his left hand, "If this is my last day on earth, I do not want it to be socially awkward."

Sam glanced out his window, not saying anything.

"You know what I do want?" Dean reached over and turned on the car radio while a Bon Jovi song was playing at the moment.

Sam stared at it, surprised at his brother's pick of music. "Bon Jovi?" he questioned.

"Bon Jovi rocks on occasion," Dean pointed out to him. Soon, he started singing along to the music and gently smacked Sam to join him, and even tried getting Sarah's attention to join in, as well. Sam started singing, too, softly but Sarah barely looked up before she stared out her window again, holding her monkey in her arms. "Come on, Baby Girl," he repeated and started singing again. "You always break in when I start singing."

"I just don't feel like it right now," she admitted, sadly still staring out the window. "In fact I wish I still had my PSP for one of Carrie Underwood's songs."

"You know, I looked her up once," Dean admitted, as well. "Not interested in her music but she was hot." He grinned, trying to at least get an eye roll or some kind of reaction from his daughter.

Sam had looked back at his niece and remembered his iPod he kept in the glove compartment whenever he was tired of hers and Dean's music. He opened it and took out the iPod, turning it on and scrolled through his playlists before finding what he was looking for. Sam unraveled the earphones and pressed play on the control pad, passing it back to his niece. "Here, Peanut."

Sarah glanced over at her uncle out of the corner of her eye. Confused, she sat up from the car door and took his iPod from him.

"Go ahead, give it a listen," he smiled at her.

Sarah picked up one of the ear buds and held it to her right ear to get a pleasant surprise. Carrie Underwood was singing which made her look up at her uncle.

"Remember when we went to that concert a year or so ago, just the two of us? I started thinking about it afterwards and decided to get some songs of hers, too."

"Do you have _Just a Dream_?" she asked.

"I think so," he replied.

Sarah started scrolling through the songs and sure enough there was the song she wanted. She pressed play on it. Once Carrie Underwood started singing, Sarah joined in.

After a moment, Dean looked up into the rear-view mirror to see his daughter lying down on her back and still singing the same song. The lyrics wasn't helping his own emotions any and fought back the tears as he watched his little girl start to fall to pieces, wondering if she _would_ be okay after he was gone.

Another hour came and went as they drove in more silence except for Sarah's off tune singing. Out of nowhere, a police cruiser turned on its sirens and followed after the Impala, driving in between it and Bobby's car. Dean pulled off to the side of the road.

Sarah had sat up when she noticed the car wasn't in motion and pulled out the earphones. "What's going on, Dad?" she asked, looking around. "Why did a cop stop us?"

"I got a busted taillight," he said as he pulled his license out of his wallet and rolled down his window. "It's not like we're in a hurry or nothing." Sam had passed him the registration papers from the glove compartment. The officer walked up to Dean's window. "Problem, officer?"

"License and registration, please," the officer told him in a rehearsed fashion. Dean held his left arm out, passing him what he requested. The officer looked at them, shining his flashlight so he could see. "Do you realize you have a taillight out, Mr. Hagar?"

Dean looked up at the officer and couldn't believe what he just seen. "Yes. Yes, sir. Uh, you know, I've been meaning to take care of that." He looked forward ahead of him, "As a matter of fact…" Dean shoved his car door open, hitting the officer in the legs and jumped from his car to start wailing on him before shoving Ruby's knife into his neck.

Sam and Sarah had bolted from the car themselves and Sarah saw the bright light emit from the officer's sockets she saw when Ruby used the knife.

Bobby had also jumped out of his car and came running up to the Winchesters to look down at the officer. "What the hell happened?" he demanded, looking at Dean.

"Dad just ganked a demon," Sarah answered.

"How'd you know?" Sam asked his brother.

Dean was still panting from taking on the officer so sudden. He looked back at him. "I just knew," he said and looked down at the body. "I could see its face. Its real face under that one."

The men picked up the body and carried it over to the police cruiser. Sam drove it over to hide it in some trees, making sure to wipe where he had touched to remove his fingerprints and joined the rest of them, including Sarah, of making sure the whole car was covered. Now that Dean was able to see demons' true forms, Sam figured it may make things easier tracking down Lilith without other demons sounding the alarm. Once the police cruiser was taken care of, they got back on the road again.

"It's the little girl," Dean said as they watched a small suburban family through a large window in the front yard. "Oh God, her face is awful."

"At least you can see what's going on," Sarah pointed out in a low voice, upset about her height again.

"Trust me, you don't want to see what just happened," Bobby assured her.

Sam was farther down the window, looking through binoculars. "All right. Then let's go," he said, lowering them. "We're wasting time."

Dean stopped him, holding his arm out to block Sam, "Wait," he said, looking in the window still.

Sam questioned, "For what? For her to kill the rest of them?"

"Yeah, us, too, if we're not careful," Dean nodded at him and looked over at the mail carrier sorting through mail, "Look. See the real go-getter mailman on the clock at nine P.M.? And Mr. Rogers over there," he pointed at an elderly man reading inside his house, next door.

Sam used his binoculars again to look for himself.

Bobby asked, "Demons?"

"Yes," Dean replied.

"So, I guess take them out first before sneaking in?" Sarah shrugged.

"Then what, give a Colombian necktie to a ten-year-old girl? Come on," he pointed out.

Sam sighed while Sarah looked at her father, confused. "Wait, how would giving a necktie to a little girl help…?" she asked, trying to wrap it around her head.

Dean sighed in frustration, covering his hand over his eyes. He knew it wasn't her fault but she always seemed to take the wrong things literal. "Figure of speech, Sarah. We're talking about killing a little girl, here."

Sarah got silent at that. She got so excited about killing Lilith, she forgot the victim would be killed, as well, and turned on her uncle, "Dad's right. We can't gank a little girl."

"Look, Sarah, I know it's awful, but…" Sam told her.

Dean asked, "You think?"

"This isn't just about saving you, Dean. This is about saving everybody."

Dean and Sarah stared at Sam as Bobby said, "She's gotta be stopped." They turned their heads to look at the older man before exchanging looks of sorrow between each other. Could this night get any sadder?

The hunters quickly sorted out a plan and split up to put it into play, tackling the mail carrier first while Bobby made the water supply into holy water. Dean grabbed his attention and had the mail carrier chase after him until Sam was able to grab him and plunge Ruby's knife into him. Dean made sure to cover his mouth so the mail carrier couldn't scream.

Sarah volunteered to grab "Mr. Rogers'" attention, doing the same thing so Sam could stab him before Dean dragged the body over to stash it in the bushes with the mail carrier. Once "Mr. Rogers" was taken care of, Dean took off for the next one when he got shoved into a chain-link fence by Ruby, demanding her knife back.

Sam came up behind them, grabbing onto her. "He doesn't have it," he told Ruby, holding her own knife to her throat. "Take it easy." Sam let her go.

"How the hell did you get out?" Dean demanded of the demon.

"What you don't know about me could fill a book," she said.

Dean stared at her, horrified at how ugly Ruby really was, "Oh."

"What?" she demanded, this time.

He quickly looked away. "Nothing. I just… I couldn't see it before, but you are one ugly broad."

Sarah couldn't help snicker to herself as Ruby just ignored him and looked over at Sam. "Sam," Ruby said, "give me the knife before you hurt yourself."

Sam just stood there, calmly. "You'll get it when this is over," he said.

"It's already over," she told him and shook her head, "I gave you a way to save Dean, and you shot me down. Now it's too late. He's dead."

Sarah bolted towards the demon when Ruby said the last part but Dean held her back. "Sarah, stop. She's not worth it. Save your energy for the important part," he said as he did so. She stopped for her father's sake but continued to glare at Ruby.

"You are so next on my list after Lilith is dead," Sarah scowled at the demon.

"Hit me with your best shot, sweetheart," Ruby shrugged at her, egging the little girl on.

That did egg Sarah on more and Dean had to quickly grab her again, using a firm swat to her bottom to get his daughter back to what was important. "You can do whatever you want to her later, Sarah Lynn," he said and moved his eyes around to get their attention. More demons were surrounding them now. Sarah stopped struggling once she felt her father's firm hand and looked around the suburban neighborhood at what he meant.

"So much for the element of surprise," Dean commented, looking over his left shoulder.

"Go," Sam said, suddenly, "run. Run, run, run."

Dean opened the gate and the four of them took off at a run as the demons came after them. They rushed up to the front door of the house Lilith was in and Sam quickly started to pick the lock. Dean and Sarah looked around at all the demons running towards them, wondering why it was taking Bobby so long to get the water turned on while Sam tried to get the door unlocked as fast as he could.

Suddenly, the sprinklers came on, shooting out water just as the demons grew near. The water burned their skin as the demons were stopped in their tracks. Dean smiled as Sarah cheered out loud, excited. Dean laughed once Sam got the door open before following his family and Ruby inside, only to find a surprise on the floor.

Sarah covered her mouth as she stared down at a lifeless body of an elderly woman covered in flies, "That's disgusting," she said, trying to hold it in, glad she hadn't eaten in a while.

"You think Lilith knows we're here?" Dean asked.

Ruby replied, "Probably," as she looked around the house.

They headed into the living room with Sam in the lead, holding the knife out, cautiously sneaking around the dark, quiet house. As the group walked passed a closet, a man leaped out for Dean who turned around on the spot and covered his mouth, assuring him they were there to help. When he removed his hand, Sam asked where his daughter was which the man said she was upstairs.

The group had to split up since the man wouldn't go down to the basement without his wife, so Sam had to go take care of Lilith by himself while Dean took care of the man. Sarah hurried to the kitchen to check to see if the family had any salt, finding a container in the pantry and dashed down the hall to the basement door, kneeling down to pour a line of salt in the doorway.

Dean hurried back up the stairs as she was finishing up and asked for it to put on the basement window sill, rushing back down. Once that was taken care of, he hurried Sarah along, upstairs to the little girl's room in time for her to scream. Dean saw that Lilith wasn't the little girl anymore and immediately stopped his brother, assuring him it wasn't.

Sarah was relieved to hear they didn't have to kill the little girl anymore, blowing a sigh of relief and helped get her and her mother into the basement to be safe. While they were doing that, Sam turned to Ruby.

"Okay, you win," Sam said, anxiously. "What do I have to do?"

Ruby stared at him, "What do you mean?"

"To save Dean," he told her. "What do you need me to do?"

Dean came up behind his brother and slapped his arm, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Sam barely glanced at him, "Just shut up for a second," and yanked his arm away. "Ruby."

"You had your chance," she shot at him. "You can't just flip a switch. We needed time."

"Well, there's gotta be something, some way," Sam tried to plead with her, desperately. "Whatever it is, I'll do it." Dean grabbed him, forcefully. "Don't, Dean. I'm not gonna let you go to hell."

"Yes, you are!" he blurted out and stared at his brother as Sam stared back. "Yes, you are," he repeated in a calmer tone. "I'm sorry. I mean, this is all my fault. I know that."

Sam was breathing harder, trying to hold back his emotions as Sarah stared down at the floor, trying to hold back the tears.

"But what you're doing, it's not gonna save me." Dean shook his head, "It's only gonna kill you."

Sam glanced away for a second with just his eyes. "Then what am I supposed to do?" he asked of his brother.

Dean swallowed a lump in his throat and forced a smile, "Keep fighting. Take care of my wheels. Take care of my baby girl," he motioned in each direction where Sarah and the Impala were. Sam was close to losing it now but Sarah was even closer. "Sam, remember what Dad taught you. Okay?"

Sam nodded, still fighting it.

"And remember what I taught you." Finally at that, Sarah was the first who couldn't fight back the tears. She couldn't hold them any longer and choked out a sob. Dean turned around and kneeled to her level. "Be strong, Baby Girl. I know you are. You keep fighting, too, and remember what I taught you. I love you, Baby Girl and no matter what, I always will."

Sarah nodded as tears poured down her face on both sides.

"Here." Dean reached for his necklace he wore around his neck and removed it. He then raised it over Sarah's head and lowered it down on her neck, which got caught on her right ear in the process and unhooked it. "Keep this safe for me, okay. It's very special to me. Sam gave it to me when he was around your age."

She sniffed in, "Then shouldn't you give it to him?"

Dean looked back over his shoulder at his brother, who nodded. He turned back to his daughter, "It's okay, Baby Girl."

Sarah choked out another sob and lost it at that point. She threw herself on her father and squeezed his neck tight. "I love you so much, Daddy," she cried into his shoulder. "You've always been the best thing that ever happened to me. We tried…W-we tried so hard to save you. We looked into every piece of research that we could. I prayed my whole heart out. I'm sorry, Daddy. I'm really sorry."

"Shh, shh, it's okay, Baby Girl. It's not your fault, its mine. You did the best you could and that's all that matters. Just stay strong for me and I better not ever see you down there with me, you understand me? Make better choices, okay. And remember all that I taught you and keep fighting, and watch Pokémon for the both of us." Dean smiled at that last part as he held his little girl close to him. He tried to start singing _Baby of Mine_ for the last time but was interrupted by the clock ringing loudly as it struck midnight.

Sarah slowly turned around to look at the clock herself and swallowed hard as she looked back at her father as they shared one long look with each other. Sam had looked at it, too and looked back down at his brother, shedding a few tears himself.

"Sorry, Dean," Ruby told him as he stood up to share a look with his brother and shook her head. "I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy."

A growling howl made Dean slowly turn his head. Sam and Sarah looked over where he was looking but they couldn't see anything. "Hellhound," he said.

Sam asked, "Where?" looking back at the spot.

Dean was still looking in the same spot, "There," as the hellhound started to growl louder, hunger for fresh meat on its mind.

Ruby looked over and saw it as well. The moment it took off running, Dean bolted for the door as the rest quickly followed. The hellhound dashed after, barking like a mad, vicious dog. The four of them ran into another room. Sam, Sarah, and Ruby shut the doors and held them together as Dean pulled out a sack of what looked like black dirt to lay in front of the door. Once that was laid out, the hellhound stopped and it got quiet again. But Dean didn't stop there. He bolted over to the window and did the same until every window was sealed from the beast.

"Give me the knife," Ruby told Sam. "Maybe I can fight it off."

Sam was still trying to catch his breath, "What?"

"Come on," she yelled, "that dust won't last forever."

Sam was about to hand it over when Dean stopped him. They all looked over at Dean.

"You wanna die?" Ruby asked of him.

Dean was staring at Ruby, "Sam, that's not Ruby. It's not Ruby."

Sam turned back to Ruby to raise the knife above his head and stab her but was shoved against the wall, followed by Sarah right next to him. Ruby then sent Dean flying across the room as well. He landed on a table, on his back.

Dean grunted as he struggled, lifting his head up. "How long you been in her?" he asked the demon.

"Not long," she replied and checked herself over. "But I like it. It's all grown up and pretty." Ruby lifted her head again as her eyes flashed all white.

Sarah was struggling against the wall, trying to break free as she watched the scene.

"And where's Ruby?" Sam asked, staring at the demon.

Ruby's, who was now Lilith's, eyes flashed back to normal, "She was a very bad girl. So I sent her far, far away." Her neck cracked a couple times to the side as she tilted her head, looking over at Dean.

"You know, I should have seen it before," said Dean and shrugged, "but you all look alike to me."

Lilith just looked over at Sam and Sarah, ignoring Dean. She walked over to them, "Hello, Sam. Hello, Sarah," she greeted them, stopping right in front of Sam's face. "I've wanted to meet you for a very long time." Lilith reached up to forcefully kiss Sam which he didn't enjoy at all. It didn't sit too well with Sarah either, seeing someone near her uncle like that and tried even harder to do something.

"Your lips are soft," Lilith told Sam, afterwards.

Sam tried to pull his head away from her, "Okay, so you have me." He shook his head out of Lilith's grasp. "Let my brother and niece go."

She smiled at him, "Silly goose. You want to bargain, you have to have something that I want." She made an annoying sound, "You don't but Sarah does."

Sarah stopped struggling and just stared at her. "What the hell are you talking about?" she demanded of her.

Lilith moved over to hover over her. "Your meat suit, it's perfect and I want it."

"Over my dead body, you jackass," Sarah told her, harshly as she glared at Lilith.

"Now, that could be arranged," Lilith smirked at her.

Dean yelled over from his spot, "Don't even think about it, bitch!"

Lilith looked over at him and smiled, evilly, "I don't have to answer to puppy chow." Then she walked over to the doors they had blocked off from the hellhound and placed her hand on the left knob as she faced Dean. "Sic him, boy."

Sam and Sarah quickly looked over at Dean as Lilith opened the door, the black dust blowing away. The hellhound rushed right in, barking and growling and pulled Dean off the table by his leg. Soon the beast was tearing into him as he cried out.

Sarah stood there against the wall as she watched her father get torn to shreds, her heart beating in her ears. The tears had then returned and ran down her face as she tried to breathe. Breathing was the hardest part, aside from watching the scene in front of her as Sarah heard her uncle plead for Lilith to stop it. Her vision was blurred with tears, thankful for a moment that she couldn't see but it was also never easy to not blink and Sarah's vision was clear again as she continued to watch.

Dean's insides were ripped out from his front as the hellhound continued to tear into his flesh. Sarah tried to look away but her father's cries landing on her ears weren't helping either. She threw her head back against the wall as Sarah cried out.

"Make it stop! Please, just make it stop!" she cried as tears poured down her face once more. "Dad! Please! No more, I can't…." Sarah suddenly had to cough but had to force it out as she almost choked while Lilith just laughed. "No! Daddy!"

Sam wanted desperately to shield his niece from all of this. He looked between her, his brother, and Lilith, still pleading with the demon. Then Sam looked over and saw his brother take his last breath, dropping his head.

Sam looked over at Lilith just as she smiled at him and raised her hand at him and Sarah. There was a sudden flash of burning white light that filled the whole room up. Both of them dropped from the wall but miraculously survived the blast. The minute Sam was free to move, he shielded his niece until the light was gone. Sam and Sarah slowly raised their heads to look up at the demon, who was just as surprised as they were. Even being shielded, there was no way even Sarah should have survived. They were both engulfed.

The moment Sarah realized she could move she scurried to her feet, grabbing Ruby's knife in her hand and tried to plunge the knife into Lilith, herself. But not before Lilith escaped. Black smoke shot out of her mouth and up into the air vent above. The meat suit left behind dropped limply beside Dean.

Sarah had shielded herself as the smoke shot up into the vent and looked up when it was over, at the limp body and caught her father's out of the corner of her eye. She stared at her hero, her chest moving rabidly as the tears came back once again. Dropping the knife at her feet, Sarah dashed over and dropped to her knees beside her father as the tears ran down her cheeks. She tried closing her eyes and opening them again to see if it was all a dream or another sick joke caused by the trickster but nope. It was all real this time. This was it. This was the moment they had been trying to stop all year long.

Sam had slowly walked over to kneel beside his niece as he stared at his brother's lifeless body. He couldn't hold back the tears either as he touched Sarah's right shoulder.

"He's gone," Sarah managed to mutter. "Dad's gone." She bust out crying again and turned to throw herself on her uncle, squeezing his neck the tightest she ever squeezed someone. Sam squeezed her back in his arms, crying into his niece's left shoulder. Unknown to them, down in hell, Dean had chains going right through him, yelling for them.


	123. Chapter 123- Grieving Process

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 123

The car ride was in silence as Sam drove the Impala, this time. Sarah sat on the other side of the front seat, staring out the window, holding her monkey to her in a tight embrace. Sam kept glancing over at his niece, knowing how hard she was taking losing her father. After the whole mess was over and Bobby was able to come out of hiding, he rushed over to the house and found Sam and Sarah. The old hunter helped carry Dean's body out to the Impala where they placed it in the trunk until they figured out where to bury him. Bobby wanted to do the usual hunter's burial but Sam refused. Sarah backed Bobby up, saying her father would have wanted it that way. Sam didn't say anything he had planned in his head. His brother may be gone but a part of him was still left behind in his niece and knew she would argue about trying to bring Dean back from the dead.

Early in the morning, they found a hidden patch of land near Pontiac, Illinois and decided to bury Dean there in a grove of trees. The morning sun was starting to peak out over the horizon as Sam, Bobby, and Sarah dug into the earth. There had been a gas station down the road and luckily someone had thrown out some wood and Bobby quickly built a coffin-like box wide enough to place Dean inside. Sarah did a little pickpocketing one last time and swiped her father's phone, but not just because of the games it had. She remembered how Dean had kept John's phone in case one of his old contacts called and figured she'd do the same in case Dean had any old contacts.

The men closed the lid on the coffin and lowered it down into the hole. Sarah broke down again as she stared at the closed coffin that held her hero and had to leave the site. She couldn't work up to finish. Bobby motioned for Sam to go after her and said he would fill in the hole. Sam agreed and walked over to where Sarah was sitting on the hood, staring at a folded photo of her and Dean, smiling together. He came up beside the hood and put his arm around his niece, pulling her towards him, looking down at the photo.

"I miss him, Uncle Sam. I miss him so much," she sniffed.

Sam rubbed her opposite shoulder from him, "I know, Peanut. I miss him, too," he told her, softly.

Sarah looked up at her uncle and then hid her face in his chest, crying hard. "I want my dad back so badly," she cried. "I want to rip Lilith to shreds like how she made us watch Dad get ripped to shreds."

Sam lifted his niece into his arms and turned around to lean against the Impala, rubbing her back. He had to find a way to bring his brother back, and not just for him either. Once Bobby was done filling in the hole, they headed back to his place. Sarah tried to fight the sleep that was trying to overcome her but since she had been up the whole night, sleep had won and eventually, she was curled up on the front seat, clutching her monkey and photo to her.

When Sam pulled into the salvage yard and parked, he carried Sarah inside and laid her down on the bed in the room she usually stayed in when she stayed at Bobby's. He removed her boots for her and her jacket, and went back outside to unpack the car, leaving his stuff in there. Once Sam was all finished, he took off without a word to Bobby. He really did not want to leave his niece behind like that but he knew she would just try and stop him. But Sam had to find a way to bring Dean back.

Bobby hadn't noticed it until Sarah woke up the next day, thinking Sam had just went upstairs to lay with her but Sarah shook her head and said that no one was up there. The two of them exchanged looks before Sarah rushed outside and scanned around for any sign of the Impala. It was gone and even if she didn't think it was possible, the little girl's heart broke some more. Not only was her father gone, her uncle was gone, as well. Even though they didn't have the relationship she had with Dean, it was still close enough that she needed Sam, too.

More tears fell as Bobby walked out onto the front porch and looked over to see Sarah just standing there, staring off in the distance. He looked around for the Impala but didn't see it either. "Damn it, Sam," he muttered to himself and stepped down from the porch to walk over to the little girl. Bobby touched the top of her head, gently before Sarah turned and bolted back inside the house. She ran upstairs and slammed the bedroom door shut, jumping onto the bed and cried into the pillow.

Bobby wasn't doing so well with Dean's death either. The guy was like a son to him and he had almost lost it when he first saw the sight of him, and burying Dean wasn't any easier. But watching Sarah fall apart was breaking his heart even more.

Sarah stayed in her room all day, just lying there, staring at the photo of her father. There wasn't anything else she wanted to do. Bobby left her alone until that evening when he brought her up a sandwich and glass of milk. She refused to eat though.

"Come on, kiddo," he pleaded with the little girl, "you have to eat something. You haven't eaten at all for the last few days. It ain't good for ya."

"I said I'm not hungry, Uncle Bobby," she repeated, not lifting her head from the pillow.

"Okay. I'll just set this down in case you change your mind." Bobby set the sandwich and milk down on the nightstand. He watched Sarah for a moment before turning around to walk back out of the room, stealing one more, heart-wrenching look at her in the doorway before going back downstairs. He sat down at his desk and sighed, running his hands along his face. Bobby picked up a glass from his desk and stared into the liquid he had left before downing it in one gulp.

Sarah didn't come downstairs until late, the next morning. Even she couldn't ignore her stomach any longer and the sandwich was hard and the milk was sour. She took them with her and dumped the sandwich in the trash, pouring the milk out in the sink. Bobby offered to make her some breakfast and to his relief, she nodded.

"Any word from Uncle Sam, Uncle Bobby?" she asked, sitting down at the table.

"No, not yet. I tried to call but he ain't answering his phone," Bobby answered, sadly as he was frying eggs in a frying pan.

Sarah stared down at the table with her eyes as she held her head upright on her folded arms. "Well, Dad was his big brother. It did hurt him as much as it did us. Maybe Uncle Sam just needs time alone," she shrugged.

"Maybe," Bobby agreed. Even if Sam did need time alone, it still wasn't right just to leave his niece behind without even a good-bye. Bobby cooked breakfast for the both of them. Sarah barely ate though. She was still missing her father and picked around at the eggs and sausage with her fork, leaning her head against her left hand, taking a bite now and then. Bobby couldn't help remember how much Sarah would remind him of Dean when she ate, now it was just depressing.

Bobby was finished eating before she was and just rinsed the dishes, leaving them in the sink as someone knocked on the door. Sarah looked up, suddenly, hopeful it was her uncle and rushed to the door to open it but found Ellen instead. She had called the day before knowing Dean's year was up and wanted to check on Bobby and he told her everything that had happened. It wasn't all a letdown for Sarah and she hugged the woman around the legs.

Ellen kneeled down and took the little girl into her arms and held her in a motherly embrace as more tears fell. Just when Sarah thought she was all cried out, more tears would appear.

Over the next month, Sarah stayed with Bobby, helping him outside in the yard with the cars. Now and then she would try and take her mind off of her dad in hell by playing her video games. Things didn't get easier especially as the nightmares continued each night, leaving her tossing and turning with her arm outstretched, feeling around for Dean. Sarah would then shoot out a sound sleep and look around for her father before remembering he wasn't there.

Another birthday had arrived. Sarah didn't get excited for it, this year not even at the fact that she had reached double digits which were supposed to be a big deal to a kid. Sarah couldn't bring herself to be excited at all. Sam still hadn't called or came back either and they learned that he had disconnected his cellphone. No one had really called Dean's cell phone at all. Sarah was surprised when Lisa, his old girlfriend had called and had to tell her that Dean was dead. Sarah asked about Ben and how he was doing but didn't stay on the line very long. She really did not want to talk to one of her father's old girlfriends.

The morning of her tenth birthday, Sarah woke up late and made her way downstairs where she was bombarded by a sudden _surprise!_ Even though it had been almost a month since her father died, she was still grieving and just said a simple thank-you to Bobby, Ellen, and Jo. Sam wasn't there and didn't even call, and Sarah was growing more and more towards resenting her uncle.

Bobby made a chocolate chip pancake breakfast with whipped cream. Sarah tried to be excited for them because she knew how much he and Ellen, and even Jo were trying to cheer her up. Plus, Dean had told his daughter once that Bobby did make the best pancakes around and he wasn't kidding either. That morning was the best Sarah had eaten in a month.

Towards the end of the meal, the adults brought out a few gifts they brought. Sarah opened Jo's first which was a box set of the original Pokémon TV series, remembering what her father had told her before he died. She thanked the young woman and gave Jo a hug before opening Ellen's gift. Sarah pulled out several T-shirts and a couple pairs of jeans, and a stuffed wolf which she thanked Ellen for with a hug, too.

Bobby's gift was last. Sarah picked up the first rectangular, wrapped gift and ripped open the _Spongebob Squarepants_ wrapping paper, carefully.

"Come on, kiddo," Bobby smirked across the table from Sarah. "No need to save the paper, there's plenty more. Just tear into that sucker."

"I'm not saving the paper," she pointed out and finished removing the wrapping paper to find a brand new Nintendo DS sealed in its box.

Jo looked over at it from the end of the table where she was sitting next to Sarah, and glared over at Bobby. "Nice, Bobby," she told him.

The old hunter shrugged, innocently, "What?"

"Didn't we agree to, at least a thirty dollar budget?"

"Yeah, but I figured she could use some spoiling after the hell she just lived through."

"You could have filled us in on it?" Ellen asked of him.

"Well…" Bobby tried to come up with a good enough excuse.

"I think he just wanted the spotlight of best gift," Jo said, giving the man a death glare.

"No one's gift is better," Sarah told them, starting on part two of Bobby's gift, reaching her fingers underneath one of the flaps of wrapping paper. "I like everyone's gift, equally."

"Oh, come on, you can have a favorite," Bobby told her. "Which is it, so far?"

Sarah tilted her head at him, giving Bobby a look, "Uncle Bobby."

He shrugged, leaning back in his seat. "Fine," he gave in and let her finish unwrapping her last gift.

Sarah tore away the wrapping paper like she did the first one and this time found the Pokémon game, _Pokémon Pearl_. She stared at it. It was one of the games she had wished she had. Sarah stood up off her chair and walked around the table to hug Bobby, thanking him for the gifts.

When the kitchen was clean, Sarah curled up on the couch and opened her new video game handheld, plugging it in to the outlet next to the couch. She started a new game, choosing Chimchar as her starter, of course. Since she hated what the girl looked like, Sarah decided to choose the boy and name him after her father to pay a little tribute to him.

Sarah played for an hour before she saved it and turned the DS off before moving over to sit next to Ellen, curling up beside her. Ellen suggested they go get ice cream to her and Sarah agreed. On the car ride there, Sarah tried playing her new game some more but then she started thinking about her father again and how she wished he could be here to share this day with her. Suddenly, Sarah wasn't so hungry for ice cream anymore and it melted faster than she was eating it. When they got back to Bobby's house, Sarah went upstairs and took a nap for the rest of the day.

Summer eventually rolled in and Sarah started wearing shorts instead of jeans. The grieving progress was still slowly passing through and the days still weren't getting any easier without her father right there with her. It scared Bobby and Ellen how much Dean being gone was affecting her. Ellen found herself calling Bobby every single day to check in on how Sarah was doing and tried to get Sarah to talk about it. Sarah just held it in, of course. None of them knew how bad it was until one day, towards the end of June.

Sarah walked outside. It was around lunchtime as she carried a glass bottle of root beer in her right hand and went over to lean against a broken down car, missing its doors and wheels, among other parts. She stared at the ground the whole time. The sky was covered with grey clouds as the wind blew. Now and then, Sarah would take a swig of her soda, holding the bottle like Dean would hold a beer while looking around the salvage yard.

The nightmares were still continuing at night, and now whenever Sarah closed her eyes. She could still see the horrifying scene and hear her father's cries, as well as Lilith laughing. The laughter is what always pissed Sarah off the most. Tears filled her eyes as that night replayed in her mind. Her emotions had been pushed down so deep the past month that when she looked over on the driver's seat of the broken down car, Sarah saw a crow bar lying there and grabbed it, dropping her soda on the ground and swung with all her might. The side mirror smashed into pieces when the crow bar connected with it.

The broken down car took blow after blow as she finally released all that she had been holding in the past month. Many dents appeared on the hood and on the side of the hood. The commotion had brought Bobby outside, wondering what the hell was going on and saw Sarah pummeling the car. He did not interfere though. Bobby knew sooner or later, the little girl would crack and it was only a matter of time, too just like it happened to Dean.

Sarah continued for another minute before she stopped, panting up a storm. She turned and chucked the crow bar across the yard. The sound of glass breaking was heard somewhere wherever it landed as Sarah fell to her knees in the dirt, not even caring of the pain of bare skin skidding along the rough ground. Tears drenched her face as she cried once more for her father.

She looked up to the sky. "I did everything I was taught and read of Your word! Everything! I prayed, faithfully to You! I tried to get Dad to believe in You! How could you take him from me? Why did this have to happen, huh? Maybe Dad was right, maybe there is no God. I poured my whole heart and soul out to You but all You've ever done is pile more crap onto my plate!" Sarah's chest moved rapidly as she cried out towards heaven. "You can forget it. I'm done with everything! I can't do it. I can't live without the man. I've tried. I tried moving on and being happy but I can't make it last anymore. My dad was who always kept me going, without him who am I living for? Uncle Sam's gone and I can bet anything he's probably not coming back."

Sarah looked down, clenching her eyes shut as she squeezed her fists in her lap. Lifting her head, she shouted, "I hate You so much! And I hate Uncle Sam!" With that said Sarah reached into her side pocket and whipped out her knife, pulling the blade out.

Bobby had still been watching from the porch, his heart breaking as Sarah cried out, angrily. But when he saw her pull out her knife, Bobby got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and rushed right over.

"Sarah, you okay?" he asked, making sure.

"Does it look like I'm okay?" she snapped at him.

"Don't snap at me, young lady," Bobby scolded her. "I was just worried about you."

Sarah looked back down at her knife in her hands. "Sorry, Uncle Bobby, I didn't mean to snap at you. Can I just be alone for now?"

"What were you planning on doing with that knife there?" he asked of her, keeping an eye on it.

"I was…I was just looking at it," she lied. "Dad gave this to me for Christmas."

"Yer lying," Bobby told her.

Sarah glared up at the old man. "No I'm not," she said, defensively. "Dad really did give this to me for Christmas because Grandpa gave it to him when he was my age."

Bobby shook his head, "I'm not talking about that, kid."

Another tear fell. She knew she was caught. "It's too hard to live without him, Uncle Bobby. I can't do it, I've tried. Dad's gone. Uncle Sam's gone, too. God only knows where he is or what he's even doing, if he's alive or not."

"We don't know if Sam's gone for good, or if he's alive or not."

"Whether he is or not, he's dead to me. He took off without even as much as a good-bye and doesn't even call to check in." Sarah drew in the dirt with the point of the blade, stabbing it now and then.

Bobby continued to watch her before walking over to kneel beside her, grasping her left shoulder. "I know it ain't been easy this past month, Sarah. You have to hang in there. It's what your dad would want."

Sarah stopped drawing in the dirt, her vision blurring from her eyes filling up with tears. Bobby's friend, Rufus' words were now ringing in her mind: _There ain't no happy ending. We all got it coming._ Those words replayed over and over like a broken record. That was why Sarah hated sappy fairy tales. She knew that life didn't always end with the good guy always triumphing and the girl marrying the handsome prince and living happily ever after. Life sucked and there wasn't anything a person could do but accept it. But Sarah couldn't accept her father dead and gone. She refused. She wanted him back, alive.

Bobby reached over and pulled the knife out of her hand.

Sarah tried to pull it away from his grasp but Bobby was quicker. "That's mine," she told him, perturbed he had taken it.

"You can have it back when I know you're in a better state of mind," he said. Bobby closed the blade in and slid it into his jeans pocket. "Trust me kiddo, it hasn't been easy for me either. Your dad was like a son to me, he and Sam. I care about those boys like they were my own. Because of that, you're like a granddaughter to me. Right now, you're the last person holding me together. You're young, you got plenty to live for and come August, I'm getting you back in school where you belong. Understood?"

"But…" she tried to object.

"No buts, Sarah. I mean it. As smart as you, you should be in school. I don't want you just homeschooled and getting your GED when you're older like your dad did. You're going to college and making something of yourself."

Sarah stared up at the man. "Yes, sir," she finally said when he was finished.

Bobby smiled, "You're a good kid, Sarah. And I still see an ounce of innocence in ya and I don't want to see it gone."

Sarah shook her head, "No. After what I seen that night, I think all that childhood innocence is gone for good now."

"Yeah, I agree that most likely scarred you, no question about it but it doesn't mean I'm gonna treat ya like you were an adult. You're still a kid after all. A strong, very mature kid but a kid."

Sarah continued to stare at the man. Okay, so she did still have a person in her life to live for, it still wouldn't be easy living without the most important one. Standing up onto one foot, she threw herself onto Bobby and hugged his neck. "Thanks, Uncle Bobby," she told him from his right shoulder.

"No problem, kid," he said, holding her in his arms.


	124. Chapter 124- Continuing Life Without him

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 124

Over the rest of the summer, things got a little better for Sarah. She still missed her father, dearly but thanks to Bobby's lecture, she decided not to stew around feeling sorry for herself. Bobby made sure Sarah stayed a kid for as long as possible. When she wasn't earning an allowance helping him with the cars or with chores around the house, and when Bobby wasn't dealing with other hunters calling or dropping by, asking for help, they had fun. Friday nights became movie night after Bobby got the TV downstairs fixed. Saturdays, they headed off somewhere fun and exciting, like the zoo or even something simple as bowling. Sarah had yet to beat Bobby at bowling though. The guy was a pro.

Now and then, Sarah stayed with Ellen a few nights finally experiencing what Sarah wanted from her own mother. Sarah tried to teach Ellen and Bobby how to play video games on both of her game systems. Neither one of them was pro but they did pretty well for beginners. Mostly, they tried just to keep Sarah's mind occupied from thinking about Dean. One small thought of Dean's face and a tear could be shed so Bobby and Ellen tried everything Sarah wanted to do.

One thing did make Sarah extremely happy. Over the summer since she had hit ten years old, Sarah got a minor growth spurt. She didn't grow much but at least she wasn't as short as before and wasn't eye-level with people's upper legs. Sarah could hug someone a little below the waist. That also meant Sarah had outgrown all her clothes she loved. Since the school year was just around the corner, Ellen took her back-to-school shopping. Sarah still got the same wardrobe though of jeans, T-shirts, and boots. The only addition she made was over shirts like Dean wore.

Even though it was way too big on her, when school started and it started getting chilly again, Sarah already started wearing her father's leather jacket since she had outgrown hers. She just kept the ends of the sleeves tucked in so she could still use her hands. Sarah had noticed while looking in the mirror after getting out of the shower, one night, that her hair had gotten longer than she liked it and cut it back to the style she did, shorter than a girl's but a little longer than a boy's so people could still tell she was a girl, herself.

The first day of the school year, Bobby gave her a lift to school, dropping her off in the front. Sarah stepped out after giving the old man a kiss on the cheek and swung her _Mario Bros._ blue backpack on one shoulder. She waved to him before shutting the car door and walked up to the building as kids from age five to fourteen piled inside. Even though she was only ten, the school had placed Sarah in the fifth grade after they tested her.

Sarah stopped by her locker first to check it out but did not put anything in it yet and decided to head towards her homeroom, taking a seat in the center, back row. She looked around at the few students who were already inside, talking. It felt strange being back in a classroom with a couple dozen kids her age after the last three years she had experienced, and thought about what had happened since then, remembering all the hunts that stuck out the most in her mind.

A girl had sat in the desk in the row next to hers and snapped Sarah out of her thoughts. "Huh? What?" Sarah asked the girl.

"I said, my name's Haley Williams," the girl repeated, kindly. "What's yours?"

"Sarah…" Sarah paused for a moment before she said, "Sarah Singer," remembering she was supposed to be dead and that was the last name Bobby had put on the paperwork when he enrolled her.

"Where did you move from?" Haley asked.

"Uh, I'm originally from Milbank, couple hours from here," Sarah replied.

"How come your parents moved you here?"

"They didn't." Sarah sat slouched in her seat with her hands in her jacket pockets, looking over at the other girl. "My mom passed away about three years ago and my dad passed away a couple months ago. I live with my grandfather now." Ever since Bobby told her, he thought of her like a granddaughter, she still called him Uncle Bobby just so each of her three grandfathers had a separate name she called them. Greg was still Papa, while John was Grandpa. It would be confusing to call both John and Bobby Grandpa, and so they just decided Uncle Bobby was fine.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Haley continued to ask, just trying to be friendly.

"Not really. I have someone who's like a big sister to me, and a cousin who used to be like a big brother but I don't talk to him anymore, really." Even though she was living in South Dakota again, Sarah had completely forgotten about her other family and now was feeling guilty not looking them up.

The final bell rang over the intercom and the rest of the students piled inside the classroom, taking their seats. The teacher took roll call and passed out each student's class schedule for the school year before dismissing the students to their first period of the day. Not used to having more than one class or having to follow her own schedule, Sarah looked over hers, carefully. She stood up, slinging her backpack on one shoulder again to leave.

Haley joined her. "What do you have first?" she asked Sarah.

"Social Studies," Sarah told her, looking up from her schedule.

Haley was excited. "Hey, me, too. Want to walk over together?"

Sarah shrugged, "Sure."

"Great." The girls walked out of the classroom and took a left down the hallway. "So what's up with that huge jacket you're wearing? Don't you have one that fits?"

"It was my dad's," Sarah said, holding onto the strap that was on her right shoulder. "Before that, it was my grandfather's."

"Where did you get that creepy thing around your neck?"

Sarah looked down at the gold-colored pendent around her neck. She barely took it off since her father gave it to her. Sarah had looked up the history what it was supposed to be and found that it was used for protection, figuring that was why Dean had given it to her instead of giving it back to Sam.

Sam. Sarah had really come to resent her uncle even more now, which hurt. Sam had still not called or came by to check on his niece. Sarah wondered what it was exactly what he was doing. She remembered him being against Dean on letting Sarah hunt, so she wondered if that was the reason Sam dropped her off at Bobby's and booked. But then if that was the reason then Sam would have at least called in, right? The most logical explanation Sarah could think of was that Sam was doing something that Dean would disapprove of and knew she'd give him a hard with it, too. But even if that were the case, that didn't mean to shut out the rest of his family.

"Yeah, he gave it to me the night he died," Sarah finally answered after a moment as she continued to look at it. They didn't have that far to go and entered another classroom, two doors down. Sarah sat in the same spot like in homeroom, tossing her backpack on the desk in front of her.

Haley sat in the desk in front of her and sat sideways to continue talking. "You and your dad seem like you were really close."

"Closest as any father and daughter could get," Sarah shrugged, staring down at her backpack, barely glancing up.

Haley studied Sarah for a moment and noticed an old scar Sarah had gotten on a hunt once. It looked old. "How did you get that scar?" she asked, curious.

Sarah glanced up at her and put her hand to the side of her forehead, "This one?"

She nodded.

Sarah thought back to her very first hunt with just her and her father, taking on those skinwalkers. She had plenty of other scars from other hunts but that one was what stuck in her mind the most. She was glad when the teacher quieted the class down and started the class session.

Sarah sat at her desk, leaning against her right hand as the teacher talked about himself and what he did over summer vacation, talking about his trip to Italy. He told them at the end of the semester, a month before Christmas break, each student will have to choose a country to do a full report and presentation on that they would like to visit someday as Sarah drifted off. She stared out one of the large windows as images of the skinwalker hunt crossed through her mind not aware that the teacher had assigned them a quick, short paper about each student.

The teacher walked down the aisle of desks and stopped at her desk. "Young lady," he tried to get Sarah's attention. "Young lady." He shook her shoulder, finally getting her attention. "What is your name, young lady?"

Sarah stared up at the young man who seemed to be around Dean's age. "Sarah Singer, sir," she replied.

"Sarah, can you take out a piece of paper and something to write with?" he asked, kindly. "The assignment is on the board." The teacher pointed over at the chalkboard and walked back up to the front of the class, over to his desk.

Sarah unzipped her backpack and took out one of her spiral notebooks, opening the front pocket to take out a mechanical pencil. She set her backpack on the floor, against the front, left desk leg. Opening to the first blank page, Sarah wrote down the heading the teacher also had written on the board. Then came the big question: What should she write? All she knew the past few years was hunting and she couldn't exactly put that down. Eventually, Sarah laid her chin on her left arm and just started writing, getting the basic stuff down. Where she was from, who each of her family were, her favorite TV shows, movies, hobbies (excluding hunting), and other stuff she knew regular kids knew of that she liked.

Most of her teachers, except for her math teacher basically did the usual first day, get-to-know thing and explained their expectations and guidelines. Sarah was bored the whole day until she got to her math class at the end of the day. Math was the only class Haley wasn't in. There were two math teachers, one for the gifted students and another for the students who needed more time on understanding the concepts. Sarah, of course, was in the gifted class. She ended up still bored though while the teacher was going over something her uncle had already taught her.

Lunch was okay. While she went through the lunch line and gave the lunch woman money for her lunch, Sarah noticed they were looking for students to help serve lunch every day. Since students who helped could get a free lunch out of it, Sarah volunteered. The lunch woman said she could start the next day and to be there fifteen minutes before lunch which also meant Sarah would be leaving her science class early.

After school, Bobby picked Sarah up, too. Sarah walked over to where he was parked in front of the school and slid inside the front seat.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted. "How was your first day?"

Sarah shrugged, "It was fine. My math teacher was the only one who started teaching the material today so I already have homework."

"Really," he said, surprised as he started the engine and pulled away from the curb. "Did you make any friends, at least?"

"This girl, Haley seems nice. We have all classes together except for math class, so we sat together, including at lunch."

"That sounds great, Sarah," he smiled.

"Yeah, school seems like it'll be better than I remember it," she told him.

"That's good to hear," Bobby told her. He had been worried Sarah wouldn't fit in with the other kids but hearing she had a good first day, gave him hope that there was still a chance for Sarah.

Sarah then told him about her classes and about serving during lunch every day. When she got home, she used her father's cellphone she still had to call her grandparents, assuring they didn't have to worry, that she wasn't hunting anymore. It was her grandfather who answered and she finally filled him in on where her father was now and how he had gotten there, not really thinking how much of a bad idea that could be.

 _"I'm so sorry, Sarah,"_ Greg told her when Sarah finished. She had purposely left out the part of her uncle leaving her with Bobby, lying that she wanted to live with him. She didn't want to give her uncle a bad rap with her grandparents when they didn't know him, personally like she did. Sarah may have been resentful, but Sam was still her only blood left on the Winchester side. _"Our annual family picnic is on Saturday. Can Mark and his wife pick you up for it? It's in Sioux Falls, remember?_

"Uh, actually, this week's my first week of school so I'm probably gonna be swamped with homework, this weekend," she lied, not wanting to go to one of their family's yearly picnics they have twice a year with the whole family.

 _"It's been three years, Sarah. Everyone misses you, especially your cousins. Plus, it's good to be with family after losing a loved one,"_ he urged his granddaughter. _"Don't you want to see everyone?"_

 _Not really_ , she thought to herself, but she did want to see the other kids, she didn't have any beef with them. Sarah let out a sigh, quietly so Greg couldn't hear. "Only if I could bring someone with me," she told her grandfather.

 _"Of course, Sarah., this is a family picnic, after all,"_ he replied. _"That includes your other side of the family. By the way, how was your first day of school?"_

Sarah lied back on her bed, one leg hanging. "It was fine," she shrugged and told her grandfather what she had told Bobby. When she was finally able to hang up, she went to close the phone and stopped to stare at the picture of her and her father she had changed the wallpaper to. Dean had a picture of just Sarah before.

A tear escaped her right eye. "I miss you, Dad," she said, softly to the picture. "I know what's happening down there. That Alistair guy is probably making you the same offer he made Grandpa. Grandpa never gave in. Don't give in, Dad. Tell him to stick it somewhere." Her vision blurred as Sarah thought more of what she remembered of hell and knew it was happening to her own father. That he was probably being ripped to shreds every single day until there was nothing left then become whole just to start over the next day. Sarah never forgot what that Alistair looked like either. There was no forgetting anything from hell. It was lodged in her brain forever and no one could understand her unless they've been there or seen it for themselves.

Saturday morning, Ellen and Sarah drove over to one of her uncles' house. Sarah wasn't even sure if he was an uncle. She had so many relatives from the Holden side who she called uncles, aunts, and cousins, even Sarah couldn't keep up with them. They walked across the wide acre property on the other side of Sioux Falls. Kids ran around, screaming as they played and adults were scattered about in groups. Bobby really did not want to go to a large gathering like that just as much as Sarah did but had said he would. Sarah could see right through it and said she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable and said he didn't have to. So she called Ellen who gladly said she would go.

Suddenly, Sarah got tackled from the back, landing forward on the grass with the boy, Jacob from the home movies on top, now a lot older. He twisted her arm back, expecting Sarah to say uncle but got a rude awakening. Sarah yanked free and quickly pinned Jacob down, sitting on top of the boy.

"Nice try, Jacob," she smirked her crooked smile, "but still no dice." Sarah stood up off of him and held out her hand to help Jacob up.

"Is it me or did you get even better than we were little?" Jacob asked of her.

Sarah shrugged, "My dad gave me a few pointers."

Jacob grinned in return and hugged her. Sarah wrapped her arms around her cousin's torso. "Good to see ya again, cuz," he told her.

"Same here," she agreed. Ellen smiled at the scene. The cousins pulled away just as Greg was walking up to them.

"Glad you could make it, Sar Bear," he greeted his granddaughter with a warm smile.

"Hey, Papa," she waved and gave him a hug, as well. She really did hate that nickname they called her. It was supposed to be a pun off of a _Care Bear_ even though she was never into that show.

"Look how much you grown since I last saw you," Greg said, looking Sarah up and down. "I mean, it only been what? Five months?"

"I got a growth spurt over the summer," Sarah shrugged.

One of the teenaged boys had caught Sarah standing there and called her over, "Sarah, you're here! Hey, we could use your help!"

Sarah grinned over at the young man, "What's the matter, getting creamed over there without my stellar football skills?"

The young man laughed. "Just get your butt over here," he teased her.

Sarah looked up at Ellen, "You don't mind, right? I don't want to just ditch you like that."

Ellen smiled, "You're fine, Sarah. Go show those boys a thing or two."

Sarah smiled at her and hugged her before removing her father's jacket, handing it to Ellen and took off at a run to join the boys. Even for a little kid, Sarah could always hold her own when playing football with the older kids.

Greg turned to Ellen once Sarah was gone. "I'm Greg, Sarah's grandfather," he introduced as he held his hand out to her.

"I'm Ellen," Ellen returned the handshake. "I'm a friend of her dad's. Sarah's like another daughter to me."

He nodded, "Okay. I was expecting that older guy, Bobby, right?"

"Yeah. Bobby never liked the social gatherings and Sarah didn't want him to feel uncomfortable the whole time," she explained.

Greg looked down at the adult-sized leather jacket over Ellen's right arm. "What's with the jacket there? Does she need a new one? We can get her one if Sarah needs a new jacket."

She shrugged, "I offered to buy her a new one but Sarah insists on wearing her dad's old jacket. I can't believe this thing's still in one piece. I remember seeing her grandfather wear this, a long time ago."

The sound of wheels on dirt was heard, turning their heads to see Mark pushing himself. "Hey, is Sarah here yet?" he asked Greg.

"She's playing football with the boys," Greg motioned over at the game with his head. "I'm warning you though. Do not push her into it. We have to take it slow if we want to convince her to move in with you."

Ellen looked between the men. "Sarah has a home though," she spoke up for Sarah.

"We know," Mark said, "but even before her father died, we've been trying to get Sarah to come live with me and my wife."

"That has to be up to her," she said.

"Yes, and she's stubborn as hell about all of this but we feel this is best for her, living with me."

"Best how? As long as Sarah is with family, she'll be just fine," Ellen argued with him.

"The last few times I saw my cousin, she was living in motels. She had no permanent home. What kind of life is that for a child?" he argued back.

"I agree with you on that but Sarah was among family and still is."

Greg stepped in the middle of it. "Okay, that's enough," he said.

"I can't believe you people are gonna bring this up again after Sarah had lost her father," Ellen shook her head, looking away to watch Sarah.

Mark scoffed. "I'm glad the guy's rotting in hell. Good riddance is what I say."

Ellen tried her best to hold down the anger boiling up inside of her, for Sarah's sake and was relieved when someone announced lunch was ready. Sarah hurried over to them again and took back her father's jacket to throw it back on, fixing the sleeves.

"Hey, Sar Bear," Mark smiled at her.

Sarah glanced up at the young man for a second, folding the sleeves in. "Oh, hey, Mark," she replied, not entirely enthusiastic at all to see her second cousin.

"Can I get a hug?" he asked, hopeful.

Sarah finished and walked over to give Mark half of a hug, using just one arm. She turned back to Ellen, "Want to grab something to eat before it's all gone? I'm starving."

Ellen smiled at that, "Sure, sweetheart."

Mark watched as Sarah walked away. "We used to be best friends until that guy came into the picture. I should have never been deported."

"It was your idea to go into the military, Mark," Greg reminded his nephew. "I told you to go to college. Your dad told you to go, too."

"They would have paid for my tuition," he shrugged.

Sarah and Ellen stood in line, waiting. Everyone was glad when they saw Sarah there, hugging her and asking what she had been up to. All Sarah told them was that she had been on a long road trip with her father and uncle. Some of them asked about her scar like Haley had which Sarah just said it was from a dog that attacked her. It wasn't a lie so there was no harm.

Once everyone was seated, Greg had started the prayer but Sarah just started eating. She was still upset with God and wanted nothing to do with the Guy. When people around her at their table opened their eyes and saw Sarah had not prayed with them, they were surprised. Mark was on the end next to Sarah, his wheelchair pulled up to the picnic table.

"Sarah, did you forget we pray before we eat?" he asked of her.

Sarah shook her head. "No, I just don't care anymore. If God is up there, He doesn't care so why should I?"

It got deathly quiet around her as everyone turned to look at the little girl, moving into the rest of the large group.

Greg had walked over to sit next to his wife with his plate of food. "What's going on? What happened?"

Mark was still staring at his second cousin. "Tell him, Sarah. Tell him what you told me," he said.

Ellen stepped in, on Sarah's other side, "That's enough. There doesn't need to be a scene."

"No, I want our family to see just how corrupt that supposed father of hers, made her," Mark responded, negatively.

"My dad did not corrupt me," Sarah glared back at the young man. "I've seen pure evil, Mark. Evil that would make you piss yourself. I prayed to God for a whole year, crying my heart out to him for a way to save my dad. He did not answer."

Mark moved his face closer, "That bastard deserves hell after what he did to your mother," he snarled, angrily.

At that, Sarah pulled back her fist and socked Mark right in the face, surprising everyone even more. "Don't ever talk that way about my dad, you dick. You have no room to judge him when you don't even know who he is. My dad's a hero. A hero!" Sarah stood up from the table and turned to Ellen. "I'm ready to leave, Miss Ellen," she told her, calmly.

Ellen nodded and stood up to leave. The two of them just left their plates there. Sarah wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. As they neared Ellen's car, Sarah started crying. Ellen noticed and kneeled down to her level, taking the little girl into her arms.

"I'm sorry, Miss Ellen. I didn't mean to…"

Ellen hushed, her, softly. "It's okay, Sarah. He shouldn't have said that to you. You were just defending your father," she comforted Sarah, holding her in her arms.

"I never should have come here." Sarah cried on Ellen's left shoulder. "I thought things were different now, after Gram sent Dad that package. I thought things would change. I was wrong. They'll never change, Miss Ellen. They'll never accept my dad."

Ellen was rubbing her back up and down, "Who cares if they accept your dad or not, sweetheart? The important thing is that you know what kind of person your dad is and that's the only thing that matters."

Sarah sniffed as she continued to cry, wanting her father so badly, right now.


	125. Chapter 125- Lazarus Rising (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 125

Dean struggled through the soil as he made his way out of the grave, pulling himself out. He wasn't sure how he had gotten there either. One minute he was in hell, the next he was waking up in a wooden box. Dean lied there in the dead grass as he tried to catch his breath and rolled over onto his back, closing his eyes. He had never been so thirsty before in his entire life as he was right then.

Eventually, he stood up and looked around as the blazing, hot sun beat down. The land around looked like something had exploded. Every single tree was knocked over and the whole ground around was dead and bare. Dean couldn't explain it at all and wondered what the heck brought him back to life.

Removing his over shirt, Dean tied it around his waist as he walked down the side of the road, hoping to run into a car driving by. It was dead quiet except for some crows flying overhead. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Dean came to a gas station and knocked on the door. The sign said they were closed and no one was inside so he wrapped his shirt around his hand and smashed through one of the glass panes to reach in and unlock the door.

Inside, Dean hurried over to the cooler and grabbed a water bottle out, chugging it down just letting the cap drop to the floor. He panted as he exhaled, removing the plastic bottle from his mouth as he looked around the store, noticing the newspaper stand next to the cooler. Not bothering to shut the cooler, he wandered over to pick up the newspaper on top and looked at the date. It was September, the eighteenth, 2008. So he had been gone for only four months?

Dean tossed water onto his face at a sink, using his shirt to dry it before looking up at his reflection and lifted up his T-shirt, remembering being torn to shreds by a hellhound but his torso was fine, not even a scratch. He dropped his T-shirt back down and turned to lift up the left sleeve where he saw a large welt of someone's handprint on his shoulder. It was all confusing.

After grabbing supplies he needed, and some he didn't need, Dean opened the cash register to take out enough money he needed, including change for the pay phone since he didn't have his cell phone on him and could guess who did.

Suddenly, the small TV behind him came on, showing black and white fuzz. Dean looked behind him and turned it off. The old radio on his other side turned on next. He stepped towards it to turn that off when the TV turned back on. Dean looked around the store. Thinking it may be a spirit or a demon, he quickly hurried over to the aisle where there were containers of salt and grabbed one, pouring it along the door as a high-pitched sound hummed, getting louder at each passing moment. It got to the point where it was too much as Dean tried to continue pouring, holding one hand over his ear. Dean dropped the container, covering both ears and threw himself on the floor as the glass shattered. He tried to stand to get out of there but every single window in the gas station shattered into millions of pieces as he lied on the floor, shielding himself from the shards.

Once the ear-splinting noise was gone, Dean went outside to find a pay phone nearby. He called his brother first but learned Sam's phone had been disconnected so he tried calling Bobby next, who hung up the first time. Dean tried a second time but Bobby threatened him before hanging up again. Then it dawned on him. He knew exactly who would believe him and called his own cellphone, hoping by some miracle it was still in service.

Sarah slowly got back into the swing of school over the next couple of months. She still missed her father, of course but she made friends and her teachers came to like her, too. She was still a great student as she had been before. Sarah expected to be bullied again, but no one really picked on her. She stood up for another kid once or twice but once she set the bully straight not to pick on anyone, nothing else happened.

She still helped Bobby work on cars on the weekends and saw Ellen as much as she could, and Jo, too. Bobby was relieved to see her embracing the life she used to know. Unknown to any of them though, Sarah kept up with any possible demon sighting she could and wished she could go after Lilith still, to tear her a new one but knew she couldn't and hoped Lilith would get what's coming to her, somehow. Sarah still wondered why Lilith wanted her father in hell though and still had an annoying feeling in the pit of her stomach as she thought about Lilith, Ruby, and the rest of the demons. But Sarah just pretended everything was fine as she passed out French bread pizza to students, with a side of fruit cocktail and a brownie.

All of a sudden, her father's phone vibrated from inside her jeans pocket, feeling it against her pelvis. Sarah tried to ignore it, at first but it just kept vibrating. So she stepped out of the school kitchen, walking through the noisy gym, and pushed through one of the metal doors, as she took the phone out of her pocket. The phone number wasn't familiar to her and guessed it was one of her father's old contacts.

Sarah answered it, putting it to her ear. "Hello?" she said into the phone.

Dean closed his eyes, thankful to hear his little girl's voice after so long.

"Hello?" she repeated.

"Baby Girl, is that you?" he asked, opening his eyes.

Sarah froze. No one had called her that since her father died. She swallowed a lump in her throat and asked in a threatening voice, "Who is this?"

"It's me, Baby Girl," Dean tried to assure her, knowing his daughter would believe him but wasn't expecting the response, forgetting just how much he had taught her.

"Look, whoever this is, my dad is dead. I know you're not really him and if this is a crocotta, you can forget trying to persuade me so don't ever call this number again, or I will hunt you down and kill you," she threatened before closing the phone and returned to the kitchen.

The line cut off back to a dial tone. Dean stared at the receiver before placing it back on the hook. It hurt to hear his daughter tell him all of that. He was proud Sarah didn't trust that if it was really him or a monster but it was still his little girl, after all. He looked over to a car parked nearby and hotwired it before driving to Sioux Falls, wanting desperately to hold his little girl again.

Sarah didn't tell Bobby that night about the phone call and Bobby didn't bring it up either. She wanted desperately to believe it was really her father but knew he was dead. She couldn't give in to her feelings and be lulled into a false sense of security. It was her father who had taught her that.

Sometime, late morning, Dean pulled into the salvage yard and pounded on the front door. Bobby answered, not expecting to see Dean standing there on his doorstep and was glad Sarah was at school.

Dean stared back at him, excited to see Bobby. "Surprise," he chuckled, his heart beating in anticipation.

"I…I don't…" Bobby said as he slowly backed away, reaching his hand behind him to pick up a knife.

Dean stared at the floor, "Yeah, me neither," he agreed, stepping inside and shrugged, "But here I am."

Bobby gripped the silver knife in his hand and suddenly swung it at him which Dean quickly blocked, trying to hold his arm back. Dean wrestled with the older man, getting pushed back inside the house now.

"Bobby, it's me," Dean tried to tell him.

"My ass." Bobby held the knife up and moved towards Dean.

Dean pushed a chair between them. "Wait. Your name is Robert Stephen Singer. You became a hunter after your wife got possessed. You're about the closest thing I have to a father." He slowly rose back up, looking at the man, "Bobby, it's me."

Bobby stared back at the young man in surprise and stepped towards him, pushing the chair out of the way. He touched Dean's right shoulder to make it seem like he wouldn't do anything until the last minute, plunging the knife at him again. Shapeshifters took on memories and thoughts of a person when they take their form.

"Whoa, whoa. I am not a shapeshifter," Dean told him as he wrestled with Bobby some more.

"Then you're a revenant," he replied, over his left shoulder.

Dean pushed Bobby back, now holding the knife. "All right," he said, "If I was either, could I do this with a silver knife?" Dean rolled up his sleeve some more and held out his arm. He shrugged, embracing himself before slicing the blade across his arm and looked back up at Bobby. Nothing happened.

Bobby stared at the young man again, this time in disbelief for real. "Dean?"

Dean let out a breath of air, "That's what I've been trying to tell ya." He slowly walked back to the man which he was pulled into a hug. Dean gripped him back, as well.

Bobby stared up at Dean afterwards, "It's good to see ya, boy."

"Yeah, you, too," he said in agreement, gripping Bobby's shirt sleeve for a moment.

"But how did you bust out?" Bobby asked, shaking his head.

Dean shook his head, too, "I don't know." He turned his head to put the knife down. "I just….woke up in a pine b…" When Dean turned back to face Bobby again, he got a face full of holy water splashed on him. Dean just stood there, letting water drip on his face and turned to spit some of it out. "I'm not a demon either, you know."

Bobby was holding up the bottle, "Sorry," he apologized and shrugged, trying to smile at the young man, "Can't be too careful," and got Dean a towel to dry off with. "That don't make a lick of sense," he said, walking into his study.

Dean held the towel on his shoulder, drying his neck off, "Yeah. Yeah, you're preaching to the choir."

He stopped on the other side of his desk to face Dean. "Dean, your chest was ribbons," he told him. "Your insides were slop. And you were buried four months. Even if you could slip out of hell and back into your meat suit…"

"I know I should look like a _Thriller_ video reject."

"What do you remember?" Bobby nodded up at him.

"Not much," he lied. "I remember I was a hellhound's chew toy. And then light's out. Then I come to, six feet under. That was it."

Bobby looked away as he sat down, slowly.

"Sam's number's not working. He's, uh… He's not…?"

"Oh, he's alive, as far as I know."

Dean was relieved to hear his brother was alive, as well. "Good," he nodded and walked around to the side of the desk. "Wait, what do you mean, as far as you know?"

"Sarah and I haven't talked to him in months," Bobby told him.

Dean stared at the man. "You're kidding? Sarah's here?"

"Sam dropped her off right after and she's been here, ever since."

"Where is she?" he asked, looking around the room.

"I got her back in school. Damn it." Bobby knew Dean being back was going to pull Sarah back into hunting. He just knew it.

"What?"

"It wasn't easy for either of us, Dean. I barely got through to Sarah. She was heartbroken without you, Dean and Sam just dumping her off, didn't help any either."

"Why didn't you stop him?" Dean said, anxiously.

"I didn't know. Sam carried Sarah upstairs to lay her down and I figured he had stayed up there with her. He just snuck out, didn't even say anything to either of us. He was quiet." Bobby took a deep breath. "It was tough seeing Sarah break down," he admitted, not sure if he should mention Sarah contemplating suicide, or not. "She lost all her faith she had, Dean."

Dean looked away at the floor as he closed his eyes. It was his worst nightmare, come true. Besides that, Dean was pissed at his brother, too. He told Sam to watch out for Sarah. How could he abandon her like that?

"I barely got her back into a normal childhood."

He looked at the man again, wanting desperately to see his little girl now. "What time does she get out of school?"

"Her bus drops her off around three-fifteen," Bobby replied.

Dean looked at his watch that said it was only eleven, thirty-five. It was going to be a long, three and a half hours for him. While he waited, Dean told Bobby about the gravesite and the high-pitch noise, showing him the hand-shaped welt. Thinking Sam made some kind of deal, Dean called the cellphone company Sam usually used to get the GPS turned on after he changed his clothes.

"How did you know he'd used that name?" Bobby asked, following after him when Dean hung up.

Dean sat down at Bobby's desk, "You kidding me? What don't I know about that kid?" He went to the cellphone website, noticing several empty alcohol bottles scattered on the desk. "Hey, Bobby," he said as Bobby leaned on the back of a chair, reaching over to grab one, "what's the deal with the liquor store? Hm?" Dean held it up, expecting an answer. "Your parents out of town or something?"

Bobby looked down at the desk, looking away. "Like I said…last few months ain't been that easy."

Dean stared up at him. "Right," he agreed. A beeping sound on the computer grabbed his attention. Dean leaned back in his chair, surprised. "Sam's in Pontiac, Illinois."

Bobby looked up, "Right near where you were planted."

Dean stared at the screen. "Right where I popped up. A hell of a coincidence, don't you think?"

Bobby agreed.

Both men wanted to head to Pontiac, Illinois but first thing's first. Dean still wanted to see his little girl again. When it got close to the time her bus would pull up, Dean headed outside and down the road to wait. He paced around, his hands on his sides, looking down both sides of the road for any sign of a school bus. He grew anxious when one drove up but was disappointed when it flew past him without stopping.

Sarah hadn't been able to stop thinking about the phone call she got the day before as she sat by the window. Kids were talking loudly, laughing with each other but to her, it was dead silence. The phone call had brought back the pain she thought she had pushed away as a tear fell, barely missing her bus stop, making the kid sitting next to her snap her out of it. Sarah stood up and made her way to the front of the bus.

Dean looked up and watched as another school bus pulled up and this time stop, a couple feet away from where he was standing. His heart started beating faster in anticipation as he waited for his daughter to step off the bus. It seemed like it was taking forever as he waited but soon, he saw her step off as the other kids still on, waved good-bye.

Sarah waved back, stepping off, with the doors closing behind her. She started walking in the direction of Bobby's house when she stopped in her tracks, staring right at her father.

Tears filled his eyes as Dean smiled back at her and started walking towards her. "Hey, Baby Girl," he greeted her.

Sarah's heart was beating faster, too as tears filled her eyes. But it wasn't him. It couldn't have been him and she suddenly whipped out her knife from her back pocket to plunge it towards her father.

Dean was almost knocked off guard but managed to hold her back, trying to push the knife away. "It's me, Baby Girl. I swear, it's me," he assured her as Dean wrestled with her.

"No, it's not. My dad is dead. You can't fool me!" Tears were pouring down both side of her face. "You're either a shapeshifter, or a revenant, or a changeling."

"Sarah, it's me. I know you better than anyone, including a shapeshifter. You're Sarah Lynn Winchester. You've known about hunting since you were five, you're obsessed with Pokémon. You had a crush on our friend, Ash. I'm your hero!" Dean was kneeled in the dirt, now bounding his daughter with his arms, tightly as Sarah fought to break loose.

"I don't believe you, you monster!" she cried out.

Dean had tears on his face now, as well. "Baby Girl, listen to me. I know I taught you to not to be trusting in these situations but it really is me." Remembering what he had to do with Bobby, he slowly held his arm out, still holding onto her with his other arm. "Slice my arm with your knife, Baby Girl and you will see it's me."

"I'll do more than slice, you son of a bitch!" Sarah exclaimed, struggling against her father.

"Sarah Lynn Winchester!" Dean exclaimed, sternly out of habit. "What did I say about using that word?"

Sarah stopped suddenly and looked up into her father's face. Dean slowly let her go and continued to hold his arm out to her.

"Come on, Baby Girl," he urged her, calmly. "Just do it."

Sarah turned around, slowly and looked down at his outstretched arm then up at him again. She slowly took ahold of his arm and brought the knife up to the center, just below where it bent, still keeping a watchful eye on her father just in case. Sarah sliced the blade across his arm as Dean grunted in pain. When nothing happened, Sarah looked back at him.

"Dad?" she asked, amazed. "Is it really you?"

Dean smiled at her, "Yeah, Baby Girl. It's really me."

"On the phone, too?"

He nodded, a tear flowing down the right side of his face.

A wave of emotion washed over her and Sarah suddenly jumped on her father, gripping his neck, tightly. "I don't believe it."

"I know, Baby Girl, I know. Me, too," he agreed as he held his little girl to him, tightly, as well.

Sarah was crying hard by now. "I missed you so much, Dad. Uncle Sam just left me here and took off. He never called or anything. If it weren't for Uncle Bobby, Miss Ellen, and Jo…"

Dean hushed her, "It's okay, Baby Girl, it's okay. I'm here now." He slowly started to stand up, lifting his daughter with him. Dean found it a little harder, now that she had grown over the last four months but didn't let it stop him and went over to pick up Sarah's backpack she had dropped when she ambushed him. He carried her all the back to Bobby's house.

Halfway there, Sarah lifted her head, sniffing in. "Dad." She thought about asking her father about hell but then stopped and just lowered her head back down on his shoulder. She was just glad to have him back again.


	126. Chapter 126- Lazarus Rising (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 126

"You said it, Sarah." The three of them were driving towards Pontiac, Illinois where Sam was supposed to be. Since it was a weekend, it was all right for Sarah to come but Dean was rethinking his original idea of letting Sarah hunt now that Bobby had gotten her back in school while Sarah still wanted to keep hunting and slaughter Lilith for what she had done.

"I know what I said before, Dad but now that I tried to go back to school, I can't do it. I have to hunt again," Sarah argued with her father from the backseat of Bobby's car.

Dean was in the front seat. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his right hand, "You promised when Yellow Eyes was dead, you would quit hunting. I didn't say anything last year because it was my last year with you," he reminded her, calmly.

Sarah looked away, out the side window. "I know, Dad." She kept saying as she looked back at her father. "It's just, I'm getting bored again. My classes are too easy. I finish before everyone when we take tests and quizzes. Everyone asks me for the answers."

"Why don't you talk to your teachers about maybe getting you bumped up another grade or harder classes?" Bobby suggested in his rear-view mirror.

"I've tried, they won't listen. Besides, I want to hunt again," she told him. Sarah turned back to her father, "Please, Dad?"

Bobby looked over at Dean, giving the younger man a look that said, _please don't give in_. Dean caught his eye, reading his mind and looked down again.

"Please, Dad. I've done research. They have online K thru twelve classes now that I can take and it can go at my level of what I know. I can still get my high school diploma instead of a GED. I checked it out, thoroughly, I swear. Please, Dad?"

"But what about your friends, sweetheart," Bobby continued to ask. "Don't you want to stay with them?"

"You mean Haley?" Sarah shrugged. "She decided to join the stuck-up popular girls when they asked her to join. None of them would accept me because I wouldn't wear make-up and stare at pictures of Zac Efron."

"But Sarah, you need to be in school with kids your own age," he tried to argue with her, too.

"I don't want to be with kids my own age, I want to be with my dad," she argued back.

"I'm sure your dad will visit you every chance he gets, right Dean?" Bobby turned back to Dean who was staring at the dash.

The younger man did not answer.

"Dean!"

Dean lifted his head, "Both of you just shut up, right now. I'll think about it over the next couple of days, all right?" He wasn't trying to sound harsh towards either of them but Dean was torn on what to do. He wanted Sarah in school but yet he also wanted her with him and he couldn't just skip out of hunting that easily.

"What is there to think about, Dean? Sarah needs to be in school with other kids," Bobby told him.

"I know, okay. It's just…I want Sarah with me, too." Dean let out a frustrated breath of air, looking out his window. He looked back at Bobby and Sarah. "Just…Just let me think about it. Okay?"

The subject was dropped and no one said anything for the rest of the trip. Sarah sat back in the seat and played her Nintendo DS to stay occupied. They pulled up to the motel Sam was staying in, and asked the person at the front desk which room he had.

Sarah didn't want to see her uncle but she wanted to be with her father, so she really didn't have a choice. The three of them headed up to Sam's floor and down a hall to room 207. Dean pounded on the door with the side of his fist.

A young woman in a grey tank top and underwear answered the door. She looked between the three of them. "So where is it?" she asked them.

Dean exchanged looks with Bobby before turning back to the woman. "Where's what?"

"The pizza that takes two guys and a kid to deliver."

"I think we got the wrong room," he realized before Sam walked out of the bathroom. Dean stared over at his brother as Sam stopped in his tracks and stared back at him.

Sam glanced over at Bobby before turning back to Dean, not noticing his niece there yet.

Dean smiled at his brother as Sam was breathing hard, his heart thumping inside his chest in anticipation. "Hey, Sammy."

Sam continued breathing hard, as Dean stepped inside the motel room, walking in slowly. Sarah was looking over at her uncle, wanting to feel hatred and anger towards him but couldn't help feel relieved that he was alive and okay. A feeling of wanting to rush over and hug him washed over her.

Suddenly, Sam bolted at Dean like Sarah had done, holding a knife up, as well, pinning him against the wall. Bobby had to quickly step in and hold Sam back as he shouted, "Who are you?"

"Like you didn't do this?" Dean demanded of him, Sarah standing in front of her father like a loyal guard dog.

"Do what?" he shouted back.

"It's him," Bobby told Sam as he continued to hold him back. "It's him, Sam. I've been through this already, it's really him."

Sam had been staring over at Dean the whole time. He calmed down a little but Bobby still held onto him. "What?"

Dean stepped towards him again, gently nudging Sarah out of the way. "I know," he agreed. Bobby had let go of Sam when he knew it was over. Dean shrugged, "I look fantastic, huh?"

Sam immediately threw himself towards his brother and hugged him, tightly for a moment. Sarah looked away at the floor, fighting the urge to join them. All that time she spent being resentful to her uncle and hating him for just ditching her like that and the moment she sees him again, she wants to hug him close like with her father. A tear escaped her right eye which she quickly wiped away before anyone could notice. What the heck was wrong with her emotions?

"So are you two, like, together?" the woman had asked, getting Sarah's attention when Sam and Dean pulled away.

"What?" Sam asked, looking over at her. "No. No," he smiled, relieved his brother was alive and looked at Dean again, "He's my brother."

Dean looked between them, nodding at the woman.

The woman stared at Dean. "O-oh. Got it, I guess," she said, shaking her head at the floor and turned back to Sam. "Look, I should probably go."

"Yeah, yeah. That's probably a good idea," Sam agreed before catching his niece in his peripheral vision. He saw she was looking away still, trying hard not to make eye contact. He couldn't believe how much she grew either. "Peanut, is that you?"

Sarah tried her best not to look at him but once Sam called her by his pet name for her, more tears came out. While the woman was getting dressed, Sam wandered over to kneel in front of his niece.

"Peanut, you've grown. You're more like…a walnut now," he smiled at her. Sarah still wouldn't look at her uncle which he understood. Sam looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I really am. I shouldn't have just dumped you off like that without saying anything to you."

Sarah sniffed back some more tears, still not looking at Sam. "You didn't even call. I needed you the most. I know Dad is your brother. We were all hurting over it."

Sam tried taking ahold of her left hand but Sarah pulled it out of his grasp. He looked up when the woman came out of the bathroom dressed.

"So call me," she told him as she walked out.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam nodded from where he was still kneeled, "sure thing, Kathy."

"Chrissy," she corrected him.

"Right." They exchanged looks between each other before the woman, Chrissy left, shutting the door behind her.

Sam turned back to his niece. "Look, you have every right to be upset with me, Sarah but I had to leave you behind. I thought I would have been back for you, already. I'm sorry," he explained to her.

Sarah wiped her eyes dry before walking around her uncle and over to her father who had walked over to lean against a dresser, his arms folded. She didn't make any eye contact with Sam either and hid her face in her father's side.

Dean unfolded his right arm and wrapped it around her head, rubbing the back of it. He looked up at his brother. He wasn't sure which he was more pissed at. The fact Sam ditched his own niece or that he brought Dean back. Oh wait, Dean did know. It was definitely the first one, hands down. "Sam," he began.

Sam stood up, grabbing his white, button-up shirt off the bed to throw on over his grey under shirt. "I know I screwed up, leaving Sarah behind, Dean. You can save the lecture," he told him. "I feel guilty as it is, all right?"

"Good, because you should," Dean told him, angrily. "I told you to watch out for my kid, Sam. That was one of the top priorities I told you. In fact, it should have been at the very top of your list but no," he shook his head, "you made her the least on your list."

Sam finished buttoning up his shirt and looked up at his brother. "I know, Dean and not a day went by I didn't think of Sarah and how she's doing."

"If you thought about her why didn't you call?" Bobby asked, sitting on the arm of a couch close to where Dean was standing, his own arms folded.

Sam looked down at the ground, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbed them in one hand.

"Did you think everything would be all fine and dandy?" Dean demanded. "That it wouldn't affect her if you leave, 'cause I seem to recall you telling her to be open with you on several occasions especially when I would be gone. What happened to that, Sam?"

"I was just protecting her, Dean," Sam told his brother.

"Oh, good, you were protecting her. Dumping her off somewhere is protecting her," he smirked, sarcastically. "That's great."

Sam looked up at Dean, defensively. "Yes, because I knew Sarah would be safe with Bobby."

Dean stood up from the dresser he was leaning against, almost knocking Sarah over since she was still leaning against him, "You want to get on my case about raising Sarah how Dad raised us? Dad did the same thing, Sam. He would just dump us on Bobby without warning." He shook his head, "Sarah wasn't Bobby's responsibility. She was yours. You're the one that said you felt like a second father to her. Does that sound fatherly to you?"

"I never said I wanted to just dump her off," Sam suddenly got into his brother's face, raising his voice. "It nearly killed me. I did it for Sarah. I saw how upset she was over your death, Dean. Hell, I saw six months of it back at the mystery spot. I tried everything to bring you back for her. Everything. I tried opening the devil's gate, hell, I tried bargaining, Dean. But no demon would deal, all right?" Sam was nearly hyperventilating by this point. "You were rotting in hell for months. For months, and I couldn't stop it. I really am sorry I dumped my niece like that, all right?" He looked downward, trying to keep his breathing steady. "Dean, I'm sorry."

Dean looked back at his little girl.

Sam looked over at Sarah, as well. "I know I should have called, Peanut, if I can still call you that. Can I?" he asked, hopeful. "You know I still love you, right? If there's any way I can make it up to you, I'll do it. Anything at all."

But Sarah never answered Sam. She turned away, her back to him. Sam dropped his head, sadly, closing his eyes.

"If any of you boys had seen what Sarah went through, this summer, you wouldn't expect her to just forgive that easy, Sam," Bobby told the young man. "You broke what was left of her heart."

Sam looked over at Bobby when he spoke and looked back over at his niece. "I thought she'd be okay if I kept her away from hunting," he shrugged.

Bobby shook his head, "She wasn't, son. She lost her dad. How did you feel when you lost yours?"

He sucked on his lip for a moment, staring at the ground before sitting on the edge of the queen-sized bed, running his hands along his face.

Things were silent for a few minutes before Bobby broke it, "Don't get me wrong, I'm gladdened Sam's soul remain intact but it does raise a sticky question."

Dean looked up from where he was staring at the floor. "If he didn't pull me out then what did?" he wondered out loud as the men exchanged looks between each other, clueless.

Sam offered each of them a seat and Dean wandered over to sit on the edge of the coffee table. Sarah followed and sat on his right leg, resting her head against his right shoulder. He had her take the jacket off since they were inside and laid it on the table next to him which Dean noticed her new wardrobe.

"Still trying to be like me, I see," he teased his daughter and ran his hand along her short hair. "And you cut your hair back to the way it was."

Suddenly, Sarah bolted her head up out of nowhere. "Shit, what time is it?" she asked no one particular.

Dean looked at his watch, "ten-thirty, why?"

"Crap, crap, crap." Sarah stood up and raced over to drop on her knees in front of the TV, grabbing the remote off the top in the process and changed it to the Disney Channel where _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_ was starting.

Bobby snickered. "That's Sarah's new favorite show, she's fixated on one of the twins," he explained to the brothers. "It's so adorable."

"I am not," Sarah argued, defensively over her right shoulder.

Dean laughed at that. "Let's see this new crush of yours, Baby Girl."

"It's, uh, not the nerdy one, the other one," Bobby told him, trying to remember.

Dean watched the show for a moment. "Oh, I think I know which one it is. Not sure about his hair though. It's awfully long for a boy's."

"I've thought about growing my hair out," Sam shrugged, walking back with a few beers and passed them out to his brother and Bobby.

Dean stared up at his brother when he said that as he reached out for the beer. "Please, don't," he told him in a serious tone, shaking his head.

Sam just snickered.

"Anyway, adolescent twins aside, so what were you doing here if you weren't digging me out of my grave?"

Sam was sitting on the edge of the bed again. He closed his eyes, biting his lower lip again. He knew Sarah wasn't going to like this answer. "Well, once I figured out I couldn't save you, um." He looked over at Sarah who was staring up at the TV memorized by what was going on, on TV and looked at Dean, "I, uh, started hunting down Lilith, trying to get some payback." Sam glanced over at his niece, knowing she probably would have liked some payback, too.

Surprisingly, it was Bobby to answer instead. It didn't even seem like Sarah heard him at all so Sam was grateful for this new TV show of hers.

"All by yourself? Who do you think you are? Your old man?"

"Uh," Sam hesitated. "Yeah, again, I'm really sorry, Bobby. I should have called. I was pretty messed up, too."

Dean had stood up when something caught his eye and walked over to a pile of clothes on the bed. He lifted up a white, flower-printed woman's bra, "Oh yeah, I really feel your pain," he told his brother, sarcastically.

Sam knew he was caught and sat there, staring downward, embarrassed. "Anyways, uh," he said as Dean dropped it and sat down on the bed, "I was tracking these demons out of Tennessee and out of nowhere they took a hard left, booked up here."

Dean asked, "When?"

"Two days ago, sometime in the morning," Sam answered before taking a drink.

Dean looked over at Bobby, "When I busted out."

"You think these demons are here because you?" he asked.

Dean shrugged.

Sam asked, "But why?"

"Well, I don't know. Some badass demon drags me out, now this?" He looked over at Bobby again, shaking his head, "It's gotta be connected somehow."

Bobby gave Dean a hard look first. "How ya feeling, anyway?" he asked.

Dean thought about it for a second and shrugged, "I'm a little hungry."

"I second that," Sarah raised her hand up, not looking away from the TV screen. Not even TV could make her ignore anything to do with food.

"No, I mean, do you feel like yourself," Bobby shook his head, "Anything strange or different?"

Dean stared at the man. "Or demonic?" he asked.

Bobby just shrugged.

"Bobby, how many times do I have to prove I'm me?"

"Well listen, no demon's letting you loose out of the goodness of their hearts," he told him. "They gotta have something nasty planned."

Dean looked down at his beer he was holding. He looked up to take a swig, "Well, I feel fine."

"Look, we don't know what they're planning. We got a pile of questions and no shovel," Sam shook his head. "We need help."

Bobby thought about how they could find some answers. "I know a psychic a few hours from here. Something this big, maybe she heard the other side talking," he shrugged.

"Hell yeah, worth a shot," Dean agreed.

"I'll be right back." Bobby stood up to leave the motel room.

Dean stood up from the bed, glancing over at the TV screen.

"Hey, Dean," Sam said, breaking his attention away, standing up. "What was it like?"

He asked, "What, hell? I don't know, I must have blacked it out."

Sam stared at his brother, remembering just how freaked out Sarah was from her nightmares of hell. There was no way someone could black something out like that.

"I don't remember a damn thing," Dean said, as if he was reading Sam's expressions.

"Thank God for that," Sam just shrugged, not pushing his brother.

Dean nodded, agreeing with him as he looked away, "Yeah." He glanced back over at his daughter who was still watching her TV show.


	127. Chapter 127- Lazarus Rising (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 127

The four of them got a few hours' sleep before they left to go meet a friend of Bobby's. When they woke up, they got ready to leave. As Sarah threw on her father's jacket, she remembered his necklace and removed it from her neck.

"Hey, Dad, I almost forgot," she told him, getting his attention and held the necklace out to him. "Here's your necklace back."

Dean smiled at his little girl and took it. "Thanks, Baby Girl."

"Almost everyone at school liked it and thought it was cool, especially my social studies teacher."

"Glad it helped," he told her, placing it around his neck.

It dawned on Sarah that she'd probably have to give the jacket back. "Do I have to give back your jacket, too? I outgrew your old one."

"For right now, you can use it until we get you a new one, okay?" he told her. He watched her expressions turn to disappointment as she looked down at the floor. Dean ran his right hand along her hair, "You know how much that jacket means to me, Baby Girl. I'm proud of you for taking good care of it though," and leaned over to kiss the side of her forehead.

Bobby, Dean, Sam, and Sarah headed outside where the cars were parked. Bobby slid into his as the Winchesters walked over to where Sam had parked the Impala. Sarah suddenly dashed over and hugged the Impala like it was a long lost, old friend she hasn't seen in years.

"I missed you, baby," Sarah told it.

Sam tossed the keys underhand over to Dean, "I assume you'll want to drive."

Dean laughed as he caught it, "I almost forgot. Hey, sweetheart, did you miss me?" he asked the Impala, as well. He slid into the driver's seat taking in the familiar-ness he remembered of his favorite car.

"Shotgun!" Sarah called before Sam could slide into the front seat and dashed over to slide into the passenger's side. Sam held the door for her, shutting it for his niece and slid into the back. Sarah noticed Dean was looking at Sam's iPod with a " _what the hell"_ look on his face. "What's wrong, Dad?"

Dean turned his head to look back at his brother, "What the hell is that?" he asked of him, motioning towards the iPod.

"That's an iPod jack," Sam told him.

"You were supposed to take care of her not douche her up."

Sam scoffed, "Dean, I thought it was my car."

Sarah turned in her seat to look back at her uncle, "Technically, it would have been my car because Dad promised to me when I graduate from high school. I just can't drive it until then."

"Oh, you're talking to me now?" Sam smiled, elated to hear his niece talking to him.

Sarah faced forward again. "Damn it," she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.

Dean just shook his head, facing forward, as well. "Boy, Sammy, you are digging a deep grave." He put the key in the ignition and started the car, also turning on the iPod as a blues/pop singer started playing, picking up in the middle of the song. Both Dean and Sarah turned to look at the young man in the backseat. "Really?"

Sam just shrugged, innocently.

Dean tugged out the iPod and tossed it back over his right shoulder into the backseat before pulling out of the parking space while Sarah found their music on the radio. When she found a song, she sat back into the seat and started singing along. Dean joined in, both having a grand ol' time like before.

After half an hour of driving and singing, Sarah ended up falling back to sleep, using her father's leg for a pillow. Things were silent as Dean drove down the highway, right behind Bobby's car.

"There's still one thing that's bothering me," he finally broke the silence, looking at his brother through the rear-view mirror as he adjusted it so he could see Sam.

Sam looked over at him, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, the night that I bit it. Or got bit," he shrugged, raising his eyebrows, giving a small laugh. "How'd you and Sarah make it out? I thought Lilith was gonna kill you?"

"Well, she tried," Sam replied. "She couldn't."

Dean stared at the road for a moment before looking at Sam again, "What do you mean, she couldn't?"

"She fired this, like, burning light at us," he explained. "And…it didn't leave a scratch. On either of us. Like we were immune or something."

Dean stared at the road, "Immune?"

"Yeah." Sam scoffed, looking between the road and his lap, "I don't know who was more surprised, her or us." He let out a breath of air. "She left pretty fast after that."

"Huh," Dean said, still watching the road and looked back at Sam, "What about Ruby? Where's she?"

He shrugged, "Dead, or in hell."

Dean sucked his lower lip in, contemplating asking his brother about his psychic abilities. Finally, he decided to ask anyway. "You've been using your freaky ESP stuff?"

Sam looked over at him and answered, "No."

"You sure about that? I mean, you did leave your niece alone at Bobby's the whole time, knowing how she is and now that you got immunity, whatever the hell that is. Maybe that's the real reason why you did it."

"Look, Dean, you didn't want me to go down that road, so I didn't go down that road. It was practically your dying wish," he shrugged again.

Dean looked back at Sam and shrugged forward, "Yeah, well, let's keep it that way."

Sam looked away once Dean said that, staring out his window, thinking to himself. He couldn't tell his brother the truth. Not yet anyway.

When the morning sun was up they pulled up to where Bobby's friend lived and walked up to the front door. Bobby knocked and a woman opened the door, excited to see him, giving him a big hug, lifting him off the ground a little.

The woman folded her arms afterwards, looking over at the brothers. "So," she smiled at them, "these the boys?"

Bobby turned to the Winchesters, "Sam, Dean, and Sarah, Pamela Barnes," he introduced the woman to them. "Best damn psychic in the state."

Sarah held her hand out to her, "Pleased to meet you, ma'am," she told her with a smile.

The woman, Pamela returned the handshake, "My, ain't you a polite little thing," she smiled in return.

"I'm not little," Sarah said, defensively. "I'm ten, almost a teenager."

"Yeah, in, like, three years," Dean pointed out. "You're still a long ways away, kid."

Sarah glared up at her father as Pamela smiled over at Dean, her arms folded once more. "Dean Winchester," she said, glancing over at Bobby. "Out of the fire and back into the frying pan, huh? Makes you a rare individual."

Dean nodded, "If you say so."

Pamela continued to smile at him before raising her eyebrows for a second before inviting them in.

"So did you hear anything?" Bobby asked as he was the first to walk inside the house.

"Well, I Ouija'd my way through a dozen spirits," she replied, closing the door behind her when everyone was inside. She folded her arms a third time, "No one seems to know who broke your boy out or why?"

"So, what's next?"

Pamela glanced at the floor, "A séance, I think." She looked over at the brothers, "See if we can see who did the deed."

Bobby shook his head, uneasy, "You're not gonna summon the damn thing here?"

"No," she assured him and walked past him, "I just want to get a sneak peak at it. Like a crystal ball without the crystal."

Sarah watched Pamela and looked up at her father, "I like this woman, so far."

Dean just smiled at his daughter and turned to Bobby. "I'm game," he shrugged before following after Pamela.

Bobby sighed before following last. This didn't seem like such a good idea at all. He helped Pamela prepare for the séance, closing all the curtains in the room they were going to hold it in as she placed the alter cloth over a round table.

Dean watched her walk around and squat down to grab some candles, catching a tattoo of _Jesse Forever_ along her lower back. He nudged his brother to show him before asking, "Who's Jesse?"

Pamela laughed, turning around, "Well, it wasn't forever."

"His loss," he shrugged.

She stood up and walked over to him. "Might be your gain," Pamela grinned and walked away.

Dean slowly turned around, watching her. "Dude, I'm so in," he mumbled to Sam.

Sam snickered at the ceiling, "Yeah, she's gonna eat you alive."

"Hey, I just got out of jail," Dean shrugged, "bring it."

Sam scoffed at that.

Pamela walked by, behind the brothers. "You're invited, too, grumpy," she told Sam before walking away again.

Dean quickly shoved his finger in his brother's face to warn him, "You are not invited."

"Okay, gross," Sarah spoke up. "I know what you guys are talking about, you know."

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come," Dean reminded her. "Bobby did suggest dropping you off at Ellen's, you know."

Sarah scowled at her father, folding her arms.

Dean let out a breath of air, leaning over to mumble to his brother, "I am so not looking forward to Sarah's teen years when she _is_ a teenager."

"At least we have Ellen to give her the talk about her you-know-what," Sam pointed out.

He agreed.

Once everything was set up, the five of them took a seat at the table. Sarah tried sitting on her father's left side away from her uncle but Pamela told her she had to be sitting next to Dean for the séance so Sarah had to sit on Dean's other side. She pushed the chair as close to her father as possible.

Pamela started the séance. "Right," she said. "Take each other's hands."

Sarah, for some reason, forgot that they would be holding hands. Sam held his left hand out to her.

Dean had already taken ahold of her left hand as Sarah stared at Sam's. "Take Sam's hand, Sarah Lynn," he told her, sternly.

Sarah looked over at her father, "But, Dad…"

"No buts. Either take Sam's hand or leave the table. End of discussion."

Sarah pouted, slowly holding her hand out towards her uncle, reluctantly.

He shook his head. "I'm not dealing with this, right now, Sarah Lynn. Drop the attitude or you won't be participating in the séance," Dean warned his daughter. "I'm not asking you to hug the guy, it won't kill you."

Sam tried to rub the back of his niece's fingers with his thumb to help ease her nerves but Sarah didn't like it and pulled her hand away.

"Stop, please," she told him before returning her hand, bitterly.

"All right," Dean said, through with his daughter's attitude. "Leave the table, now."

Sarah tried to object, "But he…"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I said, now, Sarah Lynn. Go sit your ass down on the couch until we're through."

Sarah stood up from her chair and stormed from the room, throwing herself down on the couch, folding her arms tightly across her chest. She could still hear what was going on though.

"O-kay," Pamela changed the subject. "I need to touch something our mystery monster touched." She reached underneath the table to grab Dean.

"Whoa," Dean flinched, bumping the table. "Well, he didn't touch me there."

She laughed, "My mistake."

Dean cleared his throat as he removed his left arm from his overshirt sleeve and lifted up the shirt sleeve underneath, showing the hand-shaped welt once more. Sam stared at it in astonishment.

Pamela placed her right hand over it. "Okay," she said as they rejoined hands again. Pamela started the séance, calling out to the monster responsible for pulling Dean out of hell. Dean opened one eye over at her, and then the other before looking around as the table started shaking. The TV turned on by itself like the one in the gas station as she continued, finally getting a name: _Castiel_.

"No. Sorry, Castiel, I don't scare easy," Pamela said, her eyes still closed.

Dean questioned, "Castiel?"

"Its name," she told him, "It's whispering to me, warning me to turn back." Pamela continued the séance, ordering for Castiel to show its face. The high-pitch noise had returned, growing louder by the second. Bobby suggested they stop but Pamela just kept right on going, ordering to see its face. The fire on the lit candles ignited more as her eyes burned from their sockets as she screamed, falling to the floor.

The Winchesters and Bobby stared in shock and horror of what just happened. Sarah had automatically come running when she heard Pamela scream, holding onto the doorframe. Bobby yelled for someone to call 911 which Sam quickly responded as Sarah hurried over to look over Bobby's shoulder. He was kneeled on the floor now, lifting Pamela into his arms. What Sarah saw horrified her. Pamela's eyes were gone. There was nothing left.

Sarah looked over at her father, catching a look at his shoulder, too. What the hell was this Castiel?


	128. Chapter 128- Lazarus Rising (Part 4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 128

Bobby followed the ambulance in his car as the paramedics rushed Pamela to a nearby hospital. Sarah squeezed her father's hand as she watched them load the stretcher into the back and close the back doors before jumping into the front seat. There were a lot of monsters she had read about over the years but never had Sarah come across a supernatural creature that could burn a person's eyes completely out of their sockets. Unless…

Sarah sat in the front seat and eventually at a table in a local diner thinking about it, repeating the name Castiel over in her head. If she didn't know better she swore the name sounded biblical or angelic.

Sam returned from talking to Bobby on the phone, sitting across from Dean.

"What did Bobby say?" Dean asked.

"Uh," Sam said, sitting down. "Pam's stable and out of ICU."

"And blind because of us," he nodded.

"And we still have no clue what we're dealing with," Sam added, putting away his phone.

"That's not entirely true."

"No?" Sam asked of him.

"We got a name," he shrugged. "Castiel or whatever. With the right mumbo jumbo, we summon him, bring him right to us."

Sam scoffed at his brother, "You're crazy. Absolutely not."

"We'll work him over. I mean, after what he did."

"Pam took a peek at him and her eyes burned out of her skull, and you want to have a face-to-face?"

Dean closed his eyes in frustration, "You got a better idea?"

"I do but you won't like it," Sarah spoke up.

"What?" he asked his daughter.

"I've been thinking about the name. Castiel," Sarah explained. "It sounds like it could an angel."

Dean moaned, covering his eyes with his left hand. "Sarah, enough with the biblical crap. There is no way an angel rescued me from hell."

"But think about it, Dad," she said. "Miss Pamela's eyes burning out just looking at the thing? It does say humans can't see heaven until it is their time, and I'm guessing that includes angels, too. And the name alone does sound angelic like the archangels Gabriel or Michael. Thinking about it more, I think I have read once that an angel can pull a soul out of the pit."

"But why would an angel rescue me, Baby Girl? What makes me so special?" he asked, not buying the angel theory at all. "Besides, Bobby told me you lost your faith, why are you still pushing God and heaven?"

Sarah shrugged, looking away. "I don't know, I guess a part of me still wants to believe."

"It's a good theory, Peanut," Sam assured his niece, trying to cheer her up. "I think it may be possible."

Sarah glared up at her uncle. "You're just saying that so I'd forgive you."

He shrugged, "You can forgive me when you're ready or not at all, Sarah. I understand how much you hate me right now and I can't say I blame you. What I did was wrong and I can't ever change that and I can't apologize enough. But I do still love you, that will never change I can assure you."

Sarah looked down at the table. She was still fighting the urge to want to throw a hug on her uncle. He was still family and Sarah still loved her uncle, but she couldn't help be pissed at him so much for abandoning her when she really needed him.

When Sarah didn't say anything, Sam turned back to Dean. "I have an idea, too," he said. "I followed some demons to town, right?"

Dean raised his head, "Okay."

"So we go find them," he shrugged. "Somebody's gotta know something about something."

Their waitress had returned with their orders, setting each plate down in front of a Winchester before sitting across from Sarah.

Dean smiled over at her, "You angling for a tip?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you were looking for us?" she asked and her eyes turned all black, looking between the three of them, alerting the Winchesters. One of the guys sitting over at the counter walked over to the door and locked it, turning back around. His eyes were also black. "Dean. To hell and back. Ain't you a lucky duck?"

Dean forced a smirk at the demon, "That's me."

"So you get to just stroll out of the pit, huh? Like you said, what makes you so special?"

"I like to think it's because of my perky nipples," he joked at the table before smiling at her.

The demon just stared at Dean.

"I don't know." he said and shook his head, "wasn't my doing. I don't know who pulled me out."

"Right," the demon scoffed, "You don't."

Dean glared at her, serious now, "No, I don't."

"Lying's a sin, you know."

Dean was taken aback by that comment, not sure what the demon meant. "I'm not lying."

The demon looked over between Sam and Sarah who was staring back at her, on their toes.

"But I'd like to find out, so if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, Flo," he told her.

She tilted her head, "Mind your tone with me, boy. I'll drag you back to hell myself."

Sarah made to stand up to defend her father but Dean stopped her with his hand. Sarah tried to hold herself back but it wasn't easy. No one talks that way to her father and lives to tell the tale.

Dean just shook his head at the demon, "No, you won't."

"No?" she questioned of him.

"No. Because if you were, you'd of done it already. Fact is, you don't know who cut me loose. You're just as spooked as we are. And you're looking for answers. Or maybe it was some turbo-charged spirit." Dean smiled at the demon, "Hmm? Oh, uh, Godzilla. Or some big, bad, boss demon. But I'm guessing at your pay grade, they don't tell you squat." He raised his eyebrows at her, "Because whoever it was, they want me out. And they're a lot stronger than you. So go ahead, send me back. Don't come crawling to me when they show up on your front doorstep with some Vaseline and a fire hose."

Sarah turned the last part over in her head, trying to figure out what Vaseline and a fire hose would do but came up with nothing, simply confused. She got defensive though when she heard the demon threaten her father, feeling her fists tighten at once.

Dean leaned forward as if he was going to say something else but instead slugged the demon in the face. The demon didn't fight back. He did it again but still she did not retaliate. "That's what I thought," he nodded.

The demon looked between the Winchesters once more.

"Let's go, you two," Dean told his brother and daughter. The three of them stood up, watching the demon closely. Dean took a step and reached into his pocket to pull out a wad of cash, leaving enough for the food they ordered, leaving his pie untouched. Sarah however, wasn't about to let food go to waste and took her cheeseburger with her, watching the demon herself.

"Cutting it a little too close, don't ya think, Dad?" Sarah asked when they were safely outside the diner.

"Shut up," Dean told her, teasingly. "Here, let me get a bite of that."

Sarah passed her cheeseburger to her father who took a large bite before passing it back.

Sam asked, "We're not just gonna leave them in there, are we?"

"Yeah, there's three of them, probably more," Dean pointed back at the diner, over his right shoulder. "I mean, we only got one knife between us."

"I've been killing a lot more demons than that lately," he shook his head once as they walked over to where they parked.

"Not anymore. The smarter brother's back in town."

Sam looked over at his brother. "Dean, we gotta take them. They are dangerous."

"They're scared, okay? Scared of whatever had the juice to yank me out. We're dealing with a bad mofo here." Dean held up one finger, "One job at a time."

The Winchesters headed back to Sam's motel room to do some researching, trying to find anything on Castiel. Sarah scanned through the motel room's Bible, looking for any glimpse of the name but didn't find it. She just had this feeling deep inside that they were finally hunting an angel this time. Growing up in church and having to study the Bible a lot, it seemed to her that an angel could be powerful enough to pull a soul from hell and thinking about it, she was sure she had read something about it, too. Sarah researched it on her uncle's laptop, sitting on the pull-out bed. Dean sat next to her, looking through several books.

Late that evening, sleep had hit Dean first, leaning back against the pillow he was using. Sarah tried to fight it but it wasn't easy when someone was staring at a computer screen and soon she was out as well, giving Sam an opportunity to sneak out.

Not long after Sam snuck out, the high-pitched noise returned, making the TV turn on and the clock radio's dial go crazy. Dean stirred from his sleep, rubbing his right eye until he noticed the TV on and the noise. He slapped Sarah awake on the arm. Sarah lifted her head from his side, looking around groggily and heard it, too. Dean rolled over to the other side of the bed and grabbed both shotguns they had placed there, tossing Sarah one of them. Sarah caught it and quickly moved over to stand beside him.

Dean had Sarah stay close as they moved towards the door, their shotguns raised, ready to fire. The high-pitch noise grew louder until it was unbearable. Sarah covered one ear at first but her other ear hurt so badly that she just dropped the shotgun. The glass above on the ceiling cracked and the windows broke. Soon glass was flying everywhere as Dean pulled his daughter in towards him to shield her. He looked up just in time to see part of the glass fall above and shoved Sarah out of the way.

He laid there, trying to protect his daughter from the glass while also trying to keep his ears covered as glass flew everywhere, barely making out her cries of extreme pain. Dean held her close as the door flew open and Bobby rushed inside, yelling for them.

The noise suddenly stopped and the three of them got out of there. Both Dean and Sarah's ears were bleeding. While Bobby drove, they each used a rag to hold over their ears, mopping up the blood. Dean kept turning in his seat to make sure Sarah was all right.

"I'd be fine if the ringing would stop," Sarah answered, dabbing the rag in her ear.

"I hear ya, Baby Girl," he agreed. "Let me see." Sarah leaned forward towards her father. Dean checked it over, taking her rag from her to dab it himself, doing the same to the other ear. "You can still hear just fine, right, aside from the ringing."

"Yeah," she said.

"I swear, whatever this thing is, I'm gonna rip its lungs out," Dean muttered, angrily and handed Sarah back the rag. "Keep holding this on there and dab it."

Sarah took the rag back. "Wow, Castiel used screech. It was super effective," she said, referencing her Pokémon video game, sticking the rag in her left ear.

Dean had faced forward, taking out his cellphone.

Sam answered on the second ring, _"Hey."_

"What are you doing?" Dean asked him.

 _"Couldn't sleep,"_ he replied, _"went to get a burger."_

"In my car?"

 _"Force of habit, sorry,"_ Sam apologized. _"What are you doing up?"_

"Well, uh, Bobby's back," Dean told him, looking over at Bobby, pausing to think up a lie to say. "Going to grab something to eat, too."

Bobby stared over at Dean which Dean silenced him with his finger.

 _"All right,"_ Sam replied.

"Okay, we'll catch you later." Dean ended the call and put his phone away.

"Why the hell didn't you tell him?" Bobby questioned the young man once Dean had hung up.

Dean was staring forward, his eyes searching around, "Because he'd just try and stop us."

"From what?"

"Summoning this thing," he answered.

Sarah looked up. "Uh, no thanks. I'd rather keep my eyes, thank you. I already almost lost my hearing, you know."

"Well, you don't have to be a part of it," Dean told her, still staring forward.

Bobby had quickly shot another look at him.

"But it's time we face it head on," he said, looking out his window.

"Sarah's right, you can't be serious."

"As a heart attack."

Bobby kept looking between the road ahead and Dean, in disbelief.

Dean smirked, "It's high noon, baby."

"We don't even know what it is," said Bobby. "It could be a demon, it could be anything."

"So then we gotta be ready for anything." Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out Ruby's knife, turning it over as he stared at it. "We got the big time magic knife. You got an arsenal in the trunk."

Bobby shook his head, "This is a bad idea."

"I second that," Sarah agreed.

"Yeah, couldn't agree more," Dean agreed as well, looking out his window again, "but what other choice do we have?"

"We could choose life," Bobby shrugged.

Dean shook his head at his lap, "Bobby, whatever this is, whatever it wants, it's after me," he told him, looking over at the older man. "That much we know, right?"

Bobby looked over at him again.

"Well, I got no place to hide and I'm not about to put my kid in danger like that again. So I can either get caught with my pants down again," he nodded forward once, "or we can make our stand."

Sarah glanced down at the rag before looking up at her father, "That was a figure of speech, right? The pants thing?"

"Yes, it's not literal," Dean replied, relieved to see Sarah making some progress at understanding his un-literal references.

"Dean," Bobby said, "We could use Sam for this."

Dean looked forward. "No, he's better off where he is," he muttered out loud.

They found an abandoned old barn somewhere down the road and used it to set up every single trap and talisman Bobby knew of, while Dean and Sarah prepared all of the weapons Bobby had in his trunk. Sarah ended up helping because her curiosity was too high not to stay out of it. Once they were all set, Bobby did the ritual to summon Castiel. Nothing happened at first so they waited to see if anything would happen or if it would show.

Dean ended up sitting on one of the wooden tables. Sarah joined him, sitting beside her father. He couldn't help recheck her right ear to make sure it was all right. After a while, Sarah grew bored and took out her Nintendo DS.

Dean had been balancing Ruby's knife on its point when he heard the pixelated music and looked over at the small device in her hands. "What is that?" he asked.

Sarah went into her game, picking up where she had last saved. "It's a Nintendo DS," she told him.

"It's a video game? Like your PSP?"

"Yup," she said, starting a battle with a trainer when Sarah's person walked into its eye line.

"Where did you get it?" he continued to ask.

Her eyes never left the small screen except to look at the bottom one, "Uncle Bobby gave it to me for my birthday, this year."

Dean looked over at the old man sitting across from them. "What, you spoiled my kid while I was gone?"

Bobby shrugged, "I figured she could use some spoiling after losing her daddy."

"He didn't tell Miss Ellen or Jo he was getting it for me either after they had agreed on a set budget," Sarah added.

"Well," Dean let out a annoyed breath of air and raised his eyebrows, "thanks for making me look bad, considering I can't give my kid a gift like that." He smiled over at Bobby, not meaning what he said at all, he was just teasing Bobby. "And I don't seem to recall ever being spoiled as a kid either."

Bobby gave Dean a hard look. "You don't, huh?" he said.

Dean shook his head, once, "Nope."

"I seem to recall a little boy wanting a, what was that old video game called? A Sagan….?"

"Sega Dreamcast," Sarah finished, helping the man out, still focused on her game.

"Right," Bobby said. "You really wanted that for Christmas that year you stayed at my house, so I went out and got you one. It's still up in my attic, collecting dust, by the way."

It all started coming back to Dean, remembering that Christmas and being so excited for it. He had also forgotten he used to like video games like Sarah did now, starting with arcade machines he found at diners and laundry mats.

Sarah bolted her head up, at that. "You have a Sega Dreamcast at your house? Dude, why didn't you tell me?"

"Who knows if that old thing even still works," Bobby shrugged. "That time I shot at your grandfather I ended up packing all your daddy and uncle's stuff up. It's probably loaded with dust, impossible to clean."

"No shame in trying," she pointed out.

"So what's this game?" Dean changed the subject, nodding at the DS in her hands.

"Pokémon, Pearl Edition," she told her father. "You know what I named the kid?"

He asked, "What?"

Sarah grinned up at him, "You."

"Me?"

She nodded. "Want to meet your team, Dad?"

"Sure, what do I have?"

Sarah scooted closer to her father and pressed the start button, going into her Pokémon team when something made a noise overhead. A big gust of wind started to blow, making the shingles on the roof flap, loudly. Sarah jumped down on her feet, quickly putting her game away and got her shotgun ready as well as her father and adopted grandfather.

The three of them looked around, staying alert for anything to pop out.

"Wishful thinking, but maybe it's just the wind," Dean said.

Suddenly, one by one, every single light bulb burst and shattered into several pieces. The doors they had latched shut, broke open and a figure of a young man walked in. Sarah tried to get a good look at him from around her father and saw it was nothing more than a human. Once he was close, they started firing at him but the man just kept walking towards them.

Dean and Bobby exchanged looks between them and split up. Dean made sure Sarah stayed behind him as he walked over to grab Ruby's knife from the table where he left it. He saw the man was walking towards him, staring at Dean like a curious puppy.

He hid the knife behind his back, "Who are you?"

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition," the man responded in a deep, serious voice.

"Yeah, thanks for that." The man just smiled before Dean suddenly plunged the knife into his chest. Sarah peeked around her father to see that the knife didn't do anything to him and watched as the man slowly pulled it out and dropped the knife on the floor. Dean exchanged a quick look with Bobby before Bobby tried to swing an iron rod at the man.

The man blocked it without even looking and swiftly moved around to face Bobby, placing two fingers on his forehead until he was out like a light, falling to the ground. Dean instinctively pulled Sarah towards him, protectively staring at the scene with his mouth open, as well as Sarah, her eyes also wide open.

The man looked back at Dean, tilting his head to the side, "We need to talk, Dean." He glanced over at Sarah, "Alone."

"Whatever you need to say to me, you can say in front of my kid," Dean told him as he stared at the man, keeping his right arm around Sarah.

"Very well, she will learn soon enough, anyway," he agreed and walked over, stiffly to the table Bobby had been sitting on.

Watching him carefully, Dean dashed over to kneel beside Bobby, checking for a pulse, keeping Sarah close.

"Your friend's alive," the man said, looking through Sarah's rare, hunter's book.

Dean glared up at him, "Who are you?"

"Castiel," he replied, not looking up.

"Yeah, I figured that much. I mean, what are you?"

Castiel looked up. "Ask your child," he nodded over at Sarah.

Dean looked over at Sarah, who shrugged.

"I'm an angel of the Lord."

Dean shot his head back to stare at Castiel. He slowly rose to his feet. Sarah, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether to be overjoyed or fearful. "Get the hell out of here," she heard her father threaten. "There's no such thing."

Castiel turned to fully face him again. "This is your problem, Dean," he said, his chin pointed down. "You have no faith." Thunder clashed and suddenly, a shadow of a couple of featherly wings appeared on the wall behind him.

Sarah was amazed. Her gut feeling was telling the truth. What she grew up, believing in was all true. It wasn't the angels like her grandmother used to watch on TV, it felt different. It was amazing. She stepped around her father. "You're really an angel?" she asked of Castiel.

He nodded at her, "Yes."

"Don't listen to him, Sarah," Dean told her but Sarah ignored him, dodging out of his reach when he tried to pull her back.

"But why didn't you come when I was praying?" she asked.

"I don't serve man, I serve God."

"I was praying to God. For a whole year," Sarah pointed out. "I prayed, faithfully until I was blue in the face. Was He even listening? I know I have demon blood inside of me but I tried so hard to be a child of His. I swear it."

"Keep it that way," he told her.

Sarah stared at the angel, confused what he meant by that.

Dean spoke from behind his daughter, "Some angel you are. You burned out that poor woman's eyes."

Castiel looked down at the ground, "I warned her not to spy on my true form. It can be overwhelming to humans. And so can my real voice, but you already knew that."

"You mean the gas station and the motel." he nodded at him. "That was you talking?"

Castiel nodded.

"Buddy, next time, lower the volume. You nearly cost my daughter's hearing."

Castiel glanced at the floor with just his eyes, "That was my mistake. Certain people, special people, can perceive my true visage. I thought you would be one of them. I was wrong."

"And what visage are you in now, huh?" he asked. "What, holy tax accountant?"

"This?" Castiel looked down at the suit and trench coat he was wearing. "This is…a vessel."

Sarah questioned, "Vessel? So you're possessing a human?"

"He's a devout man, like yourself, Sarah. He actually prayed for this," he told her.

"Who says I still have faith?" She crossed her arms across her chest.

"I can see it in your eyes and deep inside you. You do still believe deep down, Sarah. Your faith is strong and as I mentioned before, we need to keep it that way."

"Yeah, but what do you mean?" she asked.

Castiel just looked up at Dean who shook his head at the angel. "Look, pal, I'm not buying what you're selling. So quit filling my kid's head with nonsense and tell me who you really are," Dean told him.

The angel tilted his head. "I told you."

Dean nodded. "Right." He shifted on his feet. "And why would an angel rescue me from hell?"

Castiel stepped around Sarah, towards Dean. "Good things do happen, Dean," he said.

"Not in my experience," Dean replied.

Sarah cleared her throat into her fist.

Dean closed his eyes. In his life, Sarah was one of the very few good things.

"What's the matter?" Castiel asked him, tilting his head again. "You don't think you deserve to be saved."

Dean scoffed, staring down at the angel. "Why'd ya do it?"

Castiel lifted his head up and stared right at Dean, his gaze piercing through him, "Because God commanded it. Because we have work for you."

Dean and Sarah both stared at the angel, stirring up more confusion.


	129. Chapter 129- Major Decisions

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 129

"Sarah, get up before you miss yer bus!" Bobby threw on the bedroom light, standing in Sarah's doorway. That had pretty much been the morning routine since Sarah had started the school year, during the week. Sarah was never a morning person.

Sarah groaned, half asleep from the pillow. She lifted her head and looked back at the old man. "Dad never said I was going to school today," she told him, groggily.

"He never said you weren't either, now get up and don't make me get the bucket of water again," he threatened. Once, Sarah had refused to get out of bed, Bobby went and filled a bucket of ice cold water and tossed it on her while she was still sleeping. She wasn't very happy but it got her out of bed.

After Bobby left the doorway, Sarah turned her head over to where Dean was still fast asleep. They had just gotten home yesterday after the encounter with Castiel and everyone was exhausted.

She shook his left shoulder, "Dad, wake up. Dad."

Dean moaned in his sleep, turning his head away to face the wall.

Sarah didn't like being ignored and sat up onto her legs to shake him some more. He still did not wake up. So she crawled over to the foot of the bed and stood up on it, turning sideways. Tapping her right elbow once, Sarah landed on her father's back, knocking the wind out of him as he immediately woke with a start.

"What the hell, Sarah," Dean exclaimed, annoyed.

"I was trying to wake you up," she told him, matter-of-factly.

"What for?" he asked.

"Uncle Bobby told me to get up and get ready for school. Do I have to go?"

Dean dropped his head back onto the pillow, wiping his hand along his face. "Just go today. I haven't had time to think about it yet, what with meeting this Castiel guy."

Then realization hit Sarah. "Hey, we met an angel," she said.

He sighed, "No we did not meet an angel, Sarah. It was probably some demon or something."

"A demon that's immune to salt rounds and Ruby's knife?" she pointed out, sitting on the bed now but leaning against her father. "It was an angel, Dad and you promised that if we ever met an angel you would dress up in a pink tutu and sing a crappy pop song."

"I am not putting on a tutu and singing a crappy pop song," he argued.

"Yes you are," Sarah argued back and got back up on her knees to lean on him. "You promised, Dad. We have to go buy one though. What size tutu do you wear?"

Dean looked up at his daughter as she gave him a puppy dog look. He tried to stay tough and not give in but his daughter basically had him wrapped around her finger. It was hard to say no. If a man couldn't degrade himself for his little girl, then who could he degrade himself for? Plus, he did promise and hated breaking his promises he made to her. "Fine," he gave in. "I'll do it, but there are no cameras and it'll stay between us."

Sarah shook her head, "Nope. You have to do it in front of me and Uncle Bobby. Uncle Sam, I don't care for right now."

"Be nice, Sarah Lynn," Dean warned.

"Why? Uncle Sam wasn't nice when he abandoned me here," she pointed out.

"I know but Sam's still family. I hate the fact he abandoned you, too and I am super pissed about it. Just try to be nice to the poor guy, it wasn't easy on him either and Sam does seem like he's really sorry. He does love you, Baby Girl and did what he thought was right, even though it wasn't."

Sarah nodded, looking at the bed. She did forgive him already she just hadn't told Sam yet. She did want to wait and make her uncle earn her trust back. It was hard though. Every time Sarah saw her uncle, she had to fight the urge to run and hug him, glad he was alive and safe but she also wanted to sock him in the gut, too.

"Now hurry up and get ready for school. Does the bus pick you up?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Hey, Dad."

He responded, "What?"

"Can you walk me to the bus stop?" she asked. "I always dreamed of my dad walking me to the bus stop when I was little."

"Does that mean I have to get out of bed then?" he grinned at his daughter.

Sarah nodded, grinning in return.

"Sure, Baby Girl, if I don't have to wear the tutu."

"Dad, that's blackmail," Sarah told him.

Dean laughed. "I'm just teasing ya. I'd love to walk you to the bus stop."

Sarah jumped on her father and hugged him to her. "You're the best dad in the whole world, Dad."

Dean hugged her in return with one arm. "All right. Now get your butt moving and get ready for school."

Once Sarah was dressed for school, she met the men downstairs in the kitchen where Sam was fixing breakfast.

"Good morning, Peanut," Sam greeted his niece as he set a plate down in front of her, at the table and tried to kiss her forehead.

Sarah ducked her head away.

Sam couldn't help feel hurt but understood she was still upset with him for what he did and didn't say anything. He also knew he had to earn her trust back.

After breakfast, Dean walked Sarah out to the bus stop where the bus had dropped her off on Friday. "You need lunch money?" he was asking her.

"Nope," Sarah shook her head. "I get lunch for free because I work in the kitchen every day, helping out."

"They pay you?"

Sarah scoffed, "I wish," and shrugged. "I couldn't say no to free food and I was saving my allowance for another DS game."

Dean questioned her in surprise, "Allowance? You get an allowance?"

"Yeah, Bobby pays me for helping him out in the yard."

"Yeah, he used to give me some money, too when I was a kid." Dean stared at the ground as he walked, still torn about his decision to keep Sarah in school. He did tell her to go back to school before he died but that was before they had learned of the war against Lilith. He didn't want to go off hunting and leave Sarah behind. Dean wanted to protect her himself but he also wanted Sarah in school and thought seriously about this online school Sarah had researched. "So," Dean spoke after a few seconds. "Aside from grieving, did you at least have fun living here?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, Bobby took me hunting, one weekend. Deer hunting, that is. I shot one and we took it home for dinner that night."

Dean squeezed the back of her neck, hugging Sarah to him, "That's my girl," he praised.

"And every other weekend I went over to Miss Ellen's place. Since Jo started hunting, Miss Ellen's been a little lonely so we bonded together," she explained.

He smiled, "Yeah? What did you both do?"

Sarah shrugged, "We went to the movies or rented movies. There's this really cool science museum that opened up over the summer. It was awesome. There's this one exhibit where you stand in it and you can experience hurricanes, monsoons, and other storms. Dude, we should go, Dad. You'll love it and you don't have to be a nerd to have a good time."

Dean scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, maybe we will, one day."

The two of them got to the bus stop just as it was pulling up. Dean leaned over to give his daughter a hug and kiss good-bye. Even with the other kids watching, Sarah gladly accepted the kiss and gave him a kiss in return, on the cheek before hurrying over to jump on the bus.

Dean waved, not expecting a tear to roll down his cheek as he watched his little girl climb onto the bus and take her seat on the right side. It felt like he was sending her off on her very first day of school.

Sarah stood up to wave some more. "Bye, Dad. I love you," she told her father.

"Love you, too, Baby Girl," he continued to wave back. Dean watched as the bus pulled back onto the road and drove away. He waited until the bus was out of sight before looking at the ground and turned around to walk back to Bobby's house, trying to come up with a decision. It felt like it was the toughest decision he ever had to make.

Sarah walked into her homeroom and took her seat in the center, back, like always and slouched in her seat. After the bell rang, the teacher took roll call and made a couple of announcements, one in which caught Sarah's attention.

"This Friday will be the first dance of the school year," the teacher was telling the class. "It's from seven to nine, and tickets are five dollars. You can buy them at lunch all this week or buy them at the door. However, there is no inappropriate dancing or language. School rules still apply and anyone breaking school rules will be asked to leave. It is nothing formal so wear what you like as long as it meets dress code standards."

The class was cheering happily except for Sarah. This would be Sarah's first school dance and to her surprise was very curious about it. But she was still hoping her father would pull her out of school. Now Sarah was torn on what she should do. If they could stay at Bobby's for the whole week maybe she could go and check it out.

The teacher released the class to their first period of the day. Sarah walked to her social studies class, thinking about what the dance would be like. She had seen school dances on TV and in movies, and wondered if they were really like that.

Sarah didn't let the school dance keep her focused all day. She did the work her teachers assigned, finishing it before everyone else like usual. All of her classes were so easy, Sarah never felt challenged as when Sam homeschooled her. When her teachers had the class take notes, Sarah had it down before they even got to the examples.

In turn, it made the day go by slow and Sarah couldn't wait for it to be over so she could see her father and see if he had made a decision yet. Aside from the school dance, Sarah also thought about the meeting with Castiel and wondered what kind of work God had for her father. To her, it felt like such an honor to receive a job from the Creator of the universe, the Big Guy upstairs. Sarah was in so much thought, she hadn't noticed she was doodling Castiel on her paper, including his large wings and trench coat and did not hear the teacher randomly call on her.

The science teacher had to raise her voice. "Sarah," she spat.

Sarah jumped out of her skin, looking up at the teacher. "Huh? What?"

"Pay attention, please. This will be on the quiz, Friday," she told Sarah, sternly and repeated the question she had asked pertaining to the chapter they were taking notes on. Sarah answered correctly before the teacher continued with her lecture.

Sarah looked down at her notebook and finally noticed her doodle. It was more cartoonish than a real life drawing but wasn't bad and captured the angel's seriousness. Her notebook was full of cartoon doodles of the monsters she seen so far, getting a few looks from the other kids who happened to glance over at them.

Math class arrived as Sarah walked inside the classroom and took her seat. It wasn't until she took out her math book and notebook that she realized she hadn't done her homework over the weekend, even though she had an extra day since the Winchesters didn't get back to Bobby's house until Monday afternoon.

She stood up from her seat and walked over to the teacher's desk. "Excuse me, Mrs. Reed," Sarah said, politely.

The teacher, Mrs. Reed looked over from her computer. "Sarah, we missed you yesterday. You have your homework from over the weekend?"

"Uh," Sarah hesitated. "No, you see…" She tried to come up with a good excuse. "My dad returned from the trip he was on, this weekend and I hadn't seen him in four months."

"Then you will be staying after class until you finish it. I will make sure you get yesterday's assignment on top of tonight's, as well," the teacher told her.

Sarah frowned. "But I ride the bus home."

"You can call your grandfather or your dad to come pick you up but as smart as you are, I am sure you will be able to finish on time before the buses leave. Take your seat, please."

"Yes, ma'am." Sarah turned and walked back to her seat.

After class, everyone piled out of the classroom like wild animals except Sarah who stayed at her desk and started working on Friday's homework. It was fifty problems and even though she knew what to do, Sarah had to show all of her work and made sure it was readable or she wouldn't receive credit.

To her surprise anyway, the door opened and in walked Dean and Sam. "Dad? Uncle Sam? What are you guys doing here?" Sarah asked of them.

"We wanted to talk to your teachers about keeping you in school or not," Sam answered.

"Why are you still here, anyway?" Dean asked, curious. "The buses are already pulling out."

Mrs. Reed walked over from her desk, up to the brothers. "Sarah is working on her homework from Friday she neglected to do over the weekend. Hello, I'm Mrs. Reed, the math teacher." She held her hand out to the boys.

"I'm Sam, Sarah's uncle," Sam introduced first, accepting the handshake.

Dean did the same next, "I'm Dean, Sarah's dad."

"Pleased to meet you both," she nodded with a smile. "Sarah is a wonderful student in class if we can keep her mind focused."

Sam agreed, "I used to homeschool Sarah, and we've had that trouble a few times." He smiled over at his niece who looked down at her notebook to continue working.

Mrs. Reed asked, "So what can I do for you?"

Sam turned back to her, "We wanted to hear how Sarah was doing in school and if she would be better off with doing school online."

Mrs. Reed looked over at Sarah, folding her arms. "Personally, I feel Sarah may benefit more from online education. For the past couple weeks, Sarah has approached me and basically informed me that the work is too easy for her and it shows in her work. Sarah has the highest grade in the class, right now."

Dean couldn't help feel proud, hearing his daughter had the highest grade in the class and smiled at the floor, considering he used to have one of the lowest grades in his classes.

"The only downside to online schooling is she won't have the classroom experience and being surrounded by other kids her age."

"That was what I thought of, too," Sam said. "I want my niece to have the challenge she needs but also I want her to be with kids."

Dean spoke up, "But wouldn't her education be more important than being around kids."

"Socialization is just as important as a good education is for growth development," Mrs. Reed told him. "Really though, I guess there are other ways for Sarah to be socialized, like sports and other extracurricular activities."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks with each other. Did hunting count as an extracurricular activity?

"There are a lot of smart kids in my classes, but Sarah, she's something. Have you also considered private school or some kind of school for the gifted?" she asked the brothers.

"Well, we don't really have the money for a private school," Dean said.

Sam looked at Sarah again, "Didn't you say you went to a private school before, Peanut?"

Sarah looked up from her work. "Yeah. It was more Christian-based than for the gifted. I wasn't really challenged there either."

Sam turned back to Mrs. Reed, looking between her and Dean, "Maybe homeschool or online school is best for her." He shrugged, "Sarah was doing well when I was homeschooling her."

Sarah had finished Friday's homework and brought it up to hand it in to her teacher. "Can I at least stay in school until after Friday?" she asked.

Dean raised his eyebrows in surprise. "I thought you couldn't wait to be pulled out of school."

"I did. My homeroom teacher says there's a…uh…um." She hesitated feeling embarrassed about wanting to go to her first school dance and looked down at the floor.

Mrs. Reed knew what she meant though, having told her own homeroom class about the school dance.

"What is it, Peanut?" Sam asked, urging her to tell them why she wanted to stay in school for another week.

Mrs. Reed smiled, "I think I have an idea why the sudden change. Student Council is putting on the fifth graders' first school dance, Friday."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks once more. They were amazed Sarah wanted any part of something like that. Dean had to tease her about it, "So you have a date then?"

Sarah glared over at her father. "No, Dad, I do not have a date." She shrugged, "I just want to go and see what's it's all about."

"The dance is supervised by the teachers and the principal, and the students still have to follow school rules," Mrs. Reed explained.

Dean shrugged, "All right by me."

Sarah asked, "Really?"

"Sure, Baby Girl," he told her.

"I'm gonna need five bucks then," she said.

Dean asked, "What for?"

"The ticket to get in."

"I thought you said Bobby gives you an allowance," he reminded her.

"He does but that's towards my game, remember?"

Dean gave his daughter a "seriously?"look.

"I can pay for it, Dean," Sam offered. At the moment, he'd take anything to get him back on his niece's good side, no matter what it was. Dean agreed, if Sam wanted to pay for the ticket that was fine with him.

Once the whole school thing was taken care of, the Winchesters left the classroom. On the way back to Bobby's, Dean couldn't help look at his little girl in the rear-view mirror. He couldn't believe Sarah was already ten years old and was about to go to her first school dance. It made him all choked up just thinking about it.

When they pulled into the salvage yard, the Winchesters didn't stay long. Bobby was outside packing his car. He told him about a friend one state over he had been trying to reach about the men's discussion they had while Sarah was in school, and wasn't answering so they headed there to check it out.


	130. Chapter 130- Are You There, God?(P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 130

The Winchesters and Bobby checked out his friend's house to find her dead on the floor, her chest ripped open. Bobby quickly left, going back outside to call a couple more hunters nearby. There was a line of salt in one of the doorways and an EMF meter sitting over on the latch where an arsenal of weapons was, showing there was spirit activity. Bobby returned and told the Winchesters about calling more hunters and not answering their phones either.

Splitting up, they checked on the other hunters nearby only to find them in the same state like the first. On the way back to Bobby's house, Sarah ended up falling asleep in the backseat. Dean was the next one, letting Sam drive who wasn't tired yet. The gas had slipped close to E on the gauze so he pulled over into a gas station.

As he filled the tank, Sarah had woken up, needing to go, badly. She slid out of the car and headed over to the restroom, letting Sam know. Once he was finished, Sam went to use the restroom, too. Eventually, Sarah came out of the women's room and heard commotion coming from the men's. She peeked inside and saw her uncle getting his ass kicked. Sarah bolted back to the Impala to wake her father.

Once Dean had a shotgun from the trunk, he hurried to the restroom and blasted what seemed to be Hendrickson. Worry overcame anger as Sarah rushed to her uncle's side.

"You okay, Uncle Sam?" she asked him.

Sam was leaning back on his arms. "Yeah, I'm okay, Peanut."

Sarah checked her uncle like an overprotective mother. Sam couldn't believe how much she was worrying over him when she was still pissed at him. "I'll go get a cup of ice from inside the gas station." He tried to tell her it wasn't necessary but Sarah was already gone.

"Enjoy it while you can, Sammy before she realizes she's still pissed at you," Dean assured his brother before helping him up.

Sam agreed.

The brothers headed out to the Impala. Sarah met up with them not much after and tried to offer her uncle the cup of ice, putting it against his forehead when they were on the road.

"I'm fine, Peanut. I don't need the ice but thanks anyway," he told her, pushing the cup away for the third time as Dean tried to reach Bobby on his phone. "Where is this sudden protectiveness coming from anyway? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

Sarah decided to eat the ice so it wouldn't go to waste. "I don't know," she shrugged with an ice cube inside her left cheek. "I'm still angry with you but Dad's right, you're still my uncle and I still care about you." She then crunched down on the ice.

Sam turned in his seat and tried to touch her right shoulder. Sarah shrugged his hand away and sat back in the backseat. "I know I can't say any more how sorry I am, Peanut and I wish I could turn back time but I can't. All I saw was how much you were already missing your dad and how much you were hurting. I wanted to bring him back for you. I guess I didn't take your feelings into consideration and abandoned you when I could have been there to grieve with you. I just didn't want to do to you what I did before. Remember those six months we spent, just the two of us? I didn't want you burying yourself into hunting like that again, and losing all feeling you have inside of you. That's why I did what I did."

Dean was looking between his brother and daughter in the rearview mirror, confused while still on the phone.

Sarah stared down at the floor, thinking it over in her head, remembering those six months and saw where he was coming from. It still wasn't right of Sam, abandoning her like that but Sarah had to admit, that was somewhat of an excuse and decided to stop fighting the urge. She jumped from the seat and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I missed you, Uncle Sam," she finally told Sam, tears filling up in her eyes.

Sam pulled his left arm out and hugged her back. "I missed you, too, Peanut. Does this mean you forgive me?"

"I already forgave you, I was just angry with you. I still am."

"And you have every right to be, I was stupid for leaving you the way I did," he said. Sam kissed the side of his niece's head. "I love you, Peanut."

"I love you, too, Uncle Sam," she replied.

Dean had given up, putting his phone away. He told Sarah to sit back before stepping on the gas petal.

They got back to Bobby's place, the next morning to find Bobby nowhere in sight. Dean noticed an iron bar from the fireplace at the foot of the stairs so he told Sam to check outside and Sarah to search around downstairs while he checked upstairs. The three of them then split up.

Sarah cautiously searched around the ground level of the house that had basically been her home for the last four months. Bobby had added a TV and DVD player in his study for their movie nights, or if they just wanted to watch TV. Sarah had moved her game consoles downstairs, hardly playing them in her room anymore. The refrigerator was covered in drawings and photos of Sarah by herself or with Ellen or Bobby.

Things were quiet as Sarah moved slowly through the kitchen. The small hairs on the back of her neck rose as the air grew chilly. Sarah breathed out and saw her own breath. Feeling a presence behind her, Sarah turned around swiftly not expecting to see her mother standing there.

"Mom?"

"Hey, Sarah," her mother smiled at her.

Sarah was frozen to the spot. "But how? We burned your bones."

Emily shook her head, "Not everything. You know Gram likes to save keepsakes, or did hunting wipe your mind of everything?"

"You know what I've been doing?" Sarah asked, confused. She knew from growing up in church that it was impossible to know what was going on down on earth from heaven. So how did her mother know she had been hunting?

"Yes, Sarah, I know. I also know how you've been treating our family since you found your father." Emily's temper seemed to be rising as she and Sarah talked.

"I don't enjoy raising my voice to them, and hated having to punch Mark in the face but they say negative things about Dad. I have to defend him."

Emily took a step forward, making Sarah step back, raising the shotgun in her hands. "Your father," she said, sarcastically. "Your father was the cause of all this. If he hadn't of stepped into that bar and started talking to me, I'd still be alive. It's both his and your fault I developed that tumor." Her voice rose even higher. Emily suddenly shoved Sarah back into the wall.

Sarah landed on the tiled floor, her shotgun flying out of her hands.

Emily kicked the shotgun away. "My dream was to be the most successful attorney in the state of South Dakota. I was gonna open my own private practice, one day but no," Emily kicked her daughter in the side as she tried to get up, knocking Sarah back down, "I had to take care of you, the constant reminder of that week. Not even great sex is worth what he did to me."

Sarah moaned in pain. "Mom, I'm sorry about what happened but I'm just a kid. I didn't ask to be born and Dad said you could have said no," she told her mother, trying to stand again.

Her mother kneeled down to Sarah's level and grabbed the front of Sarah's shirt. "That's easy for him to say, he's a man," she said, inches from her face. "I was young and the first time far away from my parents, and first time in a bar. I never had a boyfriend in high school or any kind of relationship. I thought we were falling in love, that whole first love thing."

"Yeah, you grew up with Disney flicks, Mom," Sarah told her mother. "Even I know life doesn't turn out that way."

Angrily, Emily slugged Sarah in the side of the face, knocking her back down on the floor. She rose back to her feet, slowly as she watched her daughter sit up, holding where she hit. "That's another thing, Sarah," she spat. "You had to inherit my intelligence. Out of everything you had to gain from me, it had to be that. Then you start school and the awards roll in, and your teachers start talking about the scholarships you could receive when you're older and the careers you could have. The stuff I had to give up just so I could take care of you!"

Sarah stared up at her mother and saw the hatred boiling up in her eyes. Never had Sarah seen her mother so upset like that. She happened to glance down at Emily's hand to see some kind of mark there. Her mother never had a tattoo when she was alive, Sarah would have remembered something like that.

Getting to her feet, Sarah stood up to her mother. "I don't need to apologize to you, _Mom_ ," using "mom" loosely, "but I am sorry for what happened to you. If I could, I would fix everything."

"I want my life back, Sarah Lynn. The life I wanted from the start," Emily roared. "Give me my…." She grabbed ahold of the front of Sarah's over shirt in both hands and shoved her across the kitchen. "… My damn life back!"

Sarah landed on the floor again, against the kitchen cabinets, painfully. She lied on her back with her eyes shut tight, moaning.

Sarah heard Emily continue. "All your father ever cared about was his own family, while scoring on the side. He didn't give a crap about me. I thought he wouldn't give a crap about you. I should have known it was blood he cared about. Or was it the fact that everyone who meets you falls in love with you?" Sarah opened her eyes and lifted her head to see her mother take a couple steps towards her. "Everyone tells me how precious and adorable you are. If they really knew the truth."

Sarah stared over at her mother, confused.

"Oh yeah, I know. I know about the demon blood. I had to give permission, you know. Never thought my big sister would pay for it though. I should have told her no when she asked to take you for a night but I was so tired and wanted the rest so badly. She would still be alive if it wasn't for you, Sarah!"

Emily disappeared and reappeared, bent over Sarah. She shoved her hand into Sarah's chest and grabbed onto her heart. "You ruined everything," Emily grumbled as Sarah cried out in pain.

Suddenly, the sound of a shotgun firing was heard and Emily disappeared. Soon afterwards, Dean was at his daughter's side, dropping the shotgun next to him to lift Sarah up with his left arm.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" he asked, worried for her.

Sarah held onto her chest and looked up at her father. "Yeah, Dad. I'm okay."

Dean then hugged Sarah to him, relieved. Not long after that, Sam returned with Bobby, who was also fine and they moved into Bobby's study to talk about what had just happened.

"So they're all people we know?" Sam asked once they were finished.

"Not just know," Dean told him, checking his shotgun, "people we couldn't save. I saw something on Meg. Did she have a tattoo when she was alive?"

Sarah perked up at her father's question, remembering the mark her mother had. "Was it on her hand?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was. Like a mark, or a brand," he said.

"I saw one on my mom's hand, too."

Bobby looked over at Sarah, "What did it look like?"

"Do you have any paper?" Sarah asked, moving closer to his desk. Bobby handed her a tablet of lined paper as she picked up a pencil and quickly drew the mark her mother had before showing it the men.

"That's it," Dean said, staring at it.

Bobby took the tablet from her to look at it and nodded, "I may have seen this before." He moved over to his book case and grabbed a couple of books, taking it back to his desk as the lights flickered. "We gotta move. Follow me," he said, shoving some books towards Sam, catching him off guard.

"Okay," Sam said, confused. "Where are we going?"

Bobby stopped to stare at him, "Some place safe, ya idgit."

Sarah understood what Bobby meant and quickly helped him grab what he needed before they led the brothers downstairs to the basement. Bobby opened a heavy, iron door, letting the Winchesters go in first. Sarah carried the books she was holding over to a desk and set them down, turning around to watch the brothers' reactions after Bobby turned on the light, latching the door behind him.

Sam and Dean looked around the small, circular room. There were weapons hanging up on shelves to kill anything and a jug of holy water, among other things. There was a bed made in there like one you would find in a prison cell, attached to the wall, and a couple desks as well.

Sam felt his hand along the iron wall and looked over at Bobby. "Bobby, is this…?"

"Solid iron," he replied, looking around at the handy work he and Sarah built over the summer, together. "Completely coated in salt."

"One hundred percent ghost proof," Sarah added, proudly.

Sam couldn't help look between Bobby and his niece, and then back to Bobby. "You built a panic room?"

Bobby shrugged, "I had a weekend off. Plus I needed something to help keep Sarah's mind off you boys."

Sam looked over at his niece again, sadly this time.

Dean was over, looking at the weapons. He picked one up and turned towards Bobby, "Bobby."

"What?" he asked, looking over at him.

Dean stared at the rifle in his left hand. He looked up at the older man and grinned, "You're awesome."

The four of them smiled between each other as Dean laughed until something caught his eye. "Oh," he said, looking over at a poster on the wall behind Bobby. The rest of them turned to look at it.

Sarah rubbed her eyes with one hand. "That was also Bobby's idea. We needed something to cover up the dent in the wall."

Dean nodded in understanding. "Well, you picked the right choice, Bobby," he smirked.

Sarah just rolled her eyes.

They got to work right away. While Bobby researched through his books, the Winchesters made more salt rounds. Sarah couldn't help think about her mother as she helped Dean pack the salt into each tube. It couldn't have been really her, could it? Sure Emily was frustrated with Sarah a lot of the time but she would never hurt her daughter like that. It had to do with something with that mark on her hand. After an hour, her father broke her thoughts.

"See, this is why I can't get behind God," he said.

Sam asked, looking up from what he was doing, "What are you talking about?"

"If He doesn't exist," he shrugged, "fine. Bad crap happens to good people, that's how it is." He looked back over his left shoulder then down at the floor next to him. "No rhyme or reason, just random, horrible evil. I get it. Okay? I can roll with that. But if He is out there, what's wrong with Him?"

"He loves us too much," Sarah answered, sitting on her right leg on the end of the desk, on her father's right side.

Dean looked over at her. "Then where the hell is He while these decent people are getting torn to shreds? How does He live with Himself, you know?" He tossed an empty tube down on the table, "Why doesn't He help?"

"God loves us so much that He gives us free will," she explained. "God doesn't like the pain and suffering any more than we do, but stuff happens that just have to play out."

"Then why doesn't He stop it?"

"It's like a parent trying to teach their kid. If they didn't let the kid make their own decisions and lay out what direction for them to take, then the kid would be like a robot and not learn from any mistakes they could have made on their own."

"Didn't you get mad at the guy for not helping you, kiddo?" Bobby asked, over from his reading.

Sarah continued working, knowing the man was right. "Yeah, but I'm human, and I was at a weak moment. Meeting that angel helped me remember who God is."

Bobby changed the subject, "Found it."

Sam looked over at him, "What?"

"The symbol you saw," Bobby turned the page in the book he had opened. "The brand on the ghosts."

"Yeah?"

"Mark of the witness."

Sarah perked up and looked over at Bobby. "Witness?" she questioned, it somehow sounding familiar. "Witness to what?"

Bobby shrugged, "The unnatural. None of them died what you would call ordinary deaths. See, these ghosts, they were forced to rise. They woke up in agony. They're like rabid dogs. It ain't their fault. Someone rose them," he shrugged again, "on purpose."

Sam asked, "Who?"

"Does it look like I know?" he replied. "But whoever it was used a spell so powerful it left a mark. A brand on their souls."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them before Sam exchanged looks with Sarah. Sam then stood up and wandered over to where Bobby was sitting.

"Whoever did this had big plans. It's called Rising of the Witnesses. It figures into an ancient prophesy."

"Wait, wait." Dean slowly rose from his seat and wandered over to them next. "What book is that prophesy from?"

"Well, the widely distributed version's just for tourist, you know," Bobby told him. "But, uh…long story short: Revelations."

It hit Sarah suddenly. She hurried from her chair and over to stand in front of the brothers.

"This is a sign."

Sam looked over at Dean, his arms crossed as Dean looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "A sign of what?" they asked in union.

It was Sarah who answered as she stared over at the picture of the mark in Bobby's book, "The apocalypse." The brothers stared down at the little girl, not saying anything. They looked over at Bobby for confirmation which he nodded and stared at the mark, as well.


	131. Chapter 131- Are You There, God?(P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 131

"Apocalypse." Dean was trying to wrap his mind around what both Bobby and Sarah had said. It was really difficult to grasp a concept that the world could actually end.

"Yep," Bobby replied.

"As in "apocalypse" apocalypse? The four horsemen, pestilence…five-dollar-gas apocalypse?"

"No, the cute-bunny, rainbow apocalypse," Sarah told her father, sarcastically, earning a light smack upside her head and rubbed the back of her head, glaring at him.

"All right, smartass," Dean said and turned back to Bobby.

"The rise of the witnesses is a mile marker," he explained.

"Okay, so what do we do now?" Sam asked, shifting on his feet, uncrossing his arms, anxiously.

Dean scoffed, looking away, "Road trip. Yeah, Disneyland, Mickey Mouse," he clapped his hands together once, pointing over to Sarah, " _California Screamin'_." 

"First things first," Bobby said and pointed over his right shoulder with his thumb. "How about we survive our friends out there?"

Dean sat back down in his chair, leaning his arm across the back of it. "Great. Any ideas, aside from staying in this room until Judgment Day?"

He waved his pencil over at Dean and tapped the desk with it. "It's a spell to send the witnesses back to rest." Bobby shrugged, "Should work."

"Should?" Sam gave a forced laugh, sarcastically. "Great."

"If I translated it, correctly." He leaned back in his chair. "I think I got everything we need here at the house."

"Any chance you got everything we need here in this room?" Dean asked, hopeful.

Bobby shrugged, "So you thought our luck was gonna start now, all of a sudden?" He stood up and walked to the other side of the room, looking back over his shoulder, "Spell's gotta be cast over an open fire."

Sam sighed, smiling. "Fireplace in the library."

"Bingo."

Dean was staring at the floor. "It's just not as appealing as a ghost-proof panic room, you know?" he said.

Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother and exhaled.

"Cover each other, and aim careful," Bobby told the Winchesters once they were all ready for the showdown. "Don't run out of ammo until I'm done, or they'll shred ya."

"Great prep talk, Uncle Bobby," Sarah nodded, sarcastically, holding her shotgun in both hands.

Bobby gave a quick look and turned back to the rest of them. "Ready?" The brothers nodded so he unlatched the heavy door and pushed it open.

Sam went first in the lead, keeping his shotgun up, waving it around. Dean had Sarah go next before following after, both of them keeping their guard up. Bobby brought up the rear. Sam quickly looked up the stairs to see nothing there. Once Sarah reached the bottom of the stairs, someone was sitting there. It looked to be a young boy.

Sarah pointed her shotgun up at it. It raised its head and she saw it was Matt. "Sarah. It's great to see you. Remember me?"

She stared up at him in surprise, her eyes wide. "Matt? Is that you? How?"

Matt slowly rose from where he was sitting on the top step. "I was crushed, Sarah. I really did like you. I couldn't take the pain you gave my heart. I would have waited for you."

Sarah swallowed, figuring exactly what had happened to Matt. It brought a tear to her eye. "I'm so sorry, Matt," she tried to apologize.

"I am dead because of you."

Bobby suddenly shot at Matt, sending him away. He and Sarah exchanged looks. "You're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk," he shook his head.

Sarah looked back up the stairs, feeling her father's hand on her shoulder. He urged her up the stairs where the group headed inside the library. They quickly got to work, setting everything up. Bobby went to his desk while Sarah and Dean laid down salt around it. Bobby told Sam to grab a hex box from the upstairs linen closet. Sam immediately dashed upstairs for it while Bobby continued.

Once Sam was gone, twin little girls who looked a little older than Sarah appeared but Dean quickly shot at them. Bobby told him to grab some ingredients he needed from the kitchen. Dean hurried to the kitchen, telling Sarah to cover Bobby. Sarah gripped the shotgun in her hands, holding it up as she stayed alert, standing in front of the desk.

The twins returned, blaming Bobby for their death. Sarah never hesitated and aimed for them, blasting the girls away.

"Keep working, Uncle Bobby," Sarah told the old man. "Don't worry, I got ya covered."

Bobby nodded at the little girl. He had tried so hard to pull her out of hunting and to see all his hard work thrown away broke his heart. She was a kid. Sarah shouldn't have to cover him like that. He hated himself for it but maybe Dean shouldn't have returned. He started working once more on the spell.

While Dean was looking through the cutlery drawer, the kitchen doors flew closed, grabbing his attention.

It grabbed Sarah and Bobby's attention as well. "Dad," she called from the other side.

"I'm all right, Sarah. Just keep covering Bobby," he called back.

Sarah did as she was told, keeping an eye out for any spirits.

Emily reappeared by the kitchen door, staring at Sarah. "Why should your father deserve another chance? Huh? Why is he so much more important than I am?"

Sarah turned to face her mother on the spot, the minute she heard her. She froze for a second before she blasted Emily's spirit away. Sarah couldn't let her mother's words get to her when it was out of her control. After a few minutes, she heard her uncle's footsteps right outside in the hall heading towards the kitchen.

"You think you're some kind of saint, Sarah?" Emily was behind Sarah now which she turned right around, pointing the shotgun at her mother. "You're a monster. You can act all sweet and innocent but you will fall to the temptation. Just like your uncle did. Why don't you ask him what's he's been up to these past four months."

Sarah raised her head, slowly, staring at Emily. What the hell was her mother talking about? A shotgun from her left knocked Sarah back to reality and blasted Emily away, once again.

"Stay focused, Sarah," Dean reminded his daughter and hurried over to drop the ingredients Bobby asked for, on the desk.

Sarah nodded and returned on her guard, scanning around the room.

Matt had reappeared in front of Sarah, next.

"Matt," Sarah tried to say. "Look, I never meant for this to happen. I was trying to protect you." She looked down to cock her shotgun. When she looked up again, he was gone.

Bobby had started mixing everything together and began the spell. The windows flew open and a gust of wind blew in. It blew the salt line, breaking the circle that protected him as he held down the pages on the desk before he continued.

One by one, the souls appeared and were blasted away by the salt rounds the Winchesters were firing. Sarah quickly cocked her shotgun every few shots, dropping the empty rounds on the floor. She stood in between her father and uncle, covering Bobby as he did the spell.

Dean ended up losing his shotgun just as Hendrickson was walking towards him. He reached back and grabbed Bobby's but it stalled. Sarah came to her father's rescue as he was rushing for the fireplace to grab an iron bar.

"Thanks, Baby Girl," he told his little girl who didn't have time to respond. Sarah blasted Matt away next who was walking towards her.

Meg appeared and shoved another desk that was across the room against Sam, pinning him to the wall.

"Sam," Dean called over to his brother.

"Cover Bobby," he called back, painfully.

The twin girls were the ones holding the desk against him.

While Dean and Sarah were watching ahead, Meg had reappeared and shoved her hand into Bobby's back just as he was finished. Bobby held the bowl up and called for Dean, dropping it to the floor. Dean instantly reacted and caught the bowl just in the nick of time and tossed it in the lit fireplace when Bobby told him to.

The fire turned a light blue color and a bright light shot out and filled the whole room, blasting all the souls away. When everything was clear, Bobby fell, groaning in pain. Both Sam and Dean hurried over to help the older man to his feet again, finally able to catch their breath. Sarah was relieved to see it over, as well.

Sarah completed her homework from Tuesday that afternoon while Bobby fixed dinner. As soon as dinner was finished and gone, everyone went to bed, exhausted. Late that night, Dean was awakened by the sound of wings fluttering. He lifted his head and peered through the darkness of Sarah's room to see Castiel leaning against the wall, out in the hallway. Dean looked down at his daughter who was sound asleep. Very carefully without waking her, he slipped from the bed and wandered over to the angel.

"Excellent job with the witnesses," Castiel told him in the same serious tone.

Dean stared at the angel. "You were hip to all this?" he asked, shutting the door behind him.

"I was, uh, made aware," Castiel nodded.

"Well, thanks a lot for the angelic assistance," Dean said, sarcastically. "You know, I almost got my heart ripped out of my chest," He pointed to his chest. "My daughter's, too."

Castiel closed his eyes, briefly. "But you didn't."

"I thought angels were supposed to be guardians. Fluffy wings, halos…. You know, Michael Landon." Dean shook his head, "Not dicks."

Castiel just stared at Dean. "Read the Bible," he finally spoke. "Angels are warriors of God. I'm a soldier."

"Yeah," he nodded up at the angel. "Why didn't you fight?"

"I'm not here to perch on your shoulder," Castiel explained and shifted on his feet. "We had larger concerns."

"Concerns?"

Castiel looked away for a second.

"There were people getting torn to shreds down here. And by the way, while all this was going on where the hell is your boss, huh, if there is a God." Dean shrugged, raising his eyebrows.

"There's a God."

"I'm not convinced," he told him.

Castiel sighed, looking at the floor.

"Because if there's a God, what the hell is He waiting for? Huh? Genocide? Monsters roaming the earth? The freaking apocalypse? At what point does He lift a damn finger and help the poor bastards who are stuck down here?"

"Your daughter already told you. The Lord works…"

Dean interrupted Castiel, "If you say "mysterious ways" so help me, I will kick your ass."

Castiel was looking away from Dean, smiling as he threw up his hands.

Dean searched the floor, realizing he just threatened an angel. When he looked up, Castiel was looking at him and walked to the side. "So Bobby was right," he said, "about the witnesses. This is some kind of sign of the apocalypse."

"That's why we're here," Castiel replied, looking over at Dean. "Big things afoot."

Dean stared at the angel. "Do I wanna know what kind of things?"

He shrugged, "I sincerely doubt it, but you need to know. The Rising of the Witnesses is one of the sixty-six seals."

"Okay, I'm guessing that's not a show at SeaWorld," Dean shrugged.

Castiel was looking at the floor in front of him. "Those seals are being broken by Lilith," he said, turning back to look at Dean.

Dean raised his head at that. "She did the spell, she raised the witnesses," he nodded.

Castiel nodded, "Mm-hm, and not just here. Twenty other hunters are dead."

"Of course," Dean said, looking at the floor. "She picked victims the hunters couldn't save so that they would barrel right after us," he lifted his head.

"Lilith has a certain sense of humor."

"Well, we put those spirits back to rest," he pointed out.

Castiel shook his head, "Doesn't matter. The seal was broken."

"Why break the seal, anyway?" Dean asked.

Castiel took in a deep breath, "You think of the seals as locks on a door."

Dean looked away for a second with just his eyes, "Okay. Last one opens and…?"

Castiel looked up before standing up from the wall, to turn and face Dean. "Lucifer walks free."

Dean stared at the angel bewildered. "Lucifer?" he finally questioned. "I thought Lucifer was just a story they told at demon Sunday school. There's no such thing."

"Two days ago, you thought there was no such thing as me," he reminded him.

Dean stared at him, at that.

"Why do you think we're here, walking among you now for the first time in two thousand years?"

Realization hit Dean. "To stop Lucifer," he said, softly.

Castiel nodded. "It's why we've arrived."

He nodded. "Well, bang-up job, so far. Stellar work with the witnesses," he said, sarcastically as he leaned back against the wall, still looking over at Castiel. "It's nice."

Castiel just watched him. "We tried. There are other battles. Other seals. Some we'll win, some we'll lose. This one we lost."

Dean scoffed, shaking his head.

"Our numbers are not unlimited," he told Dean, walking closer to him. "Six of my brothers died in the field this week. You think the armies of heaven should just follow you around? There's a bigger picture here." Castiel moved his face closer to his, making Dean uncomfortable. "You should show me some respect. I dragged you out of hell. I can throw you back in." With that, Castiel was gone.

Dean looked up and down the hallway before waking up the next morning as Sarah was putting her boots on, getting ready for school.

"Morning, Dad," she greeted her father as he looked around the early morning lit room. Dean sat up and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Something wrong?"

He looked up at his little girl, thinking about what Castiel had told him and what she was raised to believe. "So," Dean cleared his throat, "you got no problem believing in God and angels?"

"Well, yeah," she shrugged. "I mean, there may be times when I struggle with it, like when I lost you but getting through it, and thinking about the family God's blessed me with. Even when I was mad at the guy, I couldn't really shut Him out of my life. It didn't feel right. So yeah, Castiel was right on that, I do believe." Sarah finished tying her shoe.

Dean looked down at the _Mario Kart_ comforter that was still covering him. He looked up again, "So I guess that means you believe in the devil."

"Of course, it says so in the Bible. An angel tried to go up against God and so God cast him down below, along with the devil's followers and locked him up in, like a cage of darkness," she told her father. "Why?"

Dean stared down at the comforter once more. Castiel was right, after all.


	132. Chapter 132-Dean's Promise and Sarah'sFD

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 132

While Sarah was in school, the brothers and Bobby were talking, discussing the plan the brothers were going to do about Sarah's education. Bobby wasn't too thrilled to say the least. He was outraged they were still set on the kid hunting after he had pulled her out of it and got Sarah into a public school with kids her age.

"She's a kid, boys," Bobby was arguing with the brothers.

"It's not like I don't let her be a kid, Bobby," Dean argued in return, sitting on the arm of the couch, holding a beer in his hand. "Trust me. Sarah being a kid is a lot more important than hunting, I know but this is what she wants."

"Is it?" he asked. "Or is it what you want?"

Dean stared at the older man, strangely. "Of course it's what Sarah wants. I wouldn't push her to hunt if she didn't want to."

Bobby shook his head, leaning against the edge of his desk with his arms folded.

Sam sighed from the couch. "Dean, I'm trying to go along with this whole online school thing because there's no arguing with you. We both know you're only going along with Sarah's decision because you want her with you, but don't you think she'd be safer here? I mean, just think of all the close calls Sarah's had since she started hunting."

Dean looked over at his brother. "But the kid always pulls through, doesn't she?" he told him.

"That's not the point, Dean," Bobby said. "Sarah may have pulled through all those times but what if there comes a time when she can't?"

"Sarah's a strong girl, with a lot of you, me, and Dad in her but even we have our limits," Sam said, leaning forward on his knees while holding a beer in his hands. No one said anything. Dean stared at the ground, thinking about the many times they had almost lost Sarah and how much it had hurt. He couldn't bear to lose his little girl but he couldn't bear to separate himself from her with a dozen states in between them while someone else basically raised his kid. That wasn't the father he wanted to be. Sam broke his thoughts, as if he could read him. "I know how you feel about having someone else take care of Sarah, Dean, but sometimes passing a kid to someone else is a hard decision a parent has to make even if it's not want you or Sarah want. You have to do what would be best for her."

Dean continued to stare at the floor. Soon, a tear started to drift down his right cheek. There was a long moment of silence until Bobby spoke again. "It's no hassle, Dean. Sarah is always welcome here. I don't mind it at all. This is her home just like I told you and Sam."

Another tear appeared and Dean stood up and rushed from the room, grabbing his jacket on his way out. He went out to the Impala and drove to the nearest bar, staying there for a few hours just thinking about his little girl. He did want what was best for Sarah but every time he and Sam had left Sarah behind at Bobby's he would remember being in her place when John dropped them off. Don't get him wrong, Dean loved it when they stayed with Bobby as kids and he thought of Bobby as a second father so much, but he wasn't his biological father, John was and Dean wanted so much to spend time with him, too and that was exactly how he felt about Sarah staying there, thinking she felt the same way. He just couldn't let his own kid grow up without spending as much time with him that was possible.

Dean stayed at the bar until an hour before Sarah was supposed to get out of school. Leaving behind the money he owed the bartender, he went outside to the Impala and decided to drive over to the school. Since he was nearby, Dean figured he may as well pick her up instead of catching the bus.

He headed for the office and asked the woman at the reception desk if she could get a message to Sarah to not get on the bus. Afterwards, Dean waited in the Impala, listening to one of his cassette tapes.

Eventually, Dean heard the school bell from the building. Turning the car off, he slid out and walked around to step up onto the sidewalk. He leaned against the car and waited as dozens of little kids walked outside in an orderly fashion, guided by their teachers. Once the younger kids were out, dozens of older kids had come, flying out like madmen. Among the crowd was Sarah, walking towards him. When she spotted her father, she hurried over to him which Dean stood up from the car. Sarah hugged her father around his lower waist as Dean hugged her head to him.

"Hey, Baby Girl. How was school?" he greeted her with a smile.

Sarah released his waist and looked up at Dean. "All my teachers were worried that I missed another day and tried to give me a ton of make-up work to do tonight but I said it didn't matter that I wasn't gonna be there much longer anyway."

Dean looked at his daughter at that. He remembered telling dozens of teachers when they asked where his books or homework was and why he didn't have them. "Hey, Sarah…" he started to say.

She replied, "Yeah, Dad?"

He looked down at his feet before looking back at his daughter, forcing a smile for her, "Let's go get that tutu."

Sarah smiled in return, "Okay."

Dean ran his hand along Sarah's hair and turned around halfway to open the passenger door so she could slide in before shutting it and walking around to the driver's side to slide in, himself. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb when he saw an opening, eventually leaving the parking lot. "So," Dean tried to make conversation with his daughter like a normal father picking their kid up from school would do. It was extremely awkward for him though, but he tried. "Do anything fun in school today?"

"Dad, I'm in fifth grade. It's nothing but learning and work," Sarah told her father.

"What about recess?" he asked. "Do they still have P.E. or shop class?"

"I wish they still had shop class but no, and we have physical education on Tuesdays. Today was art class," she explained.

"Oh, make anything good?"

Sarah went into her backpack and pulled out a colored pencil drawing of the Impala. It wasn't perfect like an exact replica of the Impala but it was still pretty good. She showed it to her father who looked at it while keeping an eye on the road ahead.

"You drew that?" he asked, surprised.

Sarah nodded. "I received an A, too. Miss Mallory, the art teacher said I did a really good job on it."

"It's way better than what I could do. Where's me, though. Shouldn't I be driving it?" he teased his daughter.

Sarah looked at the drawing. "I didn't think of that," she realized.

Dean ruffled her hair, "I'm just giving ya a hard time. It looks awesome the way it is. You captured her, perfectly." In his eyes, anything Sarah made was perfect even if it was just a stick figure. Dean handed it back to her.

"I made it for you, Dad," she told him.

He looked back at her from the road, "For me?"

Sarah nodded and smiled at her father.

Dean returned the smile and took the drawing, holding it against part of the steering wheel in his lap, driving with one hand. "It's beautiful, Baby Girl. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Dad," she replied.

Dean watched as Sarah closed her backpack and set it back on the floor in front of her before looking out the window. He glanced at the road before looking back down at the picture. It was moments like this that made it hard for Dean to ever leave his little girl behind. He wanted to have moments like this. His little girl made him proud and was one of the very few who made him keep going every day, possibly even the only one.

The car was in silence for a moment until Sarah turned on the radio, playing her father's cassette tape he still had in there and sang along to the music. Dean continued to watch her, trying not to make it seem obvious as she moved her head to the music, singing out loud to herself. He looked forward. "Hey, uh, Sam's gonna enroll you tomorrow for that online school," he finally said. "He says we should probably get you in as soon as possible so you can start."

Sarah asked, "Really?"

"Yeah," Dean forced another smile. "Ready to start hunting again?"

She grinned, "You bet, Dad. I'm ready to go find Lilith and make her pay for what she did."

Dean looked down at the steering wheel, leaning his left arm on the door. "You know it wasn't all her fault. I made the deal."

"I know but she let the hellhound in, she was the one who laughed while you were its chew toy."

The memory started playing in Dean's mind of that night.

"Dad," Sarah interrupted his thoughts.

Dean looked up at his daughter, "Yeah?"

She swallowed before she said, "Was Alistair there?"

He stared at her in surprise. "How do…?"

"Remember those nightmares I was having a year ago when Grandpa was down in the pit?"

He nodded, "Sam and I guessed they were nightmares of hell."

Sarah shook her head. "They weren't just nightmares, Dad. They were visions. Since I was five I could see into hell and see souls being tortured and torn to shreds. I…I-I watched as Alistair tore into Grandpa until…" Sarah started to get choked up as her eyes filled up with tears. "…Until there was nothing left. That was when I woke up but then the next time he'd be whole again like it hadn't happened yet." The tears were pouring now as she stared at the floor.

Dean watched his little girl break down once more, thinking about his own time in hell. Sarah was spot on about every single detail. He and Sam only figured they were nightmares of what hell could be like. Dean never thought they were actually visions like what her and Sam used to get, periodically.

Sarah looked at her father again. "Alistair was there, wasn't he?" she told him.

He could feel his own tears start to form. Dean nodded. "Every day."

Soon, both of them had tears running down both sides of their faces and it got to the point Dean had to pull over to the side of the road. Once the car was in park, Sarah stood up on her legs and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. Dean squeezed her to him, tightly.

Sarah wanted to ask if Alistair made Dean the same offer he made John but couldn't get any words out. She cried on her father's right shoulder. When she could speak, Sarah was surprised to hear something different. "What is going on, Dad? What am I?"

Dean wiped his left hand down his face and took ahold of his daughter's upper arms, gently to look her in the eye. "You know who you are. You're Sarah Winchester, my daughter. That's who you are. You're not a demon or any kind of monster. You're my baby girl with a heart of gold, you got that?"

Sarah nodded. "Thanks, Dad," she sniffed before Dean pulled her back into his arms. Things were too much at the moment, she'd ask later.

When things had blown over and the two of them were able to compose themselves, Dean pulled back onto the road and headed for the nearest store that sold tutus.

"Come on, do I really have to do this?" Dean asked from the upstairs hallway.

"Dad," Sarah reminded him, her arms folded across her chest, from Bobby's study.

"Quit being a baby and get down here," Bobby called, leaning against his desk.

They could hear Dean moan, loudly. Slowly but surely, he made his way down the stairs and into the library, wearing a pink, frilly dress that barely covered his knees and a plastic silver tiara on his head. The tiara was Sarah's idea to add to the humiliation.

Everyone stared at the young man, trying to hold in their laughter.

Dean looked around at them and rolled his eyes. "All right, let it out. I know I look ridiculous," he said.

"You look very beautiful," Bobby snickered, teasing him.

Sam snuck a picture on his phone.

Dean looked in his direction as Sam quickly put it away. "I heard that. Didn't I say no photography?"

Sarah was snickering the most, "Come on, Dad. It's funny. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time, so loosen up."

"All right," he gave in. "So what crappy pop song am I singing?"

Sarah turned to her uncle, "Hit it, Uncle Sam," she grinned.

Sam picked up his iPod where it was plugged into a set of small iPod speakers and pressed play. _Barbie Girl_ started playing.

Dean moaned once more, "Oh, you have got to be kidding me."

"Come on, Dad, start singing," Sarah told him, already starting to laugh.

He stared up at the ceiling as Sam raised the volume before he started mumbling it.

"We can't hear ya, Dean," Bobby smirked.

Dean reluctantly raised his voice but not by much.

"Still can't hear you," Sam said from the couch where he had his iPod set up on the end table.

Dean raised his voice once more as he sang, feeling the most humiliated he had ever felt.

"You have to do some movements, Dad," Sarah told him, laughing. "You look stiff."

"Come on, Baby Girl," he said, "aren't I humiliated enough?"

Sarah shook her head, "It has to be the whole song, Dad. Now let's see those Barbie doll moves."

Dean groaned and started singing again, reluctantly dancing around acting out the words to the song. He hoped Castiel was not watching this or was made aware as he had said. It was embarrassing enough letting his family see it. However, when he saw just how much his daughter was laughing by that point, Dean did not care anymore and gladly finished the song. When the song was over, Sarah ran over and hugged her father to her.

"You are truly the best dad in the whole, wide world, Dad," she told him.

Dean could not help smile at that. He then lifted her up into his arms and gave her a huge hug, himself. She may have been heavier now, that would never stop him from holding his little girl.

Friday afternoon, Sarah started getting ready for the school dance. She kept the jeans she wore to school but changed out of her Mario and Yoshi T-shirt and into a plain black T-shirt and threw her green overshirt back on, as well. Once she was all dressed, Sarah looked around the hallway to see if anyone was coming and rushed to the bathroom to make sure she looked okay, giving her hair a quick brush. Sarah then rolled up the sleeves of her overshirt before making her way down the stairs where everyone else was, including Ellen and Jo who had heard Sarah was going to her first dance.

"Dad, Miss Ellen, how do I look?" she asked them.

Dean looked up from the guns he was cleaning on the couch. "You look fine, why?" he asked.

Jo reached over and flicked Dean in the side of the head.

"What was that for?" Dean asked of the young woman, holding his head who ignored him.

Ellen smiled at the little girl, "You look great, Sarah."

Sarah asked, "Really? You think this is okay?"

Sam walked over and kneeled in front of his niece, "Peanut, you sound like me right before my first dance. I think you look great, too, except for this speck of dirt on your nose." Sam licked his thumb and tried to reach over to rub some dirt off the side of her nose.

Sarah dodged out of the way, "That's disgusting, Uncle Sam. Quit it," she told him, annoyed.

"I don't even see anything," Dean said, looking for himself from where he was sitting.

"It's not noticeable far away, but up close you can see it," Sam told his brother and turned back to his niece. "Go wash your face, Peanut."

Sarah agreed and hurried back up the stairs.

Ellen looked over at Dean, "How you holding up, Dean?" she asked.

"With what?" he asked, dissembling his own gun.

"Sarah's first school dance," she told him.

"Ah, it's fine. I'm not gonna get all teary-eyed over this," he shrugged, looking at the gun and changed the adapter inside. Inside he was already teary-eyed. Tonight was affecting him, greatly because it was another reminder of his little girl growing up.

Sarah returned downstairs once again. Bobby had ordered pizza and wings to celebrate Sarah's big night, for dinner. Sarah ate carefully, trying to make sure nothing dropped on her clothes. To her surprise, all five adults wanted to drive her back up to the school. Dean drove, of course, while Sam, Bobby, and Jo sat in the backseat, and Ellen sat in the passenger seat. Sarah sat in between her father and Ellen.

The whole way there, Sarah kept holding her stomach. Dean noticed after a while, "What's wrong, Baby Girl?"

"My stomach feels strange," she explained. "It hasn't felt this way since the day I met you, then again when I had that date with Matt."

Dean smiled and put his arm around his little girl. "You're just nervous. It'll be okay, I promise. You're gonna have lots of fun."

Sarah nodded. "I'm glad I have a family to share this day with," she told her father.

Sarah felt Ellen's hand on the back of her head, "We're glad to have you, too, Sarah." Sarah smiled at the woman.

Eventually, Dean pulled into the school parking lot and parked beside the curb. Sarah got out on his side and they walked around the front of the Impala, stepping up onto the sidewalk. Sam then got out his cellphone to snap a picture of his niece. Bobby took out a camera, getting a picture of everyone with Sarah, one at a time then one of them all together, asking another parent who was walking by if they could take it. It was Dean who finally rescued Sarah from all the picture-taking and hugs.

But still taking his fatherly duties into consideration, he kneeled to his level. "Now, what do you tell a boy if he tries anything?" Dean asked her.

Sarah moaned, "Dad."

"Sarah," he said.

Sarah sighed and recited, "That you have a stainless and custom engraved .45 caliber Colt MK IV Series 80 1911 pistol, and you're not afraid to use it neither." she said it exactly as Dean told her but less enthusiastically as she rolled her eyes. Dean wouldn't actually shoot a kid he just wanted to scare them enough a boy would back off from his little girl. "Okay, can I go purchase my ticket now?"

Dean smiled and nodded. "Just one more hug, though," he said.

Sarah stepped towards her father and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, Baby Girl. Have some fun tonight, all right?"

"I will, Dad." With that, Sarah kissed her father's cheek before she let go and dashed over to the main office to head through the open door.

Dean watched her go as he slowly stood up straight. He just couldn't believe how much Sarah has grown the past three years. He wanted her to be seven years old again, so much. He wanted the backseat cluttered with toys again. Dean wanted Sarah to stay little forever and loved that she had been short for her age because it meant he could still hold her without any problem.

Sarah waited in line and handed one of the kids in student council the money Sam had given her. The girl took the money and handed Sarah her ticket before letting her inside. Sarah thanked the girl and walked around part of a lunch table they were using and into the gymnasium.

All the lights were off as the school dance was just getting started, except for the lights the DJ had up on stage with his music equipment. Sarah wandered in near the back wall, her hands dug into her jeans pockets as she watched some of the other kids who had arrived already, dance in their groups. Being only familiar to her parents' music, Sarah wasn't sure what they were playing, she just knew it was a hip hop song. She heard a little pop music from Sam's iPod when they were searching for a song for Dean to sing the day before so that helped somewhat.

Sarah felt nervous and wasn't sure what to do. More kids showed up as time went by and soon the gymnasium was filled with dozens of fifth graders, dancing and mingling. Staying in the back, Sarah tried bobbing her head, keeping to herself until a group of boys she knew from her Language Arts class called her over to join them. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the group.

The one who had called her over, moved closer to ask over the music, "Are you having a good time, Sarah?"

"Uh, yeah, great time," she replied over the music, as well. For the rest of the time, Sarah stayed with them, allowing them to show her some dance moves. Eventually, some other girls joined them, forming a circle where they took turns showing off their moves. When it was Sarah's turn she tried to decline but everyone else insisted. Using what the boys had taught her, Sarah took her place in the center and tried out what she had learned together, getting a positive response from them. Sarah ended her session, leaving the center to rejoin the circle so someone else could take her place and continued watching, moving along to the music.

An hour and a half into it, the group took a rest and each bought a soda and a small bag of chips, sitting at one of the lunch tables that were set up. Sarah had gotten a root beer and a bag of Doritos since they didn't have any flaming hot Cheetos. That evening, Sarah tried her best to fit in with the other kids she hung out with, trying to relate to them. It was never an easy task for her especially when there was a difference in music but she managed.

When Dean pulled out of the school parking lot, he remained quiet, not saying anything. He didn't even turn the radio on which surprised Sam. It was Ellen who eventually asked if he was all right.

"Yeah," Dean replied. "Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned his left arm on his door as he drove with his other hand.

"Sarah's gonna have a great time," she assured him.

"I know," he said, quietly.

"What's wrong then?" Ellen asked.

"Nothing, I rather not talk about it."

Ellen watched the man as he stared ahead at the road. "I understand how you feel, Dean. Kids grow up so fast…"

Dean turned to look at her, "I really don't want to talk about it. Can we just drop it?"

She exchanged looks from the other three in the back before she agreed. The rest of the car ride was in silence. He dropped them off at Bobby's house and told them he was running up to the gas station to get gas and something to drink but Dean never came back until after he picked up Sarah from the school, wanting time with his daughter to himself. Neither of them was thrilled to learn what Dean had done either, wanting to pick Sarah up together. Sarah told her father every detail, not leaving anything out. They stopped at a diner on the way back to Bobby's for a couple milkshakes and some fries, and to catch up on what Dean had missed of his daughter's life from the last four months. Of course, Sarah left out her breakdown, not sure how her father would take it. It was very late by the time they got back and Dean had to carry Sarah inside and up to her room.


	133. Chapter 133- In The Beginning (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 133

The Impala flew down the highway with Dean behind the wheel. The triumph trio was back in town and ready to kick some supernatural ass. They just needed to figure out where to go first. Sarah sat in the backseat, playing her Nintendo DS. No one said a word except the radio. Sam had let it go about the stunt Dean had pulled, picking Sarah up from her school dance without him and got the scoop from Sarah the day after when she had woken up. He was happy to hear his niece had a good time.

Things seemed to be smooth as the Impala purred nicely down the highway as Sarah finished battling a gym leader on her video game. When the gym leader was down to their last Pokémon, the cellphone Sarah still had rang from inside her jeans pocket. Dean had decided to let Sarah keep his old phone since there was a few new phone numbers in there and got himself a new one. Besides, having Sarah have her own was a wise decision in case something happened and she would need to get ahold of someone.

Taking it out, she looked at the screen and saw it was Ellen calling. "Hey, Miss Ellen," she greeted, cheerfully. "What's up?"

" _Put your father on."_ To say Ellen sounded pissed was an understatement.

Doing as she was told, Sarah passed her father the phone, telling him who it was.

Dean took the phone and placed it to his ear. "Hey, Ellen," he greeted.

" _Don't 'hey, Ellen' me. I atta beat you over the head,"_ she threatened.

Dean was confused. "What?"

" _First you pick Sarah up from her dance without us, and now this?"_ Ellen asked.

"Now what?"

" _We spent most of the time you were down in the pit, dragging her out of hunting and you pull Sarah back in?"_

"Sarah's my daughter, not yours, Ellen. None of that should have fallen on you or Bobby," Dean told her. "She was not your responsibility."

" _Do you know how much I want to slap you, right now? You're right, she wasn't our responsibility. We chose to make her our own because that's what family does, Dean. The moment that little girl walked into our lives, she stayed there and there's no way Sarah will ever leave our hearts. She may be your biological daughter. She's a daughter to us all. We love her just as much as you do, that's why we took good care of her for you. So don't ever think you could pull Sarah away from us."_

Dean kept glancing down at the steering wheel, feeling like a dick right now as Ellen gave him a lecture. "I really do appreciate all that you did for Sarah. I'm back now so you don't have to. Take care of yourselves, Ellen," he tried to assure her.

" _Boy, I know you are smarter than this. Don't you get it? There's no moving on. Sarah's always gonna be a part of us. It's great she has you and Sam, Dean but she needs a female figure in her life. Someone…someone like a mom."_

Dean closed his eyes when he heard that. Knowing from experience, he knew that. Dean knew his daughter needed a mother just as much as a father. He just didn't want his daughter to get hurt or have her heart broken, especially when they had already lost so much. "I know, Ellen. Look," he glanced down at his lap, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have ditched you guys that night. It's just…Sarah means a lot to me."

" _Sarah means a lot to all of us, Dean. Trust me. I wish Jo had this many people who cared so much for her when she was Sarah's age. After her father died, it was just us with hunters just passing through. None of them took an interest in Jo the way we all love Sarah."_ By this point, Ellen's tone had subsided and didn't sound threatening anymore. It was sincere and heartfelt. _"Don't pull Sarah away from us and back into hunting, Dean."_

Dean thought on it but did not budge an inch. "If we ever hit a point that it's too dangerous for Sarah, I'll make her sit out. You're still very much welcome in Sarah's life, you, Bobby, and Jo but she's staying with me, and that's final." His tone was serious and straight-forward, like his mind was made up and there was no changing it.

" _Dean…"_

"Here's Sarah again." Dean passed the cellphone back to his daughter who took it and started telling Ellen what she had told him and Sam about her first school dance. Dean continued to stare forward. He could hear his daughter go on about how much fun she had had, knowing and dreading when Ellen would try and persuade her to drop out of hunting. It eventually came but Sarah was just as much stubborn as her father was, stating she really did want to hunt again and explained how she could benefit from going to school online. Ellen ended up, reluctantly giving in but told Sarah to focus more on school than hunting. When Ellen hung up, Sarah returned to her game.

They stopped at a motel that night to get some rest. Sarah stayed up longer than the brothers did to catch an episode of _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_ that was playing on TV, falling asleep with the remote in her hand. Sam had only pretended to fall asleep. When he was sure Sarah was out, he crept out of bed. Quickly, but quietly, he slipped on his shoes and grabbed his jacket. Sam carefully pulled the remote out of his niece's right hand and switched off a rerun of _Lilo and Stitch: The Series_ that was coming on, setting it on top of the TV. Stealing one last look at his brother and niece, Sam then slipped out without any of them waking up.

Dean turned over in his sleep as visions of hell replayed in his mind. He twitched suddenly. As if on cue, Sarah woke up and looked back to see her father's head, twitching. She sat up to reach over and shake him awake.

"Dad, wake up," she told him, shaking his arm. "You're dreaming."

Dean's eyes bolted open and looked over at his daughter who looked concerned.

"Hello," came a voice from beside them on the bed.

Both Dean and Sarah jumped at the sound, looking over to see Castiel sitting on the edge of the bed.

"What were you dreaming about?" he said with a grin.

Dean sighed, turning his head away. He pulled his arm out of the comforter he was covered up with. "What, you get your freak on by watching other people sleep?" he asked the angel, sarcastically.

"Well, they do say angels watch you while you sleep," Sarah pointed out.

"Not helping, Sarah," Dean told her and turned back to Castiel, "What do you want?"

Castiel stared down at the bed, "Listen to me." He looked back at Dean. "You have to stop it."

"Stop what?" Dean asked, not sure what Castiel meant.

Castiel did not say anything. Instead he raised two fingers on each of his hands and touched both of them on the foreheads. Before Dean and Sarah knew it, they were outside, lying on a bench with a cop standing over, telling them they couldn't sleep there.

Sarah looked around the area as Dean asked, "Okay. Sleep where?"

"Anywhere but here," the cop replied.

Dean sat up as Sarah slid off onto the bench so he could place his feet on the ground. She sat down next to him as he dug out his cellphone. There was no signal, whatsoever. "Try yours, Baby Girl," Dean told Sarah.

Sarah pulled out her phone but she wasn't getting a signal either. "Where are we, Dad?" she asked, putting it away.

"I have no idea." He looked around and spotted a diner across the street. "Come on." Sarah followed Dean over to the diner where he opened the door, holding it for her before going in himself.

The Allman Brothers' _Ramblin' Man_ was playing on the radio as they walked in. Sarah spotted a young man with short, black hair sitting at the counter, reading a newspaper. Hurrying over, Sarah pushed herself up onto the stool next to him.

"Hey, did it hurt when you fell from heaven?" Sarah asked the young man with a smirk.

The young man looked over at her. "Excuse me?" he asked in return, a confused look on his face.

She nodded at him, "Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see."

"What?"

Dean walked up at that point. "Nothing, sir." He told the young man and gently smacked Sarah upside the head, causing no real pain. "Behave yourself, Sarah Lynn," Dean told his daughter in a low voice. "Or at least come up with decent pick-up lines." He sat down on the stool on Sarah's other side to rub his eyes with one hand, getting a glare from her. "By the way, where the hell are we?" he sighed, asking the young man.

"Jaybird's Diner," the man told him.

Dean looked at the man before glancing away for a second, "Yeah, thanks. I mean city and state."

The man scoffed at the counter and looked at Dean as if it was obvious, "Lawrence, Kansas."

"Lawrence," he said, exchanging a look with his daughter before looking around the diner.

"Is your father all right?" the man asked Sarah.

"Honestly, I barely know if I am," Sarah half mumbled.

"Yeah," Dean answered for her. "Tough night."

The man turned his head to a guy dressed like Sonny Bono. "Hey," he called to him, "uh coffee here, Reg, and milk for the kid."

"Make that chocolate," Sarah called out to the Sonny Bono look-alike and thanked the young man.

Dean took out his cellphone again, asking the young man where he could find reception.

He stared at it and scoffed. "The USS enterprise?"

Dean raised his eyebrows at that but shook it off and put his phone away. The man, Reg brought over a cup of coffee and a glass of chocolate milk which they thanked him, and Dean added, "Nice threads. You know Sonny and Cher broke up, right?" before he took a drink of his coffee, chuckling to himself.

The young man quickly looked over at Dean, "Sonny and Cher broke up?" He exchanged looks with Reg as Dean and Sarah exchanged looks of their own before looking behind them at everyone else. Everyone in the diner was dressed in sixties or seventies fashion, close to how Reg was dressed.

"I'm almost expecting Forrest Gump to run here," Sarah told her father where only he could hear.

Dean turned his surrounds around in his head. He glanced at the newspaper the young man was reading and saw the date said, _Monday, April 30, 1973_ and gently hit Sarah's arm, nodding at the newspaper. Sarah looked at what her father was motioning towards and saw it for herself.

"I would make a _Wizard of Oz_ reference here but technically we are in Kansas," she said.

At that point, they heard someone call their last name and all three heads turned, including the young man's. An old man was walking towards them, walking right past Dean and Sarah.

"Son of a bitch," the old man said, taking ahold of the young man's hand. "How are you doing, Corporal?"

"Hey, Mr. D," the young man replied, happy to see him.

Dean and Sarah's heads turned back to the young man, an uneasily feeling washing over Sarah of who she might have tried to hit on.

"I heard you were back," the old man said.

"Yeah, a little while now," the man nodded.

"Good to have you home, John."

Sarah had taken a drink about the same time the old man called the young man, John and hesitantly choked on her chocolate milk before spitting it out. Chocolate milk went flying everywhere, surprising the whole diner, including Dean.

"Are you all right, kid?" the young man, John asked.

Dean answered for her, "She's fine. Just went down the wrong tube." He handed Sarah a few napkins and started wiping what was on the counter in front of her.

John and the old man continued with their conversation as Dean and Sarah cleaned up what they could, listening intently. "Well, say hello to your old man for me," the old man told John before walking away.

"You got it, Mr. D," John called back over his right shoulder. John turned to face forward again, catching Dean and Sarah staring at him, not noticing they had stopped wiping up the chocolate milk. "Do we know each other?"

Dean swallowed a large lump forming in his throat, glancing down for a second. "I guess not." He looked down at the counter, continuing to mop up the chocolate milk.

"We, uh…you look like someone we know," Sarah added before continuing to help her father.

John collected his newspaper and stood up from his stool. "Take it easy, you two," he told them.

"Yeah," Dean replied.

John then headed for the door. Dean and Sarah followed him with their eyes, looking away when John gave one last look back at them before leaving the diner.

Sarah stared down at the counter in shock. "I am going to hell. I…oh God, I can't believe I just…" She dropped her elbow down on the counter to rub at her eyes.

When the chocolate milk was cleaned up, Dean stood up from his stool to leave. Sarah apologized to Reg as she jumped off her own stool and hurried after her father. Dean staked after John, making sure it weren't obvious. When they turned a corner, Dean and Sarah almost ran into Castiel, catching them by surprise.

Sarah held onto her chest, "Seriously, dude?"

Dean got right down to it, "What is this?"

"What does it look like?" Castiel asked.

"Is it real?"

Castiel was as stiff as a board. "Very."

"Okay, so, what, angels got their hands on some DeLoreans? How did we get here?"

"Time is fluid, Dean," Castiel answered, looking away. "It's not easy but we can bend it on occasion."

"Well, bend it back," Dean told the angel, forcefully. "Or tell me what the hell we're doing here?"

Sarah added, "And why you let me flirt with my grandfather."

Castiel stared at Dean, "I told you. You have to stop it."

"Stop what?" Dean asked. "What? Is there something nasty after my dad?"

A car horn honked somewhere nearby and some tires screeched, loudly making Dean and Sarah look in that direction. When they looked back at the angel, Castiel was gone.

"Why couldn't we have gotten Gabriel? At least he gave Mary, Joseph, and Elizabeth more answers than you when they asked," Sarah called after him.

"Come on, Baby Girl," Dean sighed, frustrated. "Let's just find out where your grandfather went to." He put his arm around his daughter as they headed in the direction they saw John head in.


	134. Chapter 134- In The Beginning (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 134

Dean and Sarah trailed John all the way to a car dealership. Sarah was the first to notice the 1967 Chevy Impala sitting close to a Volkswagen van that John was talking to a dealer about. It didn't take much for her to realize this may have been the day her grandfather had bought it. Why he was looking a crappy-looking car, was beyond Sarah.

Dean leaned against the Impala, sliding his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket he gotten back from Sarah once he had gotten her a new one of her own. It took a few days before they found one Sarah liked, too.

Sarah realized how much she was gawking at the Impala and went over to push herself up on the car, next to her father. "Is Grandpa seriously looking at that piece of junk?" she mumbled over to Dean.

"Yup, and I think he's gonna buy it, too," Dean replied, watching the man. When the dealer headed inside the dealership, he called over to John, "That's not the one you want."

John looked over at them and took a step towards them. "You following me?" he questioned them.

"No, no, I was just passing by," he said, waving his right, pointer finger through the air. "I never got to thank you for the cup of coffee, this morning. I was a little out of it."

"Me, too," Sarah agreed.

"More than a little," John also agreed.

"Let us repay the favor," Dean told him and tapped the hood of the Impala. "This is the car you want."

"Oh yeah," John smirked at him. "Y-you know something about cars?"

Sarah grinned, "You bet, mister."

"Yeah," Dean also grinned at him. "My dad taught me everything I know and I passed it on to my kid, here."

John nodded, starting to feel a little uncomfortable with how they kept staring at him, especially Dean.

Dean snapped out of it and turned towards the car, "And this… This is a great car." He whistled for Sarah to get off before lifting the hood. "Three-twenty-seven four-barrel, two hundred-seventy-five horses. Little TLC, this thing is cherry."

"You know, man," John breathed in, staring at the inside, "you're right."

"How come you were buying that thing for?" Sarah pointed back over her right shoulder.

John shrugged, "Kind of promised someone I would."

Dean laughed, "Over a '67 Chevy?" He shook his head once. "I mean, come on, this is the car of a lifetime." Dean stood up straight, sliding his hands back into his pockets, "Trust me. This thing's still gonna be badass when it's forty."

"Hell yeah," Sarah agreed.

John looked over at Sarah then up at Dean, as if he was waiting for Dean to say something to his daughter. He just shook it off when nothing happened. He took a deep breath in as he continued to look around under the hood before standing up and extended his hand towards Dean first, "John Winchester. Thanks."

Dean looked back at him before accepting the handshake. Sarah had trouble, forcing down the lump in her throat as she shook his hand next.

"Dean Van Halen," Dean replied when they shook hands. "And thank you."

"Sarah, and yeah, thanks, Gr…I mean, Mr. Winchester," Sarah said as she shook his hand. "Oh, and sorry about trying to flirt with you. Please don't bring that up in thirty-three years."

Dean dropped his face into his right hand as John looked at the little girl, confused. "Why would I bring that up in thirty-three years?"

Sarah tried to think up an excuse, quickly. "Uh, well, you know. That whole, laugh-down-the-road thing with your poker buddies," she shrugged, forcing a smirk.

"Oh…kay. Wait, shouldn't you be in school?" John realized.

"It's a…day off," Sarah lied.

"Really, because I saw the school yard packed with kids," he pointed over his shoulder.

Dean stepped in to save the day, "She has a doctor's appointment today."

John nodded in understanding, letting it go. He walked by the car so he could look at the interior, memorized as Sarah was.

Dean slammed the hood closed and walked down the other side, "I was in pretty rough shape, this morning, huh?" he casually started a conversation with John.

"No kidding," John agreed.

"I've been hung over before, but, hey, I was…I was getting chills in that diner." He leaned against the car, looking over at John. "You didn't feel any of those cold spots, did ya?"

John shook his head, looking back at him, "Nope."

Dean shook his head at the ground, "I swore I smelled something weird, too, like rotten eggs."

"Sorry that was me," Sarah admitted. "I didn't think no one noticed." The men stared over at her. "What? That burrito I had, last night is still digesting inside my stomach and I swear I think I have my uncle's gas problem."

"You know, Baby Girl, it's great when you feel you can confide in me but, uh, there's just some things you should keep to yourself and that's one of them," he pointed at his daughter.

John agreed, "I second that," and continued looking at the car.

Sarah went silent, turning a shade of red.

Dean continued his conversation, "You didn't happen to smell any sulfur, by any chance. Did you?"

"No," John shook his head.

"No," Dean replied, staring at the ground before he quickly stood up straight to face John. "There been any cow mutilations in town?"

John quickly stopped him there, freaked out, "Okay, mister, stop it."

"Yeah, if only I knew how to stop," he shook his head at the ground. Dean looked up at John once more, "Listen, man, watch out for yourself, okay?"

John nodded at him, "Yeah, sure."

Dean forced a smile at John. He tapped the car once more before walking away, wrapping his arm around Sarah while his other hand stayed in his jacket pocket. Hotwiring another car, they continued to stake out John, following him all the way where he parked in front of a house. A young, beautiful, blond-haired woman ran outside to meet him.

Dean stared at the woman as she talked with John, surprised of the car he bought instead of the van. "Mom," Dean mumbled to himself.

Sarah looked between her father and the young woman. There were moments when she wished her father could see both of his parents, at least one more time and it looked like she got her wish. Sarah didn't want this moment to end. However, it did when John held the passenger door open for Mary, shutting it when she was inside, hurrying to his side.

Dean continued to follow eventually coming back to the same diner they met John in that morning. They watched through a window, making sure not to be seen. "Sammy, where ever you are…" Dean thought out loud to him. "Mom is a babe."

Sarah turned around to look up at her father. "Are you trying to go back down the pit?" she asked of him, sarcastically.

"Shut up," he teased her as they continued to watch, wishing they knew what John and Mary were saying. They noticed Mary stand up and leave but thought she was going to the restroom or something. Neither one of them expected her to walk up behind them and suddenly turned around at the sound of her voice.

"Why are you following us?" she demanded of them before grabbing Dean and shoved him into a wall after kneeing him in the gut.

"Are you crazy?" Dean asked of her, not wanting to fight his own mother who was clearly an excellent fighter.

Mary slugged him, knocking Dean backwards, further into the alley. A protective feeling washed over her, making Sarah step in. She didn't want to fight Mary either but that was her father she was beating the crap out of and slammed the bottom of her foot into the back of Mary's knee. Mary dropped instantly, giving Sarah a chance to shove her onto the ground, pinning the young woman down.

"Sorry about this," Sarah apologized, holding her right knee into Mary's torso, pinning her wrists down above her head. "I didn't want to but no one messes with my dad…" A glistening speck of reflecting light caught Sarah's attention, redirecting her attention to a charm on Mary's bracelet of the same symbol she and her father and uncle had tattoos of. Sarah stared at her young grandmother in surprise and confusion. "Holy shit," she blurted out. "Are you a hunter?"

That perked Dean up as Mary stared back at the little girl. He quickly grabbed his daughter off and helped Mary to her feet, staring at her in shock. "I'm, uh, Dean," he introduced. "This is my daughter, Sarah. She can be a bit over-protective of me, but I am, too."

Mary was staring between the father and daughter. "Not too protective if she's a hunter like you," she told Dean.

"Trust me." Dean cleared his throat, searching the ground. "I'd pull her out if I could." He looked up, "We're just way too far into this gig."

Sarah agreed. "It's the only thing I feel like doing with myself," she shrugged.

"What about your mother?" Mary asked.

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other before Sarah responded, "Killed. By a demon. Same one that took half our family."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said.

"Me, too."

Mary looked between the two of them, not fully trusting of them yet. Dean and Sarah continued to follow John and Mary back to Mary's house where John dropped her off. They stayed hidden until John was gone then came out from behind some hedges.

"Dean and Sarah, right?" she made sure as they walked towards her, slowly. Mary took a deep breath before letting it out. "I'm not sure you should come in."

"You can trust us," Dean assured her with a smile. "I mean, come on, we're all hunters, right? I mean…" he hesitated for a second, "…we're practically family."

Sarah agreed, "Uh, yeah. One big…uh, hunter family." Not only was she happy for her father to see his parents once again, Sarah couldn't be more excited to see them, too especially her grandfather. It was also amazing to be actually talking to her grandmother and not in some djinn spell either.

"Yeah, the thing is, my dad, he's a little um…"

Dean interrupted Mary, "Oh, I gotta meet him." It not only surprised the girls, it surprised him how eager he was of meeting his own grandfather.

Mary stared at Dean, "You heard of him?"

He thought on it for a second, thinking and shrugged, "Clearly not enough." Dean sucked in his lower lip, biting down on it.

So, Mary took them inside and introduced Dean and Sarah to her parents. Mary's father was not impressed. "So you're hunters," he told them. "Well, tell me something, Mr. and Miss hunter. You kill vampires with wooden stakes or silver?"

"Neither," Sarah answered before her father had a chance to. "Wooden stakes you use on tricksters and silver you use to kill werewolves and skinwalkers. To kill a vampire you have to decapitate it."

Mary's father barely even looked up.

"So do we pass your test?" Dean asked.

He replied, "Yep," and set his book down beside him. "Now get out of my house."

"Dad," Mary scolded her father.

"I don't trust other hunters," he explained. "Don't want their help. Don't want them around my family."

Sarah raised her eyebrows at her great-grandfather. Great, so not only were the Winchester and Holden side were stubborn but it looks like this side was, as well. She looked the bald, stubborn man up and down now seeing why her uncle was so tall. Even sitting down, she could tell this guy was possibly nearly the same height. Sarah also kept glancing over at Mary's mother, her great-grandmother.

Mary's mother interrupted Sarah's thoughts when she told her husband to stop being stubborn, calling the man, Samuel. Sarah looked from the older woman to the man. Samuel? So could her uncle be named after this man?

"They're both hunters," Samuel argued, stubbornly.

Mary's mother walked into the room, "Who passed your little pop quiz and now I am inviting them to dinner." She turned to both Dean and Sarah. "You hungry?"

Sarah smiled, politely, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Yeah, starving," Dean agreed.

"Good," she smiled in return and held her hand out to Dean. "I'm Deanna. You've met my husband, Samuel. Now wash up."

Dean returned the handshake, as did Sarah.

Sarah turned the name, Deanna over in her head when Deanna walked back towards the kitchen and realized her father must have been named after her. She smirked up at him.

Dean noticed. "What are you smirking at?" he asked of her, knowing the answer already.

Sarah couldn't wait until she could make a few wise cracks about that later when they were out of earshot of Mary and her parents. It was going to be a joy, the fact that Dean was named after a girl.

They sat down to dinner in the dining room, making causal talk. "First time in Lawrence, Dean?" Deanna asked.

"Well," he shrugged, "it's been a while."

"Yeah?"

"Things sure have changed. I think."

An extra chair had been added for Sarah, sitting next to her father.

"You working a job?" Samuel had asked next as they ate, sitting across from Dean and Sarah.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean answered.

Samuel stared at the younger man. "What that mean?"

He stared right back and shook his head, "It means we don't trust other hunters either, Samuel."

The girls exchanged smirks with each other of the men's attitude, as well.

Mary decided to change the subject, "Hey um, so why were you following me and John?"

"Hm," Dean swallowed what he had in his mouth, "we thought there was something following…" He paused to think of the word he was looking for. Mary and John weren't married at this point so he couldn't say husband, but he would have liked to. "…your boyfriend." Dean grabbed the pepper shaker and topped off his food with it, "But, um, I don't think that anymore." He offered it to Sarah before sprinkling pepper over her plate.

"Dad, I could have done it myself, you know," Sarah told her father when he set the pepper shaker back down in its original spot.

"Just eat your food, Baby Girl," he said, picking up his fork again.

Sarah watched her father for a moment. She had noticed since he returned, and especially after her school dance, Dean had been doing stuff like that for her.

When the table was silent, Deanna said, "John Winchester mixing it up with spirits. Can you imagine?"

Sarah stared down at her plate. That was the only part of her grandfather she knew. And demons, and vampires. She was so deep in thought Sarah didn't feel the tear drift down her right cheek.

Mary caught sight of it. "Hey, you okay?" she asked the little girl, concerned.

Sarah snapped her head up, "Huh? Oh yeah." She quickly wiped the tear away and continued eating. "I'm fine."

Dean looked over at Samuel when Deanna had said that about John but just flicked his eyebrows up and touched the top of his daughter's head when Mary asked if she was all right, knowing what was wrong.

Mary must have seen Samuel, as well, because she called him out on it.

Samuel tried to play it cool as if nothing happened, looking around the table, "What?"

"That sour-lemon look," she said.

"Hold on. John's a really, really nice…" Samuel paused which Dean and Sarah waited to see what he would say about John. Mary eyed her father. "…naïve civilian." The older man seemed like he was holding his tongue for his daughter's sake and the fact they had guests. Sarah thought she would have to jump over the table at him. Samuel just leaned back against his chair, looking away.

Sarah looked up at her father who was looking down, thinking to himself. So far, it didn't seem like John was a hunter at all. All that was happening at this point was really unexpected. Who would have thought it would be her grandmother's side of the family to be hunters. Sarah thought for sure it would be John's side. He was that good of a hunter, after all.

Mary scoffed at her father. "So what? You'd rather me be with a guy like this?"

Sarah choked on her food at that point. She quickly grabbed her milk Deanna had poured for her before dinner and chugged it down, her eyes watering as the women asked if she was okay.

"You okay, Baby Girl?" Dean asked when she could speak.

"Yeah…it just went down the wrong tube." Sarah looked between everyone. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation."

Samuel eyed Sarah, carefully before turning back to his own daughter but Deanna ended it, reminding Mary and her father they had company, looking over at Dean and Sarah.

Things got quiet for a few seconds before Dean asked, "So what about you, Samuel? You, uh, working a job?"

The older man shrugged, "Might be," before taking a drink.

Mary rolled her eyes at her father, reminding Dean of how Sarah would roll her eyes. "He's working a job on the Whitshire farm," she answered for her father, which he looked over at her.

"Whitshire. Why does that name sound familiar?" Dean thought to himself, out loud.

"Well, it's been all over the papers," Samuel explained. "Tom Whitshire. Got tangled up in a combine a few towns over."

"That kind of thing happens?" Dean asked.

"Except why was he on it, in the first place when his crops were all dead?"

Dean shifted in his seat, exchanging a quick glance with his daughter, both thinking the same thing. "Demonic omens?" he asked Samuel.

He nodded, "That's what I gotta find out."

Sarah kept turning that name over in her head. The name sounded familiar to her, too. A name she read somewhere. Then it hit her. Whitshire was a name she read in her grandfather's journal. In fact, it may have been… "No," Sarah said out loud. She meant to say it in her head but it just blurted out. Everyone else heard her.

"You sure you're okay, Sarah?" Deanna asked.

"Yeah, yeah," she assured Deanna and gave her father a look that said, we need to talk later.

Dean nodded and turned back to Samuel, "What about the rest of the town? Did you find anything on the web?"

Sarah gave her father a soft kick under the table, muttering, "Wrong Sam" to him and that the internet wasn't invented yet.

Dean cleared his throat as the women and Samuel stared at him like he was crazy. "…Of information that you have assembled."

"Electrical storms maybe," Deanna answered, leaning on her arms. "The weather service graphs should be here on Friday."

"By mail?" he asked.

"No, we hired a jetliner to fly it to us overnight," Samuel said, sarcastically.

Dean chuckled as he caught Mary smirking at him as she took a drink. "You know, it sounds to me like we might be hunting the same thing," he told the older man, leaning forward towards him. "If we go in there in numbers we might be able to take care of this real quick."

Samuel had leaned on his arms, as well. "What part of 'we work alone' do you not understand, son?"

Dean didn't respond.

Sarah spoke up though. "We can help you."

Samuel looked from Sarah, over to Dean. "You don't bring your daughter out on hunts, do you?"

"What's it to you?" Dean shrugged.

"You train them young but you don't send them out on a hunt until they're old enough to handle themselves," he explained.

"Oh, trust me. Sarah, here, can handle herself."

"She's what, eight or nine?" Samuel asked.

Sarah replied, "Ten."

"Sarah's not your typical kid," Dean explained. "It's amazing the things she can do and how well she handles it."

"She shouldn't have to handle anything," Mary said suddenly but kept quiet after that.

Dean looked over at her, surprised.

Sarah looked at Samuel, "Hunting's something I can't break out of and I've tried. For four months I've tried. But I'd rather be killing monsters and saving people than going to school. I kept my grandfather's dying wish and still try to be a kid though every single chance I get."

Dean and Mary looked at the little girl before exchanging looks between each other. The rest of dinner was in silence. When they finished, Dean and Sarah thanked them for the meal and left to find somewhere to catch a few hours' rest.


	135. Chapter 135- In The Beginning (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 135

Early the next morning, Dean and Sarah started what they knew best: research. Posing as workers from the church, they went up to the Whitshire farm and asked Mrs. Whitshire about her late husband. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about Tom Whitshire's death as the two of them asked the usual questions.

When Mrs. Whitshire walked Dean and Sarah out, they ran into Samuel on the front porch who was surprised to see they had beaten him there. Dean explained what Mrs. Whitshire told them and Samuel had to make sure. When things grew awkward, Dean and Sarah left them alone.

"So now what?" Sarah asked as they walked across the yard where Mary was talking to a boy her age.

Mary glanced back at them before returning to the boy. "Charlie, would you like to tell the Father here what you just told me?"

The boy, Charlie stared at Dean before looking away at the ground. "Dad drank sometimes. Sometimes he got rough with Mom."

"And that's when the stranger came?"

He shook his head, continuing to look downward, "I just thought he was some Bible-thumper, like you all. He showed up about a week ago."

Dean asked, "Saying what?"

"Did I want the beatings to stop? I just thought he was crazy. I didn't think…." The boy paused for a second and looked back down at the ground. "And the next thing I know, Dad's dead."

Dean looked down at Sarah. To them, it sounded like a crossroads deal with a demon.

"Am I going to jail?" he asked.

"You didn't do this, Charlie," Mary assured the boy.

"Did the stranger want something in return?" Dean finally asked.

Charlie shook his head, "He didn't want anything.

"Come on, Chuck," he said, "He wasn't just handing out freebies, was he?"

"He did say something about coming to call in about ten years from now," Charlie admitted. "Maybe he'd want something then."

Sarah asked, "Like what?"

"I don't know, okay?" Charlie looked over at Mary, then between Dean and Sarah. "Look, I told you he was nuts."

Mary looked at Charlie before leading Dean away from him. Sarah followed. "What do you think?" she asked them.

Dean wiped his hand over his mouth and placed both of them on his sides, "I think he just pimped his soul to a demon, and he doesn't even know it."

Sarah agreed, "That'll be my guess."

Mary looked back over her left shoulder before walking back to the boy. The other two followed. "Charlie, do you remember what the stranger looked like?"

Charlie breathed out. "Yeah, um," he glanced down at the ground. "He's about five-ten. White." He shook his head, "He was kind of normal-looking, really."

"Anything else?"

"There was one thing," he admitted, searching the ground with just his eyes.

Dean asked, "What?"

"It's just, the light hit his eyes in a weird way…" He hesitated for a moment, nervous. "And for a moment, I could've sworn…"

"Like they were black?" Sarah tried to finish for the boy.

Dean added, "Or red, maybe?"

"No," he said in a lowered tone, shaking his head. "They were yellow."

Both Dean and Sarah stared at the boy once they heard the stranger's eyes were yellow.

"Pale yellow."

Dean looked down at Sarah, who caught his eye before looking at Mary. This may have been what Castiel wanted them to stop. Sarah quickly calculated the years until her uncle was born and turned six months old. It didn't take long either and shared another look with her father. Dean understood, too.

Their minds raced as they hurried back to Mary's house, faster than Samuel could keep up with as they explained to them about the yellow-eyed demon.

"Let's just slow down and talk this thing through," Samuel told them.

"There's nothing to talk about," Dean told him, looking down at a map.

"You say it's a demon and no one's heard of a demon with yellow eyes."

Dean slowly rose, looking up at Samuel. "Yeah, well we have."

Sarah added, vengeance suddenly in her eyes. "This thing killed our family."

"Just calm down, you two," Samuel tried to assure them.

Dean shook his head, "You don't get it, do you? I mean, you're in danger. We are all in danger. In fact you need to get yourself someplace safe." He returned to leaning on his hands, over the map he was looking at.

Samuel shook his head. "Not until we know what we're dealing with."

"Sam's right, it could be a demon, it could be a shapeshifter, any number of things," Deanna agreed with her husband as she walked into the room, carrying a bowl of chopped fruit.

"I know this thing better than anyone," Sarah told her. "It's the real reason I was dragged into hunting."

"And I'm gonna kill it," Dean said. "It's all the talking I need to do."

Samuel looked at Dean like he was crazy. "You're gonna kill a demon? How?"

Dean looked downward with just his eyes. "There's a hunter named Daniel Elkins, lives in Colorado." He pointed on the map, looking back up at Samuel, "He has Colt's gun."

Samuel exchanged a look with his wife before walking away.

" _Thee Colt_ ," Sarah said with empathesis.

"Yeah. I heard about Colt," Samuel said with his arms folded across his chest. He walked to the other side of the table and leaned on a couple chairs, "I used to tell it to Mary as a bedtime story."

"Well, it's real," Dean told him, matter-of-factly.

Samuel stared at the two of them before looking back at his wife. He looked forward again, "Okay, say that it is. You got some kind of crystal ball telling you where this demon's gonna be?"

Sarah moved over to where her father slung his jacket on the back of a chair and pulled out her grandfather's journal. She opened it to where she had read the name Whitshire.

"What's that?" he asked of her, moving to her other side to look over her.

"My grandfather's journal," was all Sarah said.

Dean finished. "My dad wrote down anyone who came in contact with the yellow-eyed demon. Who, where, and when," he said, leaning on his right hand, over his daughter.

"Why?

He looked up at Samuel, "Because the more he could learn about the son of a bitch the more he could figure out why he killed my mom."

Sarah looked up at that point, "It killed my mom, too, and my aunt."

Samuel understood their wanting vengeance, looking away.

Sarah finally found the page. "Here. Tom Whitshire."

"I knew that name sounded familiar," said Dean.

"Tom Whitshire, that was two days ago," Samuel pointed out. "How the hell is that in your grandfather's journal?"

"Uh…" Sarah looked to her father for help.

Dean looked back and looked down at the table, trying to come up with a good-enough explanation. "My dad could see the future," he finally thought up. Samuel stared back at him before Dean continued. "Look at this. Says here he's gonna hit here tomorrow night," he said, pointing at the next person on John's list.

Samuel questioned, "Liddy Walsh?"

"Haleyville, that's close," Dean realized.

"Well, yeah, it's about three miles, but…." Samuel looked over at his wife. Deanna stared back at him, slowly raising her head before he looked back between Dean and Sarah.

Dean stood back up, slowly. "I know you guys think we're crazy."

Samuel nodded in agreement, "You both seem like really nice kids, Dean. But, yeah, you're crazy."

"Yeah, maybe," he grinned. The grin quickly left his face. "But we know where this bastard's gonna be, and I'm gonna stop it. Once and for all."

"Ditto," Sarah said.

Dean grabbed the journal and his jacket before leaving the room. Sarah followed, closely behind. There was one thing Dean had to do before they left and that was let Mary know they were taking off. They found her in the living room, listening to music and looking through some records. He couldn't help just stand there and watch her in the entryway.

Dean cleared his throat as he walked into the room. "We're shoving off. I just wanted to say bye," he waved.

Mary asked, "Really? So soon?" as she stood up, putting the records down.

"Yeah, well, we have a job to do." Dean stood there for a second before walking closer to her. "Hey, I wanted to tell you…you know, for what it's worth…" He took one last step towards Mary. "Um…doesn't matter what your dad thinks, I like that John kid."

"Me, too," Sarah smiled, walking in to stand beside her father. "He's cool."

Mary let out a laugh, "You do?"

Dean nodded, looking at the ground, "Yeah." He looked back up at Mary. "Yeah, I think you two are meant to be."

She smiled at him.

"Hell, I'm depending on it," Dean flicked his eyebrows at the ground.

Mary asked, "What?"

"Nothing. Uh…Can I ask you a question?" Sarah looked up at her father as he asked, "What's he like? John."

"Why do you ask?"

Dean shrugged, "Just curious."

Mary shrugged, letting out a small laugh this time at the ground, "I don't know." She breathed in through her nose, "He's sweet. Kind. Even after the war, after everything, he still believes in happily-ever-after, you know?"

Dean looked down at Sarah, who returned the look. That did not sound like the John Winchester they knew and loved.

"He's everything a hunter isn't," she continued. "No offense."

"None taken," Sarah shrugged.

"Can I tell you something?" Mary asked them.

"Sure," Sarah replied.

"He's gonna ask me to marry him," she said, as if she was trying to contain the excitement. "Tomorrow, I think." Sarah could see just how excited Mary was.

Dean stared at her, "Yeah?"

Mary looked up at the ceiling, folding her hands together towards the floor, "Dad's gonna explode." She looked at Dean, "But I don't care. I'll run away if I have to. I just…. I love John, and…." Mary looked down at the floor.

Sarah reached out and touched her arm, "What's wrong?"

Mary looked at the little girl, "I wanna get out."

Sarah looked back at her father who was staring at Mary before staring back at her.

"This job, this life…I hate it," she looked up at Dean.

Sarah took her hand back.

Dean shifted on his feet, licking his lower lip.

"I want a family," Mary continued with a smile. "I wanna be safe."

Sarah looked at the floor, remembering when she met her uncle. How he wanted out of hunting.

"You know the worse thing I can think of, the very worst thing is for my children to be raised into this like I was. Well, I won't let it happen," Mary said, shaking her head.

Dean nodded, looking away, "Yeah." He tried so hard to hold his emotions in, unable to believe his own mother wanted out of the gig and the life she wanted for him and Sam. The very thing Sam had wanted. He thought about how his own kid wanted to stay in and how he didn't fight her to stay out of it, and how he fought to pull his brother back in.

Sarah looked up from the floor at her father and knew it was affecting him. She moved over to hug him, "It's okay, Dad."

"What's wrong," Mary asked when she heard Sarah say that.

"Nothing," Dean lied. "I'm fine."

Mary smiled for him.

Dean looked down at his daughter. "Hey, Mary," he said. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure," she replied.

"Even if this sounds really weird."

Sarah looked up at her father, eyeing him, carefully, "Dad, where are you going with this?"

Dean touched her head, assuringly as he told Mary, "Promise me you'll remember."

Mary let out a small laugh, looking away, "Okay."

He licked his lips, feeling the bottom one start to quiver and tried his best to mask it. "On November second, 1983…" Dean hesitated, feeling the tears coming on. "…don't get out of bed."

Mary stared at him, confused.

"No matter what you hear or what you see…promise me you won't get out of bed." A tear then escaped, floating down the left side of his face. Sarah held her arms around her father's waist, holding her head against him. She could feel her own tears start to form.

"Okay," Mary agreed, not sure what to make of that request.

Dean forced a smile, wiping his hand down his face before turning to leave, wrapping an arm around his daughter.

On the drive to Colorado, no one said a word. The drive was silent, not even the radio. Now and then Dean would glance at his daughter, realizing if he succeeded in killing the yellow-eyed demon now, there would be a chance Sarah would never exist, or if she did, they wouldn't be as close as they are now. At least she wouldn't be a hunter, which ever would happen.

Sometime down the road, Castiel appeared in the backseat, catching Dean's eye in the rear-view mirror. Dean jumped, getting Sarah's attention and looked back in the backseat. "So, what, God's my copilot, is that it?" he asked the angel, staring forward.

Castiel glanced at him, but didn't say anything.

"Well, you're a regular Chatty Cathy," Sarah said.

Still no response.

"Tell me something," Dean said after a moment. "Sam would've wanted in on this. Why not bring him back?"

"You and Sarah had to do this alone, Dean," the angel finally answered.

"And you don't care that he's tearing up the future looking for us, right now?"

"Sam's not looking for you."

Sarah sat, twisted in her seat, looking back at the angel. "Then where is he?" she asked.

Castiel didn't answer her.

"All right," Dean changed the subject, "if I do this, then the family curse breaks, right?" He glanced between the road and the rear-view mirror, at Castiel. "Mom and Dad live happily ever after and Sam and I grow up playing little league and chasing tail?"

"You realize, if you do alter the future, your father, you, Sam, you'll never become hunters, and all the people you saved, they'll die."

Dean didn't say anything at first. "I realize," he finally stared, staring at the road ahead.

"And you don't care?" Castiel asked.

"Oh, I care," Dean looked at the angel. "I care a lot." He looked back at the road, shaking his head. "But these are my parents. I'm not gonna let them die again. I can't. Not if I can stop it." Dean looked back at the rear-view mirror to see Castiel gone once more but just shook it off.

Sarah watched her father for a moment before looking down at the floor of the car. After ten minutes, she realized something. "Hey, why didn't angel-boy mention me when he said you, Sam, and Grandpa wouldn't become hunters?"

Dean thought about that then looked over at Sarah, exchanging looks. Maybe there was a huge chance Sarah would never be born even if it was with someone else besides Emily.


	136. Chapter 136- In The Beginning (Part 4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 136

It took a lot of persuasion to get the Colt from Daniel Elkins but Dean finally had it in hand and drove as fast as he could back to Kansas, into Haleyville. Dean pulled up to a two-story house and both he and Sarah jumped out, barely closing the car doors as they rushed right in, in time to see the yellow-eyed demon holding Mary around the neck.

"Let her go!" Dean ordered, pointing the Colt at it.

The yellow-eyed demon stared at the Colt in surprise. "Where'd you get that gun?"

Dean cocked the gun but before he could get a clear shot, the yellow-eyed demon took off out of its meat suit, through the air vent. Dean cursed under his breath as Sarah dashed towards Mary as she was sitting up.

Outside, Dean made sure Mary was fine, asking what the yellow-eyed demon said to her.

"I told you, just that he liked me," Mary told him before she thought on what she just said. "What did he mean by that?"

At that point, Samuel walked down the front steps towards them. "Liddy's a strong kid. She'll be fine," he said and turned to his daughter. "Are you okay?"

"No, Dad, I'm pretty far from okay," she told her father, still shaken up. "Can we go?" Mary then walked towards his truck.

Samuel sighed, sliding his hands into his back pockets, "Nice job in there."

"I missed the shot," Dean snapped at the older man.

"Take the compliment, son," he told him. "I'm saying I was wrong about you."

Dean looked at Samuel, then over at Mary who was sitting in the front seat of the pick-up truck. Returning his attention to Samuel again, he said, "We need to talk alone." Dean then headed back to the car.

They drove back to Mary's house where Mary disappeared somewhere while Dean and Samuel talked. "We have to kill this thing now, or Mary dies," Dean was explaining to the older man, spying out the window, cautiously.

"What?" Samuel asked as he suddenly looked back at Dean. "How do you know that?"

Dean took out John's journal and opened it up, "I just do, okay."

Sarah was sitting at the table, on the edge.

"When?"

"Maybe today. Probably years from now. But it's happening, trust me."

"So, what are you, some sort of a psychic now, too?" Samuel questioned.

Dean looked up and stared at him before he finally said, "No. All right, listen to me." Dean walked over to sit beside the man, shooing Sarah off the chair. "Now, this is gonna sound a little…" He thought about what he was going to tell him. "Actually it's gonna sound massively, massively crazy."

"Dad, don't," Sarah tried to tell her father but Dean held his hand towards her.

"Okay," Samuel replied.

"Mary is my mother," Dean admitted, honestly.

Samuel stared back at Dean, "Excuse me?"

"And I'm your grandson, making Sarah here, your great-granddaughter. And I know what the hell I'm talking about."

He lowered his head, "You wanna run that by me again, son?"

"Our real names are Dean and Sarah Winchester," Dean continued to explain. "I was born January twenty-fourth, 1979. Sarah was born June second, 1998. My parents, her grandparents," he pointed over at Sarah with his right thumb, "are Mary and John Winchester."

Samuel sat back in his chair, shaking his head, "I don't have to listen to this."

"Mary gets killed by a yellow-eyed demon in 1983, same one that kills Sarah's mother and aunt. And I think this, what happened tonight is the moment that he caught her scent. Now if we don't catch this thing now and kill it and it gets away then Mary dies."

Samuel searched around looking downward trying to take it all in, Dean was telling him.

"So, I'm asking you, please…." Dean pleaded with him. "How did I know about the Colt? Huh? How did I know about the yellow-eyed demon or where it would be? I'm not making this up, Samuel."

Samuel held his face in his hands. He looked at Dean, "Every bone in my body is aching to put you six feet under but…but something about you I can't shake it. Now I might be crazier than you, son, but I believe you."

Dean thanked him but something wasn't right and Sarah could feel it as she stared at her great-grandfather.

"All right," Samuel nodded, "how do we find this bastard?"

"Right here," Dean looked down at the journal, opening back up where he had his finger holding his place, "the list."

"And with the Colt?"

Dean went into his leather jacket and pulled the Colt out, "Yeah," he said, setting the gun on the table beside the journal.

Sarah noticed Samuel kept staring at it. When he asked to see it, she pulled the gun towards her, holding her hand on it. Samuel looked over at Dean but he backed his daughter up instead, stating he doesn't let anybody else hold it.

"I'm your grandfather," Samuel reminded him.

"Nothing personal," Dean told him.

"Sure, it is. Especially when it's me you're trying to kill." Samuel's eyes turned yellow and before they knew it, Dean's chair flew against a bookcase where several books fell. Sarah flew back against the wall beside the shelf, feeling a wave of pain, unable to move.

Samuel stared over at them as they glared back, leaning on his hand. "Future kids, huh?" He stood up from his chair and walked towards them, "You know, I only know one thing who's got the juice to swing something like that. You must have friends in high places."

Dean leaned back in his chair as Samuel moved over to stand over him.

"So I kill your mommies?" Samuel stared down at Dean. "That's why you came all this way to see little old me?"

"Oh, I came here to kill you," he nodded up at the demon possessing his grandfather.

Realization hit Samuel, who was really the yellow-eyed demon. "Hey. Wait a minute," he said, leaning down closer to Dean. "If that slut, Mary is your mommy, are you…? Are you one of my psychic kids?"

Sarah struggled against her invisible binds pinning her to the wall as the demon was hovering inches from her father's face, struggling more when he moved in closer to sniff him.

"No, not you." The demon looked over at Sarah, grinning. He stood up and moved over, leaning in towards her to do the same. "You."

Sarah tried to move her head away from him.

"How odd. It seems yours has been pumping for a while now. None of my kids don't awaken until their twenty-second birthday," the demon sneered at her. "So that means it didn't work out with that Mary so I went to your family's next generation?"

Sarah glared at it. "My uncle has it, too," she said, bitterly. "You ruined our whole family."

"They made the deal. They accepted my offer," he said.

Sarah asked, "Who?"

"Grandma and mommy," he answered.

"So what's this all about?" Dean asked of the demon. "These deals you're making? You don't want these people's souls."

Samuel looked over at Dean and shook his head, "No," and turned back to Sarah, "I just want their children." He turned back to Dean, "I'm here to choose the perfect parents, like your mommy."

Dean shook his own head, "Why her? Why any of them?"

"Because they're strong. They're pure. They eat their Wheaties. My own little master race. They're ideal breeders."

Dean stared at the demon.

"Oh get your mind out of the gutter. No one's breeding with me," he assured Dean, stepping back away from Sarah. "Though Mary….Man, I'd like to make an exception. So far, she's my favorite."

"Asshole," Sarah glared at him.

"My, such language from a little girl," Samuel told her.

"My mom had to have been fourteen years old. What could you possibly have to offer her?" she demanded, almost forgetting they were in the past.

"Age never bothered me. As long as they're old enough, and mature enough, I'd use them. Yours must have been desperate for something she wanted."

Dean had noticed Deanna was peeking around the corner but didn't say anything. "So why make the deals?" he asked the demon, keeping it focused on them instead so Deanna could grab the Colt.

"I need permission," Samuel shrugged. "I need to be invited into their houses."

That last part confused Sarah. When she turned six months old, Sarah wasn't home with her mother. She was with her aunt and uncle.

"I know, I know. The red tape will drive you nuts."

"But what if the child isn't home? What if it stays somewhere else the night you return?" she asked.

Samuel turned back to Sarah. "Doesn't matter. As long as mommy says yes, I can come in wherever I need to, to get to you."

Sarah looked over at her father, sadly, now thinking about her aunt. Emily had a choice but Kyra didn't.

The demon continued, "But in ten short years, it'll all be worth it. Because you know what I'm gonna do to your sibling and kid here? I'm gonna stand over their crib and I'm gonna bleed into their mouth. Demon blood is better than Ovaltine, vitamins, minerals. It makes you big and strong."

Dean glared over at him, "For what? So they can lead your discount demon army? Is that your big plan?"

"Please," he sneered between them. "My endgame's a hell of a lot bigger than that, kid."

"Endgame?" Dean demanded. "What endgame?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you. Or those angels sitting on your shoulder. No," he shook his head. "I'm gonna cover my tracks good."

"You can cover whatever the hell you want. I'm still gonna kill you," Dean told him with a smirk.

The demon sneered, "Right. Now, that I'd like to see," he pointed at Dean.

Dean grinned bigger, "Maybe not today. But you look into my eyes, you son of a bitch…" he paused for a moment. "…because I'm the one that kills you."

The demon stared down at Dean, glancing at Sarah before letting out a laugh. "So, you're gonna save everybody, is that right? Is that it? Well, I'll tell you one person you're not gonna save." He pulled a knife out from his pocket, "your grandpappy." The demon then plunged the knife into Samuel's stomach.

"No!" Dean and Sarah yelled, followed by Deanna who had been still watching and listening from around the corner.

The demon turned around, his eyes turning yellow once more. Deanna leaped towards where the Colt was lying on the floor but couldn't grab it in time. The demon had sent her flying the other way. Sarah tried desperately to break free as she watched the yellow-eyed demon go after her great-grandmother. She tried to focus on the demon. If this was a point where he was still alive then maybe her powers could reawaken and Sarah could keep him away from Deanna. Sarah tried with all her might. Instead of sending him flying, she got loose, dropping to the floor. That wasn't what Sarah had in mind but did not stop to hesitate.

Sliding towards the Colt, Sarah grabbed it and hurried around the corner in time to see the demon snap Deanna's neck. She tried to aim the gun at him but he was gone when she looked up from the horror she saw. Sarah dropped her head, cursing herself out in her head.

Dean was released and hurried over to his daughter, seeing Deanna lying on the floor, dead. He gave a reassuring squeeze to the back of Sarah's collarbone before he realized the demon was going after Mary next. Grabbing the Colt from her, he took off from the house with Sarah following closely behind.

Dean drove as fast as they could where Mary could be, getting there in time to see her and the demon kissing. He and Sarah jumped out, hurrying towards them, cocking the gun but the yellow-eyed demon bolted out of Samuel's body and into the air in black smoke.

Mary looked back at the two of them, sadly. It so wasn't fair. Neither Dean nor Sarah could do anything. John awoke in her arms, breaking Mary's focus to him.

Sarah turned and gently pounded her fist against her father in frustration, but not towards him. Towards the fact the demon had won this round, that they couldn't stop it. Suddenly, a flutter of wings was heard and both Dean and Sarah felt a hand on their shoulder. They turned to see Castiel standing there, actually looking sympathetic. When Mary turned back to look at them, they were gone.

Dean and Sarah woke up in their bed, back in the motel room in their own time. Dean sat up first, placing his feet on the floor and leaned on his hands. "We couldn't stop any of it," he punished himself. "She still made the deal."

Sarah was sitting behind him, leaning her head against her father's back, crying softly.

"She still died in the nursery, didn't she?"

Castiel was standing in the middle of the room, looking the same direction. "Don't be too hard on yourself," he said. "You couldn't have stopped it."

Sarah sat up, quickly, "What?"

"Destiny can't be changed." The angel turned around, slowly to face them. "All roads read to the same destination."

Dean rose to his feet, slowly. "Then why'd you send us back?" he shrugged.

"For the truth," Castiel answered. "Now you know everything we do."

"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked as Sarah got off the bed to stand next to her father as she stared up at the angel.

Castiel looked over at the empty, made bed where Sam was supposed to be sleeping in.

Dean and Sarah looked over where he was looking to see Sam wasn't there. "Where's Sam?" Dean asked.

"We know what Azazel did to Sarah and your brother." Castiel moved his eyes to look at Dean. "What we don't know is why. What his endgame is. He went to great lengths to cover that up."

Dean shifted on his feet, "Where's Sam?"

"425 Waterman."

Dean walked past Sarah and Castiel to throw his jacket back on, tossing Sarah hers.

"Your brother is headed down a dangerous road, Dean and we're not sure where it leads," Castiel told him, staring at nothing. "So stop it…or we will." He looked at Dean when he said the last part.

Dean and Sarah froze and slowly looked at the angel. What was it exactly Dean was supposed to stop?


	137. Chapter 137- Metamorphosis (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 137

Dean raced towards 425 Waterman. Neither of them knew exactly what Castiel had meant when he said Sam was headed down a dangerous path, but really, they weren't sure if they wanted to know. He pulled up to an abandoned warehouse. Sarah hurried up first, finding a window with a good view. She peered inside where she could see her uncle standing over a man who was tied to a chair. A devil's trap was hanging above the man. Dean hurried up behind his daughter and the two of them listened to what was going on.

"Where's Lilith?" they heard Sam ask the imprisoned demon.

The demon breathed, heavily. His eyes turned black, "kiss my ass."

Sam smirked, "I'd watch myself if I were you."

"Why?" The demon lowered his head to one side. "Huh? Because you're Sam Winchester, Mr. Big Hero?"

Sam swallowed as the girl Sarah recognized from her uncle's motel room when they first found him in Illinois looked back at him with just her eyes.

The demon smirked this time, "And yet here you are slutting around with some demon," he nodded over at the girl. "Real hero," he said, sarcastically.

"Shut your mouth," Sam ordered.

"Tell me about those months without your family. About all the things you and this demon bitch do in the dark."

Sarah's heart skipped a beat. In fact it felt like it skipped quite a few. Sam was in league with some demon. _Wait. Do in the dark?_ Sarah hoped that didn't mean what she thought it meant.

"Huh? Tell me, hero." The demon continued with a smirk.

Sarah could see Sam shaking and the expression on his face told her he was starting to get pissed. What came next though, she never expected. Sam raised his right hand towards the demon. The demon started choking and gagging as black smoke came out of its mouth. Sam concentrated on it until all the smoke left the man's body, pouring out like vomit towards the floor until it burned away.

Sam stared for a moment, breathing heavily. Sarah stood there watching the whole thing. She couldn't just stand there anymore. She dashed from the window over to the closest entrance.

"Sarah, wait," Dean called after her, alerting Sam and the girl they were there.

Sarah did not stop. She kept running, barely stopping to pull open a heavy, metal door until she was standing before her uncle. At that point, tears were starting to pour out nonstop. "You lied to me."

"Sarah, hold on. Let me explain," Sam told her.

"About what?" she asked, angrily. "How you ditched me with Uncle Bobby so you could go off and do whatever without hearing me nag you about using our powers?"

"It's not like that, Peanut," he shook his head.

"Really? Because that's exactly what I'm seeing." Sarah's whole body was shaking. Her lungs worked extra hard as her heart beat, rapidly.

Dean had walked in behind his daughter and took ahold of her shoulders. "Easy, Baby Girl," he said as he stared over at his brother. "Why don't you start by telling us who she is…and what the hell she's doing here?" Dean nodded over at the girl.

Sam looked back over his right shoulder at the girl who smiled back at Dean and Sarah. "Good to see you again, Dean," she told him.

Sarah's eyes widened. "Ruby?" She looked over at her uncle for an explanation. "Please tell me that isn't Ruby." Sam's silence spoke for itself. Sarah glared between her uncle and the demon she'd like to make into mincemeat, and tackled Ruby backwards like a NFL middle linebacker. "Dad, toss me the knife," she quickly called back but right as Dean had pulled it out, Sam had grabbed it from his hand.

Ruby suddenly had Sarah pinned under her, holding Sarah by the neck.

"Ruby, stop it!" Sam ordered the demon before she could do anything. "Let my niece go."

The demon stared down at the vengeance-hunger-filled child before standing up. The moment Ruby was standing again, Sarah was back on her feet and out for blood. Sam quickly grabbed his niece, holding her against him in his arm as Sarah struggled against him.

"That's enough, Sarah," Sam ordered his niece.

Sarah stopped but that didn't keep her from staring daggers at the demon.

Sam turned back to Ruby to have her take the man to a hospital.

Both Dean and Sarah eyed her, carefully. "Where the hell you think you're going?" Dean asked of the demon.

"The ER," she replied, holding the man up on her shoulders. "Unless one of you wants to go another round first."

"Oh, I'd love nothing more, you sleazy, toxic, little worm," Sarah glared at her, now struggling once again against her uncle.

Sam held on tight to his niece, making sure Ruby left the building first. He wanted to wait until Ruby had driven away but his brother ordered him to let Sarah go.

"Dean," Sam tried to say.

"I said let her go," Dean huffed, calmly as possible.

Sam let his niece go before watching his brother walk out of the warehouse. "Dean," he tried to call after him.

Sarah gave one last look at her uncle.

Sam looked at her. "Peanut, I…"

She just shook her head and turned to follow after her father, her face hot and she could feel her eyes gloss over. Sarah could hear her uncle call her name but she just kept walking. How could she trust her uncle this time?

She climbed back into the front seat of the Impala. None of them said anything for a moment before Dean broke the silence. "I could use a drink. Since it's late, I'll drop you off at the motel so you can try and get some rest."

"It's not like I can sleep, Dad," Sarah replied, staring out her window.

Dean looked away. He put the keys in the ignition and started the car. "I know, but I said to try to get at least a little sleep and I need some time to myself to think." Dean pulled the car around and drove off just as Sam was coming out.

He drove back to the motel room, passing Sarah the motel key and gave his daughter the lecture of locking the door and not opening it for anyone, as well as checking her gun to make sure it was loaded and ready in case someone or something breaks in. Sarah nodded and slid out of the Impala after her father kissed her on the head. She made her way towards the door of their room and unlocked the door before heading inside. Dean waited until she was safely inside before driving off for the closest bar.

Inside, Sarah locked the door before climbing into hers and Dean's bed, removing her gun from behind her to check it and slid it under her pillow. It had been a long night, the longest she had ever experienced and she just wanted it to be over. She laid her head down on the pillow and wrapped her left arm around her stuffed wolf. Her monkey she had left back at Bobby's, on her bed.

More tears flowed as she thought about everything that had happened that night. Not only could they not stop the yellow-eyed demon back in the past from ruining their family but she learned what her uncle had been doing the past five months. Sarah had really believed what Sam had told her why he did what he did but was it really the truth? Or did Sam just say that so he wouldn't have to admit what he was really doing: hooking up with Ruby and getting him to use his psychic abilities.

Sarah clutched her arm, tightly around the stuffed wolf's neck, eventually burying her tear-filled eyes into the back of its head. She cried as she laid there, not bothering to remove her shoes or jacket. By the time Sam had returned to the motel room, Sarah was still awake, her head aching from crying for so long.

He could hear his niece's sniffling and sat down on the bed to rub her upper arm, assuringly. Sarah just yanked her arm away from his touch. Sam looked down at her, hurt. "Peanut, I…I never lied to you."

Sarah moved off the bed from her side and headed into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She then stepped into the bathtub and sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest as she held the wolf to her. Sam didn't bother her after that. Finally, sometime after that, sleep had finally overcome her nerves and Sarah fell asleep.

She was awakened three hours later by her father, kneeled beside the bathtub. "Huh?" she muttered, half asleep.

"We're leaving town, Baby Girl," he repeated, brushing some hair behind her left ear.

Sarah rubbed at her eyes, trying to wake up.

"Want me to pack up your stuff and you can go sleep in the car?" Dean asked of her.

"No, it's okay. I can do it," she assured her father.

"You sure?"

Sarah nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure." She stood up and stepped out of the bathtub, walking around her father, out of the bathroom. She grabbed her duffel bag from the closet and pulled out the top drawer of the dresser to grab her clothes out. Dean pulled his clothes out of the closet and shoved them into his own duffel bag.

Sam just stood back, watching his brother and niece. "So you're both gonna leave like that?" he questioned Dean.

"You don't need us," Dean told him, focusing on packing. "You and Ruby go fight demons."

"Hold on," Sam sighed and swung around when Dean walked passed him. "Dean. Come on, man."

Sarah had closed the drawer and followed after, walking past Dean when he stopped to turn back around. When her hand was on the door knob, she heard him take a swing at Sam, and looked back to see Sam turned back around to face Dean, his lower lip bleeding.

Sam asked, "You satisfied?" The answer wasn't quite what Sam had in mind as Dean winded back and took another swing. "Guess not."

"Do you even know how far off the reservation you've gone?" Dean muttered at his brother. "How far from normal? From human?"

"I'm just exorcising demons," he said, plainly.

"With your mind!"

Sam searched the floor, not looking his brother in the eye.

Dean shook his head, staring back at him. "What else can you do?"

"I can send them back to hell," Sam explained. "It only works with demons, and that's it."

Dean suddenly grabbed the front of his brother's shirt, shoving him back, "What else can you do?"

"I told you." Sam shoved his hands away, backing up.

"And I have every reason in the world to believe that." Dean just kept staring back at his brother, pissed for not only Sam using his abilities but that he lied about it. He turned and headed back towards the door.

Sam followed after him, "Look, I should have said something. I'm sorry, Dean. I am. But try to see the other side here."

Dean turned back around, angrily, "The other side?"

"I'm pulling demons out of innocent people."

"Use the knife!"

"The knife kills the victim," Sam protested. "What I do, most of them survive. Look, I've saved more people the last five months than we saved in a year."

Sarah stared at the door knob still in her hand, listening. "Is that what Ruby wants you to think?" she heard her father ask. Sam didn't respond. "Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers?" Dean shook his head, "Slippery slope, brother." He lowered his voice, a little, "Just wait and see."

Sam stared at the ground with just his eyes.

"Because it's gonna get darker and darker. And God knows where it ends."

"I'm not gonna let it go too far," he tried to tell his brother.

Sarah finally spoke, not looking up, "That's what Mom basically said when I suggested she go see a doctor about her headaches." She could hear her mother's words in her mind. _Don't worry about it, Sarah. They're just minor headaches. They won't get worse. I won't let that happen, I promise._ A tear drifted down her cheek.

"I mean it, Peanut. I won't," Sam told her, softly.

Dean turned away at that and smashed a lamp to the floor with a loud crash. "It's already gone too far, Sam," he said, shakily. "If I didn't know you…I would want to hunt you."

Sam looked away from his brother's gaze, unable to look him in the eye.

"And so would other hunters."

"You were gone," he spoke, trying to look up at his brother. "I was here. I had to keep on fighting without you." Sam took in a deep breath through his nose. "And what I'm doing…" he shrugged, looking up at Dean. "…it works."

Dean breathed in, backing away as he looked off to the side, "Well, tell me, if it's so terrific…then why'd lie about it to me. To your own niece? Why did an angel tell me to stop you?"

Sam had looked away again. He looked back when he heard Dean say an angel wanted him to stop. "What…?"

"Cas said that if I don't stop you he will."

Sam stared back at his brother, tilting his head to the side.

"See what that means, Sam?" Dean asked of his brother. He pointed towards the ceiling, "That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So you're just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?"

Sam stared at the ground, rolling everything around in his head. At that moment, his cellphone rang from his pocket. He fished it out and answered, "Hello?" as he held the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut tight. "Hey, Travis. Yeah, hey. Uh…" He paused for a moment, listening. "It's good to hear your voice, too, yeah." Sam took a deep breath in before he added, "Look, it's not a really good time right now. Yeah, okay." Sam turned around and walked over to the nightstand between the beds to pick up a pen, "well, just give me the details, and um….Carthage, Missouri. Looking for Jack Montgomery," he wrote down what Travis told him before hanging up. Sam looked back at Dean.

Dean looked over at Sarah, who was leaning her forehead against the door. "What I don't get is the fact you abandoned your own niece just so you could go off and do this. After I told you to take care of her." He looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye before grabbing his duffel bag and headed for the door.

When Sarah saw her father coming, she stood up straight and opened the door.

Dean stopped to hold onto the door, letting his daughter out first and asked, "You coming or not?" He didn't even wait for an answer.

Sam stared at the floor for a moment. It wasn't easy having his brother be upset with him, but how much his niece was, tore at his heart. He had thought he was doing the right thing leaving Sarah at Bobby's. Guess he was wrong….


	138. Chapter 138- Metamorphosis (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 138

"Come on, Uncle Bobby. You're slower than my great grandmother." Sarah sped ahead of the adults as she, Bobby, Ellen, and Jo were walking through the food court of Sioux Falls' yearly fair they they had every summer. It was mid-July and Bobby figured they'd get the kid out of the house and away from her DS and missing her father.

Bobby was walking a little behind the women, looking over the fair map the ticket person gave him when he bought the tickets. "Will you be a little patient, kid?" he asked of Sarah, glancing up at the back of the kid's head. "I'm still trying to work out a system here."

"Let's just work our way around," Jo suggested when she slowed down to get a look at the map herself. "Just make our way through the park until we circle around back at the entrance."

Ellen agreed with her daughter, "Sounds good to me."

Bobby closed the map. "Fine, let's go then."

Sarah turned around to walk backwards, "Are you gonna go on the roller coaster with me, Uncle Bobby?" she smirked.

"Uh, no, I'll stay back and hold the map. But you have all the fun you want on that thing," he nodded at her with a smile.

"Oh, come on, Uncle Bobby. You're no fun."

"I'll go with you, Sarah," Jo said.

"You will?" she asked, eagerly.

The young woman grinned, "You bet."

Sarah agreed but turned back to Bobby. "Okay but you have to ride at least one ride while we're here."

"I think the carousel is in the center of the place." Bobby looked the map over again.

She folded her arms across her chest, "The carousel doesn't count. I mean rides where you have to be a certain height to ride."

Bobby looked up at the little girl and smiled at the determined expression on her face. She may have looked like Dean but Sarah had so much of her uncle in her, it was amazing. Sam knew just how to butter him up when he was a kid, too. "Fine but nothing too extreme, remember, I'm an old man."

"Fine," she finally agreed. "Can we hurry though? I want to get to the first ride before closing time." Sarah turned back around to walk forward.

Ellen snickered at the little girl. "They close at ten, tonight."

"Exactly my point."

"Hey, who's paying for this?" Bobby reminded Sarah with a smile.

"You but that doesn't mean to move slowly, you know," she pointed out back over her shoulder.

"We could always go visit that museum we passed on the way here," Ellen told her.

Sarah didn't respond. When they made it pass the food court, the first ride to catch Sarah's eye was one that moved in a circle and spun everyone in every direction. "How about that one, Uncle Bobby," she smirked up at him, pointing over at the ride as people screamed out.

Bobby watched it for a moment and declined. "Maybe the next one."

"Come on, Sarah," Jo said, nodding over at the crowd of people waiting to take a turn. "Let's get in line."

Sarah hurried over to the crowd with Jo following behind while Ellen and Bobby moved over to wait by the ride exit. Ellen took out a digital camera from her pocket, and turned it on to prepare.

"Gonna take pictures of Jo and Sarah on the ride?" Bobby asked, curious.

"No, I thought I'd take pictures of random people walking around," she replied, sarcastically and looked up to smile at the man.

Bobby just glared at her, teasingly. "Very funny," he said.

"I'm thinking about making a scrapbook of Sarah like I did when Jo was growing up," Ellen shrugged.

The old man raised his eyebrows at that. "You scrapbook?" he asked, surprised.

Ellen looked up from her camera again and playfully slugged Bobby in the arm.

Bobby just laughed. "I was just teasing ya. I think that sounds great, Ellen. There's photos Dean left here of Sarah growing up, from her grandparents. I had to hide the really cute, embarrassing photos though."

"Why?" she asked.

"Sarah wanted to burn the ones where she's little and in the bathtub."

Ellen laughed. "Her grandmother was one of those, huh?"

Bobby joined in. "There's home movies of her, too. Not in the bathtub but they are still cute as can be."

She shrugged, "Sarah's a cute kid."

"I'll tell ya though, that kid had one hell of a faith in her daddy even before they met."

"What…oh you mean with meeting him, one day?" Ellen asked.

He nodded.

It wasn't long before the next set of people was able to get on the ride. Sarah dashed over to grab her and Jo each a seat, and climbed on. One of the ride attendants lowered the harness down to strap them in before Sarah waved over at Bobby and Ellen. Ellen moved over to get a good photo of them as the rest got situated. Soon the ride began, starting out slow before growing faster.

When the ride ended, Sarah exited the ride, excited. "That was awesome! I want to do it again."

"Maybe later after we ride the other rides first," Jo followed behind her.

Ellen and Bobby met them.

"Did you see that?" Sarah asked of them. "It spun everywhere."

"You were making me nauseous just watching ya," Bobby replied.

Ellen noticed Sarah wasn't wearing her father's necklace anymore. "I think you lost your dad's pendent," she nodded at her.

Sarah shook her head and reached into her jeans pocket. She pulled out the necklace and placed it back around her neck. "The ticket scanner told me to remove it before we got on the ride so I wouldn't lose it."

"You want me to hold it for you then?"

"No, it's okay. Thanks though, Miss Ellen." Sarah turned around to look for another ride. For the next couple hours, Sarah went on every ride she saw, trying to get Bobby to ride at least one. So far, the only rides they saw were the extreme ones. The group did come to one that didn't seem so bad. This ride everyone rode on their stomachs and spun around in a circle like they were flying. Sarah persuaded Bobby to go on it, stating it was the most mellow they were going to be, not including the carousel so he finally agreed.

Jo stayed back to watch their drinks and take pictures when Sarah asked Ellen to go on there with them and Bobby pointed out if he had to then she had to, too. Ellen gladly accepted though unlike Bobby. Since it was three in a set, Sarah climbed in the middle with Bobby on one end and Ellen on her other side.

"This doesn't seem like we're strapped in good enough," Bobby pointed out after the ride attendant lowered the harness.

"You're supposed to be a hunter, Uncle Bobby, not a wimp," Sarah told the old man.

"Right now I'd rather be facing a monster than this." The ride started and before he knew it they were lifted into the air which Bobby immediately closed his eyes.

When they passed by where Jo was waiting, Sarah waved out to her. "Hey, Jo!"

Jo waved back, "Hey, girl."

The ride circled around several times, lifting higher on one side before dropping. Bobby started enjoying it once he had the feel of it and opened his eyes. When the ride was over, they waited for the attendant to release them and exited the ride where Jo was standing, grabbing their drinks from the bench.

"Did you like it, Uncle Bobby?" Sarah asked him as they were exiting.

He shrugged, "It was okay."

Ellen leaned over to nudge Sarah, "He liked it," she winked.

Sarah laughed over at Bobby. "Yeah, I know he did."

"How do you know that?" Bobby asked of her.

"Because I saw you open your eyes and the look on your face," she told him.

"Anyone hungry?" asked Ellen, changing the subject.

"I'm starving," Sarah replied.

"We know you are, Little Dean," Bobby teased her before he realized bringing up her father probably wasn't the best idea.

Sarah looked away, watching the rides and wishing her father could be there with them. Ellen gave Bobby a glare which he mouthed an apology that it had slipped. Jo pulled Sarah over to one of the games while Ellen joined the line at one of the concession stands.

Sarah and Jo had joined them before it was Ellen's turn to order. She had come running with a stuffed tiger in her hand to show them, "Uncle Bobby, Miss Ellen, look what I just won."

"Awesome, sweetheart," Ellen praised her. "Good job."

"Thanks, I beat Jo for it," she grinned up at Jo.

"I let you win," she said.

"Sure you did," Sarah teased the young woman.

Sarah had wanted a big turkey leg when it was their turn but Ellen didn't think the kid could finish it to which Bobby came back with an _oh yes, she can. Trust me_. They grabbed a picnic table in the shade so they could eat.

As Sarah was about to take her first bite of her turkey leg, Ellen told her to wait, getting the camera out. "Hold on, kiddo." She turned it on and held the camera up, leaning back to get a good shot before she told Jo to lean in there and took another.

"Now can I eat, Miss Ellen?" Sarah asked, wanting to start eating.

She smiled, "Sure."

Sarah took her first bite. Ellen was impressed when Sarah in deed, finish the whole turkey leg. After lunch, they rode a couple more rides before checking out the petting zoo.

Sarah frowned when she was petting a lamb.

Bobby noticed from the fence he was leaning on, watching her and nudged Ellen.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Ellen asked.

A tear drifted down her cheek. "The last time I came to a petting zoo I was with Uncle Sam for my birthday."

Ellen and Bobby exchanged sad looks between them.

"I made him come in with me and I remember he kneeled in some animal feces."

"Would you like for me to come in and kneel in some animal doo?" Bobby asked trying to keep his voice in a serious tone.

Sarah looked up at him and couldn't help smile at that. "No, that's okay, Uncle Bobby, but thanks."

Ellen looked over the show schedule and saw one was starting soon so they headed over to the arena, grabbing a seat on the metal bleachers. The show ended up being a rodeo-type of show with guys on horseback, roping cattle or circling around barrels, and some on the backs of bulls, trying to stay on the longest.

After the bull-riding, the announcer announced there was a chance for the kids in the audience to interact in the show. All they had to do was chase after a calf and grab its bandana. Sarah instantly wanted to try. She hurried down the bleachers and climbed through the metal railing, into the arena to join the other kids, a couple around her age. Most of them were boys though.

They stood in a line in a ready position to wait for the okay to start. Jo had gotten out her phone and hurried down to stand at the railing, pulling up the video camera on it while Ellen took pictures as best as she could. With several children in motion that was no easy task.

Sarah pinpointed a calf and focused on only that one. She took a deep breath in, letting it out through her mouth. When the announcer gave the okay Sarah took off at a sprint, heading right for the calf. Once the calf was released, it didn't wait around to be caught nor did it let Sarah near it. Sarah wasn't about to let it get the best of her either and quickly thought of a way to outsmart the little infant calf. She started out trying to get around to cut it off, dashing around when the calf turned on its heels, kicking up dirt. Picking up speed when the calf did, Sarah made to leap forward, making sure not to hurt it and pinned it on her torso to rip off the bandana before letting it go.

Once she had it and the calf was free again, Sarah jumped back to her feet and held up the bandana above her head. "It looks like we have a little expert wrangler here," the announcer called out to the crowd which the crowd applauded for Sarah. No other kid was able to grab one from a calf which amazed everyone of how talented she was. Usually the bandanas just fell off on their own, letting the kids grab it then and they did.

Sarah rubbed at her torso where the calf had kicked when it gotten away as she walked over to hand one of the hands the bandana who in turn gave her a small award ribbon and asked if she had done this before, "Nope," was all Sarah replied.

The hand was even more impressed. Sarah returned to where Bobby, Ellen, and Jo were waiting.

"That was amazing, Sarah," Jo complimented as Bobby handed Sarah back her stuffed tiger. "How…?"

Sarah looked up the young woman and just shrugged, "A hunter has to be quick and smart on their feet. They can't hold back or linger, otherwise the catch will escape."

The adults stared down at the little girl, heart-broken when they heard her response. You can take the hunter out of hunting but you can't take hunting out of the hunter, they guessed.

Present day, Dean was driving towards Cartage, Missouri, filling Sam in on his and Sarah's job Castiel had assigned them.

Sam was surprised. "I can't believe it. Mom? A hunter?"

He shrugged, "I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't seen it myself." Dean snickered to himself, "Boy that woman could kick some ass. I mean, she almost took me down." He looked forward at the road

"How'd she look?" Sam asked, eagerly and shook his head, looking away from Dean with just his eyes, "I mean…was she happy?"

"Yeah, she was awesome, reminded me a lot of Sarah," he half-mumbled. "You know, funny and smart." Dean shook his head, turning his head towards his brother. "So hopeful. You know, and Dad, too. Until, of course…."

Sam sighed, looking out his window.

Dean glanced over at him, "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing," he mumbled this time. Sam took in a deep breath before looking over at Dean again. "It's just, our parents, and now our grandparents, too? Our whole family murdered. And for what? So Yellow Eyes could get into our nurseries and bleed inside our mouths?"

Sarah looked up from her DS. "You knew how Yellow Eyes gave us demon blood, too?"

Dean thought on how his daughter had worded that. Thanks to Meg, he had known about Sarah having demon blood along with Sam but they had just learned how he passed it along, twelve hours ago. "Sam, I never mentioned anything about demon blood," he said.

Sam didn't say anything to either one of them.

Dean glanced at the road out of the corner of his eye. "You knew about that?"

"Yeah, for about a year," he almost whispered.

Sarah sucked on her lower lip, contemplating fessing up, too. "Me, too. Yellow Eyes showed me when he kidnapped all of us."

Dean shot his head around to look back at his daughter before switching back to his brother. "A whole year," he said, facing forward. It hurt to know his own brother kept it from him but it hurt even more to find out his own daughter had kept it to herself.

"Look, I should have told you," Sam admitted. "I'm sorry. I didn't know Sarah knew though."

"You've been saying that a lot lately, Sam. But whatever." Dean shrugged both him and his daughter off, trying to mask it all in. "You don't want to tell me, you don't have to. And Sarah, you normally tell me when you're ready, guess it just took a little longer than usual, huh?"

Sarah stared down at her DS. She wasn't sure if it had slipped her mind or if she really didn't think her father should know. Sarah also didn't know Sam had known about it, too, assuming it was just her, the demon had shown.

"It's fine."

Sam was looking downward, as well. "Dean," he said, looking up once more. Dean stared ahead at the road as he drove. Sam shrugged it off, looking out his window, "Whatever."

Sarah stole a glance up at her father with just her eyes and she could see how disappointed he was. Dean had always tried to instill in his daughter she could confide in him about anything. After learning her first secret was true, he had always believed her, too. She should have said something a year ago.

Eventually, Dean pulled into a quiet suburban neighborhood and parked some ways away, making sure to stay hidden where no one in the house could see them. The three of them used their binoculars to spy on a young man who looked to be in his thirties, in his kitchen, searching around his fridge. Nothing weird seemed to be happening.

While the Winchesters continued to watch Jack Montgomery, Dean received a text on his cellphone. He flipped it open and read the text. _I knew it. ~Jo_ ,it read and attached to it was a video. Dean played the video, turning the sound up a little, confused why Jo would be sending him one with no explanation attached to it.

 _"On your mark. Get set. Go!"_ the announcer called out, alerting Sam's attention.

"What is that?" he asked.

Dean shrugged, "I don't know. Jo sent it to me. It looks like…." He stared at the screen, pulling it closer to him. "Sarah, why are you chasing a cow?"

"It's a calf, and the object was to get the bandana from around its neck," Sarah explained, still watching Jack Montgomery.

Sam was watching, with curiosity, too. They could hear Jo, Ellen, and Bobby cheering in the background as Sarah maneuvered her way towards the calf. Neither of the brothers understood what Jo had meant and proudly praised Sarah after the video was over.

Something caught Sarah's eye. She raised her binoculars closer to her window to see Jack Montgomery scourging down some uncooked hamburger meat, savagely eating it like the man hadn't eaten in several days.

Sam and Dean watched, as well. "I'd say that qualifies as weird," Sam stared at the scene.


	139. Chapter 139- Metamorphosis (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 139

"So who is this Travis guy, anyway?" Sarah asked as the Winchesters made their way down the hall towards their motel room, returning from breakfast.

"An old friend of ours, used to hunt with us back when we were teenagers," Dean replied in the lead. "We haven't seen him in years."

"So why is he suddenly looking you guys up now, all of a sudden?"

"I guess he needs our help," Sam shrugged.

"And how come I never heard of the guy?"

Dean stopped at their motel room door, fishing out his keys. He unlocked it before opening the door, "I don't know. Hunters don't always get time to call up old friends and chat." Dean let Sarah in first which was a big mistake because the moment Sarah saw someone in there already, sitting over at the table, she pulled out her pistol, aiming it at him.

"Who are you?!" she demanded, making the guy jump to his feet.

"Hold on, kid," he said, with his arms raised. One of them was in a half-cast. "Take it easy. I'm not here to hurt nobody. Well, human anyway."

Dean reached over and placed his hand on the pistol, lowering it, "Easy, Baby Girl. That's Travis."

Sarah glanced up at her father from the corner of her eye then back over at the guy, Travis before replacing the gun behind her. "Sorry about that. Can't be too careful," she apologized.

Travis nodded at her, "It's okay. Way to be on your toes, kid." He walked over and gave Dean a friendly hug, "It's good to see ya," he told him.

Dean smiled, "You too." He backed away, letting Travis hug Sam, greeting him next.

"Man, you got tall, kid," Travis looked Sam up and down. They both laughed at that. "How long it been?"

Sam thought on it for a second, "Ah, gotta be ten years."

"You're still a…?" Travis paused to think. "Oh, what was it? A mathlete?"

Sam laughed at the floor, "No. But my niece here seems to be heading towards it. Straight As, just like me." He tried to place a hand, proudly on the back of Sarah's neck. Sarah just ducked out of the way not looking her uncle in the eye.

"No kidding," said Travis. "If this is your niece then…" He looked over at Dean, who thought he was going to get chewed out by another person but then Travis grinned. "So this little one is yours, huh?"

"I ain't little. I got a growth spurt over the summer," Sarah glared up at the old man.

Travis smiled at her, "Dean, she's all you, I can tell. Right spitting image of ya."

Dean smiled at that, wrapping his arm around Sarah's head, pulling her in, "Yup. She can be a smartass too so watch yourself."

Sarah pushed on her father, trying to break free. Dean held on tighter, grinning at her. "Let me go," she complained. Sarah gave one big push and finally broke free from him.

Travis shook his head, laughing at the sight. "Been too long, boys. I mean, look at ya. Grown men, kid of your own. John would have been damn proud of ya, sticking together like this."

"Yeah," Dean agreed. "We're as thick as thieves." He looked over at his brother, "nothing more important than family."

Sam was looking at the floor. He glanced over at Dean who followed after Travis walking back over towards the table.

"Sorry I'm late to the dance," Travis said, sitting back down in his chair. The Winchesters joined him, sitting across from where he was sitting. Sarah sat on her father's left knee. "Thanks for helping out an old man. I'm a little short-handed," Travis raised his right arm that was in the half-cast.

"What happened?" Sarah asked, curious.

"Broke it during a hunt I was working on." Travis gave a laugh before getting down to business. "So, you track down Montgomery?"

"Yeah, we found him at his home," Sam answered.

"And?" he asked.

"And he had one hell of a case of the munchies," Dean said. "Topped off with a burger that he forgot to cook."

"I think it's the beginning stage of a Rougarou," Sarah told the men.

Dean nodded towards his daughter, "A Rougarou?" he questioned. "Dude, that sounds like one of your Pokémon."

"She's right, though," Travis told him.

He looked over at the older man.

"They're mean, nasty little suckers," Travis explained. "Rotted teeth, wormy skin, the works."

"Well, it ain't this guy. He was wearing a cellphone on his belt."

Travis was staring downward, "He'll turn ugly soon enough. They start out human for all intent and purposes."

"So, what, they go through some kind of metamorphosis?" Sam asked.

"Yep, like a maggot turning into a blowfly. But most of all, they're hungry."

Dean asked, this time, "Hungry for what?"

"For everything," Sarah replied.

"For a moment, at first," Travis corrected the little girl, "but then, for long pig."

Sam scoffed, looking away.

Dean looked between them, "Long pig?"

"Human flesh," Sarah told him.

"And that is my word of the day," he nodded.

"Hunger grows in until they can't fight it," Travis continued to explain. "Until they gotta take themselves a big, juicy chomp, and then it happens."

"What happens?" Sam asked.

"They transform completely, and fast. One bite's all it takes," Travis shook his head. "Eyes, teeth, skin all turns. No going back either. They feed once, they're a monster forever. And our man, Jack's headed there on a bullet train."

"Yeah but I read in a book once that if the person is strong enough, they can fight the transformation. As long as they don't take the first bite everything will be fine," Sarah pointed out.

"All the ones I've seen, always do, sweetheart. It's only a matter of time."

"Well, how'd you find this guy if he's a walking, talking human?" Dean interrupted them.

"Let's just say it runs in his family," Travis told him.

Sam spoke up, "You mean, uh…?"

"Killed his daddy back in '78. Son of a bitch mangled eight bodies before I put him down. Guy used to be a dentist." He took a deep breath in, "Cadillac. Trophy wife. Little did I know, pregnant trophy wife. She put the boy up for adoption. By the time I found out, he was long gone, lost in the system."

"You mean to tell me you couldn't find someone?" Sam questioned the man with a smirk.

Travis sighed and shook his head over at Sam. "I'm not sure I wanted to. The idea of hunting down some poor kid. I don't think I'd had the heart."

Dean nodded, looking down at the table, his arm tightening around his daughter's waist. If a hunter ever found out what Sarah had inside her, they might just try and hunt her down. His own words to his brother echoed in his mind. _If I didn't know you, I would want to hunt you._

Travis must have caught something was wrong. "You all right, son?" he asked.

Dean looked back up, opening his eyes. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Just a little tired," he lied. He stole a glance at Sarah who had looked back at him. They exchanged looks between each other before returning to Travis.

"I wanted to wait," he continued. "Make damn sure I had the right man." Travis nodded, "Apparently I do."

Sam sat there for a moment, taking everything in. Finally, he looked over at his niece. "You wouldn't happen to have that book on Rougarous, do you, Peanut?"

"First off, I'm gonna ask nicely as I can, to please not call me, peanut anymore. And two, no, it was a library book I checked out from the public library when I was six. None of my books have anything on Rougarous," Sarah told her uncle, keeping her voice calm.

Travis asked Sam, "What, my thirty years of experience not good enough for you?"

"What?" Sam looked over at him. "No. No, I just want to be prepared. I mean, not that you didn't…."

"Sam loves research," Dean explained to Travis. "He does," he nodded. "He keeps it under his mattress right next to his K-Y."

Sarah stared over at her uncle, an eyebrow raised. "You keep a map of Kentucky under your mattress?" she asked, confused.

Sam snickered at his niece's naivety. "Yes, peanut, I keep a map of Kentucky under my mattress," he told her with a small smile.

But Sarah wasn't laughing. "What did I just say?"

He frowned.

"Knock it off, Sarah Lynn," Dean warned.

"I asked nicely for him to not call me that anymore," Sarah pointed out, defensively.

"I don't care. Stop talking to Sam that way," he told her.

"Sarah, do we need to talk about this?" Sam asked.

Sarah looked over at her uncle and glared at him. "Why, so you can lie some more?"

Dean raised his voice in frustration, "I said, knock it off."

Sarah stood up and stormed over to the bed, tossing herself down after taking out her DS.

"Don't you have homework that's due tonight?" he reminded his daughter. "I suggest you put the game away and get on it."

Sarah sighed, tossing her DS back over her head. "It'll take me twenty minutes, can't I do it later?"

Sam reminded her, "You know school takes top priority over hunting, Sarah. That was the agreement we had when I enrolled you in online classes,"

"Can you stop talking to me?" Sarah asked of her uncle.

That was the last straw and Dean wasn't going to stand for it. "That's it. Sarah, bring me your game."

Sarah sat up to look over at her father. "What for?"

"Because I said so," he said.

"That's not a legitimate answer," Sarah told him, crossing her arms.

Dean sighed down at the table. "Sarah Lynn Winchester, I want your DS in my hand in the next ten seconds or you and I will be having a private chat." He gave his daughter a stern look that showed he meant business.

Sarah stood up, reluctantly grabbing her DS where it had landed on the bed, and brought it over to her father. Dean held his hand out, waiting for it to be placed there. When he had it in hand, he switched the game handheld to his other hand to set it on the table.

"I can have it back after I finish my homework, right?" she asked.

"Ah, no," he told her. "You can have it back in…" Dean looked up at the ceiling, "let's say, two weeks." He then nodded at Sarah, making it non-arguable.

Sarah wasn't too happy to hear she wouldn't be playing her DS for two weeks. "That's not fair," she said, outraged.

"I am not having this discussion with you, Sarah Lynn. You may have hit double digits, you are still a child and do not speak to your elders that way."

"I was talking to Uncle Sam, not Mister Travis," she shrugged.

"Doesn't matter who you're talking to, Sam is an adult. You can be mad at him all you want but you will not talk back or be rude towards him. Which, by the way, you're gonna have to ask him, nicely I might add, to use his computer so you can do your homework."

Sarah folded her arms and stared at the floor, "Can I borrow your computer, Uncle Sam?" she mumbled almost under her breath.

"What was that?" Dean asked of her.

She raised her voice to a normal, speaking tone but it didn't sound nice, repeating her question.

"Nicer," Dean warned.

Sarah took a deep breath and forced out the question a third time, only this time, nicer as she possibly could.

"Yes, you may, Pea….Sarah." Sam stood up and headed over to where his backpack was laying on his bed. He pulled out his laptop and turned it on for his niece before passing it to her. Sam stated he was stepping out for a while to go run an errand. Sarah was going to make a wise crack about it until her father's eye caught her attention and kept silent before digging her grave even deeper.

"It feels like old times, don't it?" Travis snickered.

Dean looked over at the old man. "Old times?" he questioned, confused.

"That used to be Sam and your old man arguing back and forth."

Dean sighed, running his hand along his face, "Don't remind me."

With Sam gone and Sarah taking care of homework, Dean and Travis started preparing to take down Jack Montgomery. Travis and Dean caught each other up on stuff, mostly talking guy things. Eventually, Sarah finished her homework and wandered over to ask if she could help but Dean told her they were almost done.

"What happened to, 'it'll take me twenty minutes?'" Dean teased his daughter.

"The Wi-Fi here is slow," Sarah said, "it took a while for each page to load."

"Sure it is," he laughed.

Sarah glared at her father before heading over to the fridge to grab the carton of chocolate milk and chugged some of it straight from the carton.

Travis happened to glance over at her. "Haven't you ever heard of a glass, kid?"

"It's fine," Dean shrugged, still working. "Sarah's the only one who drinks chocolate milk around here, anyway," He lifted his head to smile, "of course I do sneak a sip now and then."

"Sip, my ass," Sarah called over from the fridge, closing the carton. "More like half the carton." She replaced the carton back inside the fridge and walked back over to sit down at the table. "Are you sure I can't have my DS back, now?"

Dean looked across the table at his daughter. "I'm sure. I know Sam's been, you know," he glanced over at Travis with just his eyes, "but I don't want you talking to him that way. He's still family. Got it?"

"But he…"

"I don't want to hear it, Sarah Lynn," Dean scolded her. "I'm pissed, too, believe me but please, be nice. Do it for me, at least."

Sarah was sliding down on her chair. "Fine, but it still hurts," she pouted.

"I couldn't agree more, Baby Girl," he said.

"And Dad," Sarah added, forcing herself to look up at her father. "Sorry about, you know. It slipped my mind…I think."

Dean just nodded, "I know."

The room grew silent. Travis had been trying to focus on his own work but couldn't help listen in. He didn't say anything though, thinking it was family stuff the Winchesters were dealing with otherwise they wouldn't have been so secretive with him sitting there in earshot.

After a moment, Sarah broke the silent. "Hey, Dad, I need a book for my language arts class."

"What kind of book?" he asked.

"The novel, _Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry_ , and I need to have read the first couple chapters by Friday," she explained.

"Do you know what's it about?"

Sarah shrugged, "Not yet. It just says on the class schedule that it's the next book we're reading."

"Well, if it's a good one I want to hear it," Dean smirked. "Just like _The Outsiders_."

Sarah smiled at that. "Okay, Dad," she told him.

At that moment, the door opened and Sam walked in, carrying some papers in his hand. "Not wasting any time, are ya?" he said as he walked over to the table.

Travis replied, "None to waste. Guy hulks out we won't be finding bodies, just remains."

Sam slowly lowered himself on the foot of the bed closest to the table, "What if he doesn't hulk out? I checked out what Sarah mentioned about Rougarou lore. I found a couple stories about people who have this Rougarou gene or whatever. Sarah's right, they start to turn but they never take the final step," Sam explained.

Sarah couldn't help feel in agreement, having have read the stories herself. "Yeah, if they never eat human flesh they don't fully transform."

"So, what, go vegan, stay human?" Dean questioned.

"Basically," Sam replied. "Or in this case, eat a lot of raw meat, just not…"

"Long pig," his brother finished for him.

Sam nodded, "Right." They exchanged looks between each other before he looked over at Travis.

"Good on you for the due diligence, Sam." Travis stood up from the table and walked around, "but those are fairy tales."

"But they're possible," Sarah pointed out.

"Nope." Travis poured himself another cup of coffee. "The fact is, every Rougarou I ever saw or heard of…" He turned around towards the Winchesters, "took that bite."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean that Jack will," Sam told him, standing up again, slowly.

"So what do we do? Sit and hope, and wait for a body count?" he asked, mockingly.

"No, we talk to him. Explain what's happening. That way he can fight it."

"And when does that ever work out for us?" Sarah reminded her uncle.

"But you said it yourself, Sarah, it's possible," he looked back at her.

Travis just laughed at Sam's words. "Are you kidding me?" he asked. "You ever been really hungry?" Dean looked up from the research Sam had found. "I mean, haven't eaten in days hungry?"

"Yeah," Dean replied.

Travis nodded, "Right, then. So somebody slaps a big, juicy sirloin in front of you, you walking away?"

Sarah nodded and shrugged at that, leaning her hands on the edge of her seat in front of her.

"That's what we are to him now," he continued. "Meat on legs."

Sam looked down at the floor, letting out an annoyed breath of air, glancing up at the man.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure he's a stand-up guy. But it's pure base instinct. Everything in nature's gotta eat. You think he can stop himself because he's nice?"

"I don't know. But we're not gonna kill him unless he does something to get killed for," Sam argued.

Dean and Sarah looked at Sam.

Sam started breathing in and out as if he was having trouble before he left the room again.

Travis watched him. "What's up with your brother?" he asked Dean.

Dean glanced over at Travis and raised his eyebrows. "Don't get me started," he shrugged.

Sometime later, Dean agreed to go talk to Jack Montgomery like Sam wanted. Travis stayed back at the motel while the Winchesters were gone, promising he wouldn't do anything until they returned.

"All right, so we're gonna go have a little chat with this guy, which, you know, I'm down," Dean was telling Sam. "I just want to make sure, if push comes, you're gonna shove."

Sam was staring straight out the windshield. He glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eye, "Meaning?"

"Well, odds are we're gonna have to burn this guy alive."

"This guy has a name and a wife," Sam pointed out.

"Yeah, who we're probably gonna make a widow, okay," Dean said, staring out at his side mirror. "You heard Travis." Sam looked ahead again, away from Dean. "He's gonna turn. They always turn."

"Maybe he won't," Sam argued. "Maybe he can fight it off."

Dean closed his eyes, briefly. "And maybe he can't. That's all I'm saying," he said, annoyed.

Sam ended it. "All right, we'll just have to see, okay?"

Dean looked between his brother and the road. "See, this is what I mean, Sam. You sure your emotions aren't getting in the way here?"

Sam stared back at his brother, trying to figure out what he meant. He shook his head, "What are you talking about?"

The brothers stared at each other for a moment before Dean said, "You know, nice dude but he's got something evil inside of him. Something in his blood." He closed his eyes for a second, "something you could relate."

Sam stared ahead again. "Stop the car," he said, flatly.

"What?"

"Stop the car, or I will," Sam raised his voice a little higher, in a demanding tone of voice. His chest was rapidly moving as Dean stared back at him. Finally, Dean pulled off to the side of the road.

Sarah looked up from her journal she was writing in and rolled her eyes. She knew what was coming. Another argument was about to erupt from the brothers. Deciding to stay out of it, Sarah stayed in the car, continuing to write, adding the argument to the page as Sam stormed from the car with Dean stepping out, as well.

"You want to know why I've been lying to you," Sam asked of his brother when their doors were shut. They walked to the front of the car. "Because of crap like this."

Dean asked, "Like what?"

Sam threw his hands up into the air, "The way you talk to me. The way you look at me like I'm a freak."

"I do not," he argued as Sam walked past him.

Sam turned on the spot to face his brother, "Even worse, like I'm an idiot. Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong," before walking away again, placing his hands on his pelvis.

Dean stared at the back of Sam.

Sam turned back around, his hands still in place. "What?"

He looked down at the dirt for a second then looked up at Sam. "Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately."

Sam rolled his eyes. "You have no idea what I'm going through," he told him, bitterly. "None."

"Then enlighten me!"

"I've got demon blood in me, Dean!" Sam shot back. "This disease pumping through my veins and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean. I'm a whole new level of freak."

Upon hearing her uncle, Sarah slammed her journal on the seat next to her and quickly jumped out of the car, slamming her door shut. "Have you not been listening to me at all?!" she shot out at her uncle. "I have it in me, too, you know. You don't think it bothers me, waking up every single, damn morning knowing I have this…thing inside me?" Sarah stood there, watching her uncle.

Sam's shoulders unstiffened and looked at the ground.

"That's why I needed you, Uncle Sam. Uncle Bobby, Miss Ellen, Jo. They were nice and great to me, but they never understood this." Sarah looked over at her father, who was standing there, silently not saying a word. She looked back at her uncle. "I can admit there are things I can't talk to Dad about either and maybe I was lying to him and myself that it had slipped my mind. But the one person I should have been talking to about this, is you, Uncle Sam. By the time I realized it though, you were gone."

Sam glanced up at his niece, finding it hard to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry, Sarah. I really am," he said, softly. "I should have been there for you. When I figured out I couldn't save your dad I should have come back for you or at least called. I…." Sam paused for a moment. "I was just trying to take this curse of ours and make something good out of it. Because…" he looked away. "Because I had to."

To his surprise, Sam saw his niece nodding her head. "I'm not gonna lie, I've tried to use my powers, too." The brothers stared at the kid in shock. Sarah looked back over at Dean once more, "I'm sorry, Dad," she said before turning to look at Sam. "I saw Yellow Eyes go after Great-grandma and it just happened. Remember, I tried to master it a couple years ago, too." She shook her head, "I'm not angry you're using your abilities, I'm upset because you went off to do things alone, with Ruby nonetheless, that I don't even want to know what, when you didn't need to."

Sam nodded, looking away. He closed his eyes, trying to hold in his emotions.

They heard Dean finally speak, "Let's go talk to the guy."

Sam glanced up at his brother, forcing out a scoff.

"I mean, Jack," he corrected himself. "Okay?"

Sam nodded, stealing a glance at Sarah. Sarah caught his eye but backed up before turning around to open her door once more and slid back into the backseat to continue writing. Sam exchanged one last look with his brother before they headed back over to slide into the front seat.


	140. Chapter 140- Metamorphosis (Part 4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 140

The Winchesters headed back to Jack Montgomery's house where Jack was in his yard, watering his plants with a gardening hose. They walked up behind him.

"Jack Montgomery?" Sam called out to him, getting his attention. "I'm Sam Winchester. This is my brother, Dean, and my niece, Sarah. We need to talk."

Jack turned around to fully face them, looking them over. He looked over at Dean who looked away. "About?" he asked, shaking his head.

"About you," Sam replied, "About how you're changing."

He stared back at him, "Excuse me?"

"You're probably feeling your bones move under your skin," Dean told him, looking at Jack. "And your appetite's reaching, you know, _Hungry, Hungry Hippo_ levels. How I'm doing so far?"

Jack stared between the brothers in disbelief, "Who the hell are you guys?"

Dean slid his hands into his pockets, "We're people who know a little something about something."

"We're people who can help," Sam added, softly. "Please just hear us out."

Jack agreed to listen to what the Winchesters had to say. It wasn't much of a shock he couldn't believe what they were saying.

"A what?" he asked, shaking his head.

"A Rougarou," Dean repeated. "Sounds like a Pokémon, but believe me, it's not."

"What's a Pokémon?"

"Never mind," he said.

"Okay, I've noticed certain things," Jack admitted, "I mean, some strange things. But I…I don't know. I'm sick or something." He looked away.

"Your real father was a Rougarou, too," Sarah added, "And passed it on to you, genetically."

Jack stared down at her. "No," he said and shook his head again. "Are you guys listening to yourselves? You sound like…"

"Let's skip the whole _you guys sound crazy_ , shall we?" Dean interrupted him. "You're hungry, Jack. You're only gonna get hungrier."

Jack asked, "Hungrier for?"

"Long pig. A little _Manburger Helper_ may have crossed your mind already."

Sarah looked up at her father, her hands in her jacket pockets before looking back at Jack who was also staring at Dean.

"No," he shook his head.

"It doesn't have to be like this, Jack," Sam told him. "You can fight it off. Others have."

"No," Jack repeated.

"It won't be easy and you're looking at a life a recovering alcoholic has to deal with to stay sober, but with determination and willpower it can be accomplished," Sarah assured the man.

"Or," Dean added.

Jack looked back at Dean, "Or what?"

Dean was about to respond but Sam did for him. "You feed once, and it's all over." Sam looked up from the ground, "And then we'll have to stop you."

"Stop me," he nodded, flatly. Jack looked back at Dean again, "My dad, did somebody stop him?"

"Yes," Sam said, quietly.

"Get off my property, right now. If I see you guys again, I'm calling the cops.

Dean rolled his eyes, knowing this would happen as Sam slowly stood up from what he was sitting on. "Jack, your wife," Sam tried to continue to plead with him, "everybody you know, they're in danger."

Jack raised his voice, alerting the neighbor who was trimming his hedges, next door, "Now!"

The Winchesters turned and walked away as Dean said to his brother, sarcastically, "Good talk." They left Jack's property and returned to the Impala but did not drive away until they saw Jack leave, trailing after him. They had to watch him to make sure Jack could fight off the transformation. Sam hoped he could do it as they kept a careful watch on Jack.

Deep down, Sarah wished they didn't have to kill Jack either. He seemed like a nice guy and all, but she remembered reading about Rougarous and her father and uncle's friend was right, the chances of a Rougarou never giving in and taking that bite were next to zero.

Bored out of her mind, Sarah leaned her head on her folded, left arm, staring out the window at Jack who had been sitting outside a young woman's apartment for quite some time. In her right hand she moved a green army man, shooting an imaginary enemy soldier. She had it leap down to the door handle where the ash tray was.

"Bill, what happened?" she said in her best male soldier voice, as if the soldier was talking to the other army stuck in the ash tray. Sarah changed her voice, "I stepped in quick sand. You're gonna have to go on without me. Save yourself, George. No, a good soldier never leaves a man behind."

Sam looked over at Dean, his niece's last line sounding familiar to him. "Did Sarah just quote _Toy Story_?"

Dean rolled his eyes, continuing to watch Jack as he shifted in his seat. "You would know that, wouldn't you," he mumbled.

"No, think of your smoking, hot wife back home, George, and your three beautiful children, who one could be mine, and save yourself," Sarah continued. "Wait, what? Run, you idgit! I won't ever forget you, Bill!" Sarah had the army man hop away and then fall to his death. "Tell my family I loooooooooove them," she said for it and made a splat sound to show the army man was dead. Sarah caught her father and uncle looking behind them. "What?" she shrugged.

"Smoking, hot wife and three kids who one could be mine?" Sam questioned his niece.

"Hey, I don't question your fantasies, mister I-have-a-map-of-Kentucky-under-my-mattress," Sarah told her uncle.

Sam glared over at his brother.

Dean caught his look and shrugged, innocently, "What?"

Sam fumed and turned back to Jack to see him heading towards the young woman's apartment. "Damn it, Jack, no," he muttered, as they quickly grabbed their gas canisters and lighters, and jumped out of the Impala.

Since Jack was climbing up the fire escape, the Winchesters went around the front of the building, running inside to beat him there. Unfortunately, Jack must have fought the urge because by the time Dean kicked in the door, they saw the young woman was fine. That is, until she was bombarded by two and a half crazy people with gas canisters.

"Wait!" Dean tried to explain. "We're here to save you, I guess."

The young woman hurried over to her phone. "I'm calling the police," she said.

"Well, this is awkward," Sarah stated, looking around the apartment.

"We should go," said Sam.

"Ditto," she replied and quickly followed her uncle out. Dean closed the door behind them and they got the heck out of there before there was trouble.

They returned to Jack's house, knowing that was probably where he would go, also finding out where Travis was. They walked up to the house, going around the back, cautiously, finding it unlocked. The house seemed like it was still in one piece except for a large puddle of blood that rounded around the couch.

Sarah's eyes met with Sam's as if she was apologizing for what they had to do now and for the loss of their friend. Sam returned to the remains of what could only be Travis.

"Guess you were right about Jack," Sam told his brother, staring at the spot.

Suddenly, Dean was ambushed from behind and shoved onto a glass coffee table by none other than Jack. Sam and Sarah both started to flick their lighters before Sam was knocked backwards. Before he knew it, Sam was out cold. Sarah tried to light hers but found out she had the lighter that was almost out and couldn't light it in time before Jack knocked her out.

Sarah came to sometime later. She touched her hand to her head, lifting it from the floor as she peered around the dimly lit closet. Coats and jackets hung above her. Remembering what happened, she searched around for her father or uncle. Sam was lying near her, propped up against the far wall and quickly smacked him awake.

Sam awoke with a start, with blood dripping down his upper lip. "Sarah?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

Sam leaped to his feet and dashed for the door knob to find it locked. He listened for any kind of sound, catching something outside the closet. "Dean?"

Sarah had jumped to her feet, as well, standing next to her uncle. They heard Jack respond instead, "Dean can't come to phone, right now."

Sam pounded the door as Sarah's fists tightened. "Jack!" he exclaimed. "If you hurt him, I swear to God…"

"Calm down!" Jack roared back. His voice lowered, "Your brother's alive."

Sam breathed a sigh of relief against the door and looked back at Sarah.

"But not if you don't calm down."

"All right, Jack," he breathed, his head still against the door. "Listen. Open the door. We can figure this out, okay?"

"Oh, we'll have ourselves a little brainstorming session," they heard Jack say, sarcastically.

Sarah kept fidgeting on her feet, wanting to bust out of that closet so badly. Her hands kept opening and closing as she bit at her lower lip. She wasn't about to lose her father all over again. Not if she could help it. Thoughts of her psychic abilities kept running through her mind and Sarah cursed herself in her head for thinking of it but that was someone she really cared about out there. Sarah moved her eyes between her uncle and the door.

"Jack, please," Sam continued to plead with the guy.

"I don't think so," he said, sounding like his voice was breaking, "After what you did?"

"What?" Sam shared a look with his niece who shrugged as he quickly searched his pockets for something he could use to pick the lock. "What are you talking about?" He remembered Sarah's knife and mouthed to her, for it.

Sarah quickly reached back for her knife from her back pocket until she realized it wasn't there. "Dang it," she mouthed to herself and shook her head towards Sam, motioning towards where Jack's voice was coming from, "You sent your friend here," Jack grunted, angrily. "He tried to burn my wife alive."

Sam stopped suddenly when he heard what Travis had tried to do. "What? Why?"

There was a long silence before Jack replied, "He didn't say."

Sam happened to look up behind him to find some wire coat hangers hanging there.

"I guess psychopaths don't know how to explain themselves."

"Jack," Sarah spoke up this time, "I just met the man, this morning. I swear we would have never hurt your wife. We're not like him."

There was no response.

Sam tried as fast as he could to pick the lock on the closet door. Not long did they heard Jack mutter, "Oh, God, I'm so hungry."

Sarah had wanted to bust down the door so badly at that point, wishing her uncle could move faster.

"Jack, don't do this," Sam told the man.

"I can't ever see my family again," Jack said. "You three. Your friend. You made me into this!"

"No one's making you kill us." Sam stopped for a moment and just leaned against the door, not helping Sarah's nerves any. "Listen to me. You got this dark pit inside you, I know. Believe me, I know. But that doesn't mean you have to fall into it." He looked over at Sarah. "You don't have to be a monster." Not only was Sam telling Jack, and even his niece, but he was reminding himself, too as he continued to pick the lock.

They could hear Jack laugh at that. "Have you seen me lately?"

"Too be fair, you did knock us out before we could get a good look at you," Sarah pointed out which Sam gave her a look that said, really? She shrugged, innocently. "What? I was just saying."

Sam rolled his eyes and focused back on Jack and the lock. "It doesn't matter what you are," he said. "It only matters what you do." Sam paused for a moment, his heart pounding in his chest with each piercing moment as he breathed, heavily.

Sarah glanced down at the floor before looking back over at the door. Her uncle was right. She couldn't give in no matter the temptation. The only reason she never did before was because of her father, knowing it was wrong and that he wouldn't want her going down a dark path like that.

A grunting sound was heard, alerting their attention. Relieved to hear the clicking sound of the door unlocking, Sam quickly threw open the door and rushed right out, canister and lighter in hand.

"Jack!" he called out as the man was inches from where Dean still laid on the coffee table.

Jack looked back over his shoulder. The urge convulsing through him. Sprinting to his feet, the man rushed towards where Sam was standing, with Sarah behind him. Sam never hesitated and before they all knew it, Jack was in flames. Sarah shielded her eyes in her arm as Jack screamed out. She never looked until the screams were finished. Sarah then lifted her eyes from the burning corpse to her uncle who was standing there, watching the fire, as well, still breathing, heavily.

When she knew it was over, Sarah rushed around her uncle and over to her father, taking out a bandana and pressed it against his forehead where it was bleeding, "You okay, Dad?"

"Ah," Dean responded when she pressed against it. "Gee, Sarah," and pushed her hand away. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked up at his brother but didn't say anything.

After cleaning the place up, the Winchesters hit the road again. No one said anything for a while. Sarah ended up falling asleep in the backseat.

Finally, Dean looked over at Sam. "You did the right thing, you know," he said. "That guy was a monster." Dean barely shook his head, "there was no going back."

Sam just stared ahead for a moment before looking downward.

"Sam, I wanna tell you I'm sorry," Dean spoke again. "I've been kind of hard on you lately."

"Don't worry about it, Dean," he finally answered, softly.

Dean tried to find the right words to say. "It's just that your, uh…your psychic thing, it scares the crap out of me."

"Look, if it's all the same, I'd rather not talk about it."

Dean couldn't help smirk as he looked between Sam and the road. "What? You don't want to talk? You?"

Sam took a deep breath in, letting it out. "There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand," he told him.

Dean looked ahead for a second before turning back, "Well, why don't you try?"

"I can't," Sam said, "because this thing, this…blood, it's not in you the way it's in me."

Dean watched the road.

"It's just something I gotta deal with."

"Not alone, you don't." The brothers jumped a little at the sound of Sarah's voice from the backseat. She stood up and leaned over the front seat.

Sam looked back at his niece for a moment before looking out his window. "Anyway, it doesn't matter," he said and shook his head. "These powers….it's playing with fire. I'm done with them."

Dean and Sarah exchanged looks between each other before looking at Sam again.

"I'm done with everything."

Dean said, "Really?" and turned back to the road. "Well, that's a relief. Thank you," he muttered.

Sam scoffed, "Don't thank me. I'm not doing this for you. Or for the angels, or anybody else. I'm doing this for Sarah. It's my choice."

Sarah stared down at the seat. She didn't know what came over her but the next thing she knew, Sarah was climbing over the seat, ignoring her father's annoyed remarks about almost getting kicked in the head and sat down, close to her uncle, laying her head to snuggle against him. Sam looked down at her, caught off guard.

She looked up at him. "Don't think you're off the hook," was all she told him before closing her eyes once again. Sam didn't say anything but she felt him kiss the top of her head before staring out the window, his left arm around her.

Dean watched them for a moment before facing forward, keeping an eye on the road as he drove.


	141. Chapter 141- Thanksgiving Plans

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 141

After taking care of a shapeshifter that seriously watched too many old monster movies, the Winchesters rested up in a motel before hitting the road once again. All three slept soundly through the night until early the next morning when Sarah's cellphone rang from the nightstand where the brothers' phones were also charging.

A guitar solo played, different from the ringtone Dean had for his phone, echoing throughout the quiet motel room as the early morning sun peeked through the paper-thin curtains.

"Sarah," Sam moaned half asleep, on his back.

Sarah slept on, snuggled against her father while hugging her wolf to her.

Sam raised his voice a little louder. "Sarah." But Sarah still did not wake up and the guitar solo continued. So Sam reached over and grabbed his niece's phone off the nightstand to look at the screen, peering at it as he tried to clear his vision from the sleep he was in. Finding it hard, he just answered it anyway, rubbing at his eyes in one hand.

"Hello?" he answered.

" _Oh, is Sarah there?"_

"Yeah, but she's sleeping right now. Can I take a message?"

" _Is this Samuel?"_ she asked.

"Yes. Who is this?"

" _This is Sarah's grandmother, Beth. I was just calling to see if Sarah can make it to Thanksgiving, this year. Is she living with you now, Sam?"_ Beth asked. _"Last I heard she was living with your uncle."_

Sam threw back the covers and sat up to place his feet on the floor. "Uh, yeah. She's with me now," he replied, unsure if he should tell the Holdens that Dean had returned.

" _Well, you're both welcome for Thanksgiving, Sam,"_ Beth offered. _"And your uncle, too. Can you make it? We would really appreciate it. We haven't seen Sarah since the reunion in August."_

"Yeah, we would be glad to come over for Thanksgiving. I haven't been to a Thanksgiving dinner in a few years."

Dean stirred from his pillow and lifted his head to look over at his brother, squinting from the brightness of the room.

" _I will put you down on the guest list then, and I will leave an extra spot in case your uncle can make it. Our tradition is for everyone to bring a dish. My husband and I make the turkey and everyone else brings the sides. What can I put down for you and Sarah to bring, and don't worry you both can bring one dish so you don't have to bring two."_

"Uh," Sam paused, trying to think of something. Usually he and Jessica had shown up to her family's house with nothing. What was usually already made and didn't need a microwave or oven? "How about if we bring a dessert?" he thought up, quickly. "Like cookies or pie, or something."

" _That sounds like a great idea,"_ Beth replied, happily. There was a short pause until she said, _"Okay, I have you and Sarah down with a dessert."_

"Can I ask you something though?" Sam asked.

" _Sure, what is it?"_

"It's still October. Isn't it a little early to be planning Thanksgiving? I mean it hasn't even been Halloween yet."

" _Our family doesn't believe in celebrating Halloween."_ That explains why Sarah never bugged him or Dean about going trick-or-treating, Sam figured to himself as she continued. _"I prefer setting things up way in advanced instead of rushing at the last minute, trying to get everything done."_

Sam nodded, "That's understandable. Well, I will see you on Thanksgiving then, and I will be sure to let Sarah know you called."

" _It was a pleasure talking to you, Samuel. Give Sarah a hug and kiss for me, and tell her to call me when she has a chance. I miss talking to her."_

"I will," he smiled and glanced up to notice his brother was awake. "See you later. Bye." Sam hung up after she said bye and looked over at his brother.

"Who was that?" Dean asked, curious.

"Sarah's grandmother. She wanted to talk to Sarah about us coming over for Thanksgiving," he explained.

"And you said yes," Dean guessed.

"What was I supposed to say? She offered and I figured it would be rude to not accept," Sam shrugged. "Besides, it'll be good for Sarah to have a normal family Thanksgiving dinner instead of getting KFC and lying on the couch all day and night watching football."

"What's wrong with our Thanksgiving tradition?" he questioned.

"Nothing, I just want to do this for Sarah. I only went to one real Thanksgiving as a kid."

"I don't know much about Thanksgiving but isn't it more about family and being thankful you have one? It don't matter how many people are there or if there's stuffing or whatever. I mean we have the mashed potatoes, the corn, the biscuits, green beans, and a form of meat. Chickens and turkeys are both birds and look the same to me, Sam. And now I have to spend it alone without my family because you decided to accept the offer." Dean threw back the covers and headed towards the bathroom. "Nah, it's okay. I'll just find a bar and watch the game alone, this year. It's okay if I just came back from hell, no big deal. I didn't want to spend time with my brother and little girl."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Fine, Dean then come with us," he told him.

Dean laughed as he turned around to lean on his right arm in the bathroom doorway. "Yeah, that'll be quite a nice Turkey Day surprise, me walking in there when I'm supposed to be dead." He spun around and turned on the faucet, splashing water on his face.

Sam stood up to walk a little closer. "Sarah's family are Christians, right?" he said.

"Yeah," Dean replied, turning the faucet off and grabbing a towel from the rack to dab at his face.

"Then they probably believe in angels, too, and know they can pull someone from hell."

Dean walked towards his brother, holding the towel in his hands. "Oh, that's nice," he said, sarcastically. "So you think they'll take that well."

"They took the demon thing better than I thought they would," Sam shrugged. He watched his brother for a moment who looked down at the floor and sighed. "Look, Dean. I know our families don't get along that much but at least one of them is trying. And Sarah's grandmother did say that you were invited for not only, Thanksgiving but Christmas, too. Just…Can we, at least, give it a try?"

Dean looked up at his brother. Finally, he said, "Fine. Yeah, Sammy, we'll stop by South Dakota and have Thanksgiving."

"Who's having Thanksgiving?" The brothers' heads turned to see Sarah had just woken up.

Sam walked over to sit on the bed where Sarah was sitting. "Your grandmother called you, this morning to invite us over for Thanksgiving, next month," he told her.

Sarah stared back at her uncle. "No, thanks," she replied, flatly and threw back the covers to stand up and walk around the bed to head for the bathroom.

Sam was surprised by that response, which he gave Dean before watching his niece head into the bathroom.

Dean held his arm out to block Sarah's path. "Hold on there, Baby Girl," he told her. "Look, I know they're not the best of people, sometimes, but they are family."

"Dad, the last time I saw them I slugged Mark in the face. He's probably pretty pissed at me, right now so, no, thanks. I prefer having our KFC/football Thanksgivings anyway." Sarah pushed her father's arm away and headed for the bathroom again.

Dean just shrugged at his brother as if to say _well, we tried_.

Sam sighed.

When Sarah came out of the bathroom, Sam called her over and pulled her down onto his right leg. "Peanut, why don't you want to go spend Thanksgiving with them?" he asked of his niece. "It can't be just something that happened a couple months ago."

Sarah stared down at the floor in front of her.

"I know they haven't always been there for you but at least they're trying. You're giving me another chance."

"It's not that," she said.

"Then what is it?"

Dean was busy packing to hit the road again but he was listening, as well. Sarah looked over at her uncle, glancing over at her father.

Sam caught it and asked his brother, "Dean, could you give Sarah and I some time alone?"

Dean tried to hide the annoyed grunt he made, hurt that his daughter couldn't say anything while he was in the room but agreed anyway. "Sure, I guess I will go pack the car." He then grabbed his and his daughter's duffel bags, pulling out a random pair of jeans and a T-shirt for her to change into before he left.

Sam turned back to his niece. "What is it, Peanut?" he repeated.

Sarah continued to stare at the floor.

"Whatever it is, you can talk to me, Sarah. I'm trying, too," he reminded her.

Sarah finally looked over at her uncle. "Why should we have anything to do with them when they can't even accept my dad?"

"What do you mean? Didn't your grandmother say your dad was invited over for the holidays?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, but just like our family, the Holden men are stubborn as can be, especially Mark. He…" Sarah stopped, closing her eyes.

Sam urged his niece on, "He what, Peanut?"

A tear escaped her eye. "He hates Dad, the most. He said when we were sitting down to eat how Dad deserved hell, still lingering on what happened ten years ago. Miss Ellen said why we should even bother trying to get them to accept Dad when it's never going to happen. That's why I cut them completely out of my life. Why I hadn't called them back. If they can't accept my dad for who he is and forgive him like Jesus had taught us then why should we give a rat's ass about them?" Sarah shook her head, "There's no point, Uncle Sam."

"What better way to show them what kind of person your dad is then by coming around and showing them?" Sam suggested. "Mark is set in his ways because he's only seen your dad briefly, two or three times. The best thing you can do is to prove them wrong."

Sarah crossed her arms, looking away. "There's one more thing," she admitted.

"What's that?" he asked.

"If I go back there, Papa's gonna try and punish me for slugging Mark."

Sam glanced downward with his eyes for a second before responding, "Well, remember what your dad told them. They can't touch you anymore without his say-so."

"It's not like I enjoyed hitting him. I just felt…." Sarah tried to say.

"I know how you felt, Peanut. I was hurting, too. I should have been there, not Ellen." Sam then wrapped his arms around his niece in a tight embrace. "I promise, though, everything will be all right. Your dad and I will be right there with you, and if things get too out of control, we will leave."

Sarah asked, "Promise?"

"I promise."

The door opened and Dean stepped in. "Sam, Sarah, Bobby just called. Some dude dropped dead from a heart attack, says it sounds like our thing."

Sarah slid off her uncle's leg and walked over to hug her father around the middle. Dean shared a look with his brother, holding his hand around her head before looking down.

Once they were ready and the Impala was packed, they packed up and headed for Rock Ridge, Colorado. On the way, Sarah called her grandmother back who picked up on the third ring.

 _"Sarah, so glad to hear your voice,"_ Beth told her granddaughter, cheerfully.

"Hey, Gram," Sarah greeted in return. "My uncle said you called, this morning and said you wanted me to call you back."

 _"Well, we haven't heard from you since the reunion. We hate when you cut us out of your life. You know Mark didn't mean any of what he said about your father,"_ Beth said, unpretentiously as if what had happened seemed to be not a huge deal to her.

"Oh, really because Mark seemed pretty bold about it," Sarah told her, annoyance in her voice.

"Sarah," Sam reminded his niece to act humbly.

She sighed. "Look, I really am sorry for slugging Mark in the face and walking out on the family Bar-Ba-Que like that," Sarah glanced up to notice her father had held up his thumb as if to say, good job to which got a fumed expression from his brother.

"Dean," Sam hissed in a lowered tone so Beth couldn't hear.

Dean shrugged, innocently, "What? The guy probably deserved it. Sarah wouldn't have done it if he didn't."

"Anyway," Sarah continued with her conversation with her grandmother as Sam reminded his brother what Dean told Sarah in the past about stuff like that. "I didn't want to leave early either when I can completely bet I didn't get to say hi to everyone but Mark shouldn't have been talking about my dad like that. It wasn't fair to my dad or me, or the rest of the family who was trying to eat and have a good time."

Dean shot a look up at the rear-view mirror then over at his brother, giving him a look that said, _and you want me to go have Thanksgiving dinner with these people?_

 _"And you're completely right, Sarah,"_ Beth told her, _"Mark shouldn't have. But please don't let that keep you from us. We love and care about you and pray for you every single day. Your father made some choices and did not form a relationship with Christ, and that's why he has to spend the rest of eternity in darkness."_

Sarah smirked, giving a short laugh over at her father.

 _"What's so funny, Sarah? That's nothing to laugh about. I was praying for your father, too,"_ she said. _"His intentions may have been well but the road to hell is paved with good intentions."_

"Remember when we used to watch that show together when I was younger, about those angels and how you used to tell me that angels are everywhere, watching over us?"

 _"Mm hm."_

Sarah continued, "Did you also know an angel can pull a soul from hell?"

Dean shifted in his seat when he heard Sarah was going to tell her grandmother he was alive again. He wasn't quite sure how the Holdens would take that he was able to come back when both of their daughters were dead for good. Gripping the steering wheel now, Dean waited for what he hoped was a good response.

 _"Sarah, honey, an angel is made of pure light. An angel can't enter hell without becoming a follower of the devil,"_ Beth tried to inform her.

But Sarah just shook her head, "Not unless God commanded it."

Beth sighed, _"Okay, Sarah. Whatever you say."_ It was apparent that Beth was too worn out from age and years of helping raise her granddaughter to continue arguing with her. _"So where did you learn an angel can pull a soul from damnation?"_

"An angel, and I quote, gripped Dad tight and raised him from perdition." There was a long silence. "Gram?" Sarah looked at her phone before returning it to her ear. "Gram, are you there?"

Finally, Beth spoke again. _"Sarah, your mother and Papa was right, you do need professional help. Instead of suggesting getting in contact with your father I guess we should have sent you to St. George's, after all. Your father is dead, Sarah. Quit believing in such horrid fantasies."_

Dean caught his daughter's calm expression quickly turn to anger before she removed the phone and pressed the speaker button.

"Dad, say hi to Gram, please," she told him in a forced calm tone.

"Hi, uh, Beth, right?" Dean called so Beth could hear him.

There was another long silence before Beth asked, _"Who was that?"_

Dean reached back to ask for the phone which Sarah passed to him. Taking it off of speaker phone, he put it to his ear. "It's all true, Beth. I was pulled from hell about a month ago by an angel. I'm still not sure why but yeah, I'm back. I'm still taking good care of Sarah, though, you don't have to worry about that, and she's still in school."

 _"She's fighting monsters again, isn't she,"_ Beth said, flatly.

He sighed, closing his eyes for a second. "Yes, but this time, Sam and I made her promise to put school first. As long as her homework is done, she can hunt with us."

 _"Well, as long as her education is top priority."_ Beth agreed but by the tone in her voice, it didn't seem like she was in agreement. Dean told her the same thing he told everyone else, feeling tired of having to explain himself over and over like a broken record but this was his decision.

Beth reoffered Thanksgiving to him and Dean said they would be there. He was going to show them that he was a great father towards Sarah, though he wasn't sure why he even cared. Dean then returned the phone to Sarah and fully focused on the road.


	142. Chapter 142- Yellow Fever (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 142

The Winchesters started the job at the coroner's office where they spoke with the man in charge of the autopsy. They showed him their FBI badges as Dean introduced them as Tyler, Perry, and Maddie. Ever since Sarah started liking her new favorite show, she now chooses names from there now.

"Aren't you a little young to be working for the FBI?" he asked of Sarah.

"Uh, no, sir. I have a type of Dwarfism that makes me look like I'm a kid, but I am an adult, I can assure you," she told him.

Since the coroner hadn't completed the autopsy yet, the Winchesters had to sit in while he cut open the victim. Sarah was the most eager to watch as the coroner sliced into the victim, Frank O'Brian's chest.

"First dead body?" the coroner asked of them.

Dean shook his head, "Far from it."

"Oh, good. Because these suckers can get pretty ripe." The coroner pushed the incision open. "Hey, hand me those rib cutters, would you," he nodded over at his table of medical tools. Dean handed him the tool he needed and used it inside O'Brian's chest. The sound of flesh squishing echoed throughout the office like someone squishing a cockroach. Sarah stood on a stool, leaning her hands on the table as she watched carefully in case there was something important they should be aware of in there.

Dean happened to glance at Frank O'Brian's left hand where it was bruised up. He saw a mark around the ring finger. "Is that from a wedding ring?" he wondered out loud, getting Sam and Sarah's attention but not the coroner. "I didn't think Frank was married."

The coroner brushed it off, focused on his work, "Ain't my department."

Sarah moved her head closer when she noticed several scratches on the vic's inner forearm. "How did he get these?" she asked.

The coroner barely glanced over at what Sarah was referring to. "Well, when you drop dead, you actually tend to drop. Body probably got scraped up when it hit the ground." While checking around for any sign of a heart attack, he noticed there was nothing. "Huh."

Sam asked, "What?"

"I can't find any blockage in any of the major arteries," he replied, shaking his head, a little. The coroner cut out the heart which made Dean want to gag. Sarah, on the other hand, examined it over, carefully. "Heart looks pretty damn healthy," he informed and asked for Dean to hold it for him, catching Dean off guard.

"Lucky," Sarah blurted out, watching her father hold the heart. She caught the coroner staring at her. "Is what Napoleon Dynamite would say if he was here," Sarah cleared her throat. "It was on TV the other night and the Mr. wanted to watch it. It's still on my mind so much I'm quoting it subconsciously." She then gave a forced laugh, trying to clear the air.

The coroner just shook it off and reached inside the body again to continue. The next cut squirted blood out, at both Sam and Sarah.

"Oh, sorry," the coroner apologized, "spleen juice."

Sarah wiped the blood away from her eye. Dean secretly smiled at his brother and daughter, lucky he only had to hold the heart with gloved hands. Once they were cleaned up, they headed to the sheriff's station to speak with the sheriff where they had to remove their shoes before entering the office. Dean and Sarah took a seat in the chairs while Sam had to pull one up from the corner of the room. Sam explained how they were looking into the death of Frank O'Brian.

The sheriff explained how he and Frank O'Brian were friends and played on the same softball team, _Gamecocks_. The last few days up until his death, Frank O'Brian had been acting really jumpy and terrified, and didn't answer his phone. When the sheriff sent some of the officers to check on him, that was when they found his body. The sheriff was acting strange, too, coughing and over using the hand sanitizer. When the Winchesters had pretty much the info they needed, they left.

"No way that was a heart attack," Dean stated on their way back to where they parked the Impala.

"Definitely no way," Sam agreed, as well as Sarah. "Three victims, all with those same red scratches. All went from jittery to dead within forty-eight hours."

"So something scared them to death?" Dean asked.

Sarah replied, "But what? A ghost?"

"Maybe," he said. "Or vampire, chupacabra. It could be a hundred things."

"So," Sam shrugged, "we make a list and start crossing things off."

All right, so who was the last person to see Frank O'Brian alive?"

"Uh, his neighbor, Mark Hutchins."

Dean looked ahead where some teenaged boys were hanging out. "Hang on," he said, stopping and looked at the ground.

Sam asked, "What?"

"I don't like the looks of those teenagers down there."

Sam and Sarah looked over at the teenagers for a moment.

"Let's walk this way." Dean crossed the street to the other sidewalk across the way while Sam and Sarah watched him before exchanging looks between each other, glancing over at the teenagers again.

The drive to Mark Hutchins' house wasn't that long. When the Winchesters arrived, he invited them in, stating who they were. Sarah complimented on his house as she looked around at all the different aquariums and cages. Dean, on the other hand, was feeling uncomfortable as they walked into the living room and took a seat on the couch while Mark sat in the arm chair across from them.

"Tyler and Perry," Mark was saying as the Winchesters glanced around the house. "Just like Aerosmith."

Yeah, small world," Sam told him before getting serious. "So the last time you saw Frank O'Brian…."

"Monday," he answered. Mark was holding a green, brown-spotted, long snake around his neck. "He was watching me from his window," Mark nodded at a window. "I waved at him but he just closed the curtains."

"Hmm," Sam said. "Did you speak to him, recently? Did he seem different?" He shrugged, shaking his head, "Scared?"

"Oh, totally," Mark told them, "he was freaking out."

A crocodile splashed in its tank, getting their attention and raising Dean's anxiety even more. Dean looked down, trying hard not to look back at it. A frog got his attention, too but Dean tried to ignore it. "Do you know, uh…? Do you know what scared him?"

"Well, yeah. Witches."

Sarah asked, "Witches?" as she perked up at that.

The Winchesters exchanged looks between each other before Sam asked, "Like…?"

"Well, _Wizard of Oz_ was on TV, the other night, right?" Mark explained. "And he said that green bitch was totally out to get him."

They were at a loss for words.

Finally, Sam asked, "Anything else scare him?"

"Was there flying monkeys, too?" Sarah added, catching a look from her uncle. "What?" she asked, innocently.

"Everything else scared him," Mark continued. "No monkeys though. Al Qaeda, ferrets, artificial sweetener, those PEZ dispensers with their dead little eyes. Lots of stuff."

Dean was still glancing around the room as an iguana hissed from its cage.

"So tell me, what was Frank like?" Sam asked.

Mark looked at the floor, hesitantly. "I mean, he's dead, I don't want to hammer him, but….He got better."

Sarah asked, "What do you mean, got better?"

"Well, in high school, he was…He was a dick."

Sam asked, this time, "A dick?"

"Like a bully," he explained. "I mean, he probably taped half the town's butt cheeks together," Mark looked over at Dean who started snickering, "mine included."

Dean stopped. "So he pissed a lot of people off. You think anyone wanted to get revenge?"

He shrugged, "Well, I don't…." Mark stared back at Dean, looking between the three of them, "Frank had a heart attack, right?"

"Just answer the question, sir," Sam told him.

"No, I don't think so," he shook his head. "Like I said, he got better. And what happened to his wife…"

Dean interrupted him, "His wife?" He looked over at Sam and Sarah before looking back at Mark, "So he was married?"

"She died, about twenty years ago. Frank was really broken up about it."

Dean nodded and looked at the snake around Mark's neck.

Mark glanced down at the snake and chuckled at Dean, "Don't be scared of Donny, he's a sweetheart." He nodded at the couch, "its Marie you gotta look out for. She smells fear."

Sam happened to look back in time to see a yellow snake, longer and fatter than the one Mark was holding, just as it was coming over the back of the couch. Dean caught it out of the corner of his eye and gasped as it came over and slivered over him. He stayed perfectly still, not wanting to angry it. Sarah had instantly reached for and held her uncle's arm in a death grip, unsure what the giant snake was going to do, watching it sliver over her father, but also couldn't help notice how awesome it looked. By the time the snake was gone, Sam had a bruise on his arm.

While Sam and Sarah checked out Frank O'Brian's house for anything, Dean looked into his wife's death. When they were done, it was Sarah who spotted her father parked on the side of the street. Dean jumped when the two of them opened their car doors and slid in.

"Hey," Sam greeted. "Any luck at the county clerk's office?"

"I'm not sure if I call it luck," he replied.

Sarah leaned over the back of the front seat.

Dean handed Sam the paperwork on Frank O'Brian's wife, "Frank's wife, Jessie was a manic depressive." Sam took it as Sarah looked it over. "She went off her meds in '88 and vanished. They found her two weeks later, two towns over, strung up in a motel room. Suicide."

Sam asked, "Any chance Frank helped her along to the other side?"

"No, Frank was working a swing shift when she disappeared." Dean started the car, "Airtight alibi."

Sarah took the paperwork when Sam was done with it, to look it over herself as Dean drove back to their motel.

"So how was Frank's pad?" Dean asked them.

"Nada," Sarah answered, not looking up from the paperwork.

"Searched it from top to bottom," Sam added. "No EMF, no hex bags, no sulfur."

"So probably no ghosts, no witches, no demons," Dean shrugged as he drove. "Three down and ninety-seven to go."

Sam agreed before he noticed the speed his brother was driving. "Dude, you're going twenty."

Dean replied, "And?"

"That's the speed limit," he pointed out.

"What, safety's a crime now?" Dean asked, defensively, making Sarah look up.

Sarah looked from her father to her uncle who just shrugged it off and stared out his window. "Dad, are you all right?" she asked, concerned about him. "I know Gram can have that effect on people."

"I'm fine, Sarah." Dean kept both hands on the steering wheel and did not remove his eyes from the road ahead as he drove, eventually passing the motel.

"Dude, where are you going? That was our hotel," Sam pointed out as Dean drove through an intersection.

"Sam, I'm not gonna make a left-hand turn into oncoming traffic. I'm not suicidal," Dean told him, making Sarah look up again. "Did I just say that? That's kind of weird."

Suddenly, a couple, loud humming sounds was heard. "Do you hear something?" Sam asked.

Sarah looked around the backseat before she noticed that one of the humming sounds was coming from her jacket pocket and dug out her EMF reader as Sam did the same. Both EMF readers hummed louder when they pointed them closer to Dean.

"What the hell," Dean muttered, switching between the road and the EMF readers. His eyes widened. "Am I haunted?" He looked over at his brother, "Am I haunted?"

Sarah looked from hers to her uncle. "Whatever it is we're dealing with, I think it's affecting Dad," she said.

Sam agreed.

"Why aren't you guys affected?" Dean questioned.

Sam shrugged.

When they eventually got to their motel, the Winchesters tried to read up what it was they were dealing with. Looking through Sarah's books, it was Sam who found it. He had called Bobby, too who returned his phone call the next morning to confirm that was what they were dealing with. Sarah tagged along when Sam went out to grab breakfast and to make sure Sam picked up the good kind of donuts. When they returned to their motel room, Dean was waiting outside in his car.

Sam put his phone away as they walked across the street, looking both ways. Dean was jamming along to the beginning of _Eye of the Tiger_ , making drum movements until Sam banged on the roof of the car to get his attention. Dean jumped out of his skin, into a sitting position and turned off the radio before stepping out of the car.

"Dude," Dean told them when he was out, "look at this." He showed them his inner arm where he had been scratching.

"Dad, I told you to stop scratching," Sarah scolded her father.

"Who's the parent here?" he reminded her.

"You are but I am trying to help you," she answered.

Sam handed Dean the box of donuts they just bought and wrapped his arm around his niece. "We both are, Peanut," he assured her and turned back to his brother, "So, I just talked to Bobby and he confirmed that it is indeed ghost sickness."

Dean tossed the box of donuts into the front seat. "Ghost sickness?"

"Yeah."

He moaned, "Oh, God, no," leaning back against the Impala.

"Dad, do you even know what that is?" Sarah asked of her father, folding her arms across her chest.

"No," he shook his head.

"Some cultures believe spirits can affect the living with disease," Sam explained.

"Which is why they stopped displaying bodies in houses and started taking them off to funeral homes," Sarah added.

Dean nodded at them, "Okay, get to the good stuff."

Sam let out a deep breath, looking away for a moment, "Symptoms are you get anxious, then scared, then really scared, then your heart gives out. Sound familiar?"

"But, we haven't seen a ghost in weeks," Dean pointed out.

"You don't have to catch it from the ghost," Sarah explained. "Like the chicken pox or the flu, you can catch it from someone who was also affected. This disease can spread like wild fire through any kind of contact."

"Now, Frank O'Brian was the first to die which means he was probably the first affected," Sam said, "Patient zero."

Dean shrugged, sarcastically, "Our very own outbreak monkey."

"Right," he agreed. "Get this, Frank was in Maumee over the weekend. Softball tournament. Which is where he must have affected the other two victims."

"Were they Gamecocks?" Dean asked.

"Cornjerkers," Sarah answered.

"So a ghost affected Frank," Dean rolled it over in his head, trying to figure everything out, "he passed it on to the other guys, then I got it from his corpse?"

"Right," said Sam.

He shrugged, "So now what? I have forty-eight hours before I go insane and my heart stops?"

Sam hesitated, "More like twenty-four."

"Super," he said, sarcastically.

"Yeah."

"Wait," Dean realized, worried now. "What about you two? You got hit with the spleen juice."

Sam looked away, again, his hands in his pockets, shifting on his legs, "Yeah, uh… See, Bobby and I have a theory about that, too. It turns out all three victims shared a certain…personality type."

"Again, Uncle Sam, my dad's not a dick," Sarah told her uncle for the umpteenth time.

"You're saying I'm a dick?" Dean questioned his brother.

Sam shrugged, "The other two victims, one was a vice principal, the other a bouncer, Dean. And it wasn't just that," Sam added when he saw the look on his face. "All three victims used fear as a weapon. And now this disease is just returning the favor."

Dean was searching around the ground, "I don't scare people."

"Like I told Sarah, Dean, all we do is scare people," he pointed out.

Dean tried to come up with a comeback, thinking it over in his head, "Okay. Well then, you're a dick, too."

"Apparently, we're not," Sam shrugged.

"Whatever. How do we stop it?"

"We gank the ghost that started all this. Do that the disease should clear up."

Dean asked, "You thinking Frank's wife?"

Sam shrugged, "Who knows why she killed herself, you know?" He changed the subject, "Hey, what are you doing waiting out here, anyway?"

Dean glanced at the ground before looking up at their motel. "Our room's on the fourth floor."

Sam looked up at their motel, as well before exchanging looks with his niece, who shrugged. They turned back to Dean.

"It's, uh…high," he explained.

Sam nodded, sighing. "I'll see if we can move us down to the first floor."

"Thanks," Dean told him.

"Sure." Sam then headed over for their motel.

Dean looked over where he noticed Sarah was still standing there, watching him. "What?" he asked of her.

"Do you think this disease is repaying the favor because it thinks you abandoned my mom?"

Dean swallowed and looked away. "Maybe, Sarah but we don't know."

"I mean, it can't be the reason how we scare people or Uncle Sam and I would have been affected." Her eyes started glossing over and Sarah threw herself against her father, hugging him to her. "I can't lose you again, Dad. I can't go through that, not again. Those four months was the worse months I ever spent. Way worse than when I lost Mom."

Dean unhooked his daughter's arms and kneeled to her level, pulling her close. "We'll find something, this time. I promise I'm not going anywhere, Baby Girl. We just have to find the ghost's remains and it will be over. That's the biggest thing I'm afraid of is leaving you behind again."

Sarah hugged his neck, tighter and cried into her father's shoulder as Dean held her close. Deep down, Dean knew the real reason why this disease was affecting him and not his brother and daughter, though he was very glad it wasn't.


	143. Chapter 143- Yellow Fever (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 143

With Dean home sick, Sam and Sarah headed for the county clerk's office to check to see if Frank O'Brian's wife was buried somewhere. Afterwards, they stopped at a small grocery store to pick up some food.

As they walked up and down the aisles, Sam noticed Sarah was being up the rear. He stopped to look back. "We're gonna save your dad this time, Peanut. We'll find whoever this ghost is."

"Can't we just call angel-boy and see if he can do anything?" Sarah asked, hopeful.

"I don't know if it works that way," he shrugged.

"I can't go through losing him again, Uncle Sam. I won't. I refuse to let that happen, we gotta save him." Sarah's heart started racing.

"Whoa, take it, Peanut," Sam kneeled to her level, setting the shopping basket on the floor. "We won't lose him again. Okay?"

Sarah nodded.

They finished shopping and left the store. On the way back to the motel, Sarah spoke up again. "Uncle Sam."

Sam stopped to look back at his niece again.

"Can I tell you something if you promise not to breathe a word of it to Dad?" she asked.

"What is it?"

Sarah stared down at the sidewalk. She walked over to sit down on a bench. "If Dad ever found out about this, he'd kill me."

Sam studied his niece, carefully, trying to figure out what it was that she was talking about. One thought came to mind and he took a step towards her, turning his head to the side, "Sarah, what did you do?" he asked, in a semi stern tone.

She tried to look up at her uncle but found it hard to look him in the eye.

Sam looked around behind him before he moved closer to kneel in front of her. "Please tell me you didn't try to make a deal to bring your dad back," he told her, keeping his voice down.

Sarah didn't respond or look up.

"Sarah Lynn, you better answer me."

"No, I didn't," she spat at him, making Sam flinch back in surprise. Sarah looked at the sidewalk again.

Sam let out a small sigh. "Then what is it?"

"If it weren't for Uncle Bobby I'd be dead right now, though," she admitted.

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, confused. "You said you didn't make a deal."

"No, it's much worse than that. I…."

Sam urged his niece on, gently, "You what?"

"Losing Dad was taking its toll and you were gone." Sarah shrugged. She looked up and stared across the street. "I started to feel weak and the world just seemed big and empty. I felt there wasn't any reason to keep going, not with the two guys I love the most gone." She looked back at her uncle.

Sam found it hard to look his niece in the eye when she looked at him. He looked downward.

"I lost it on a car before I…."

He forced himself to look up. "Before you what, Peanut?"

"Before I…" Sarah looked away. "Before I tried to take my life."

Sam stared at his niece in disbelief of what she just confessed. "Sarah, you didn't," he told her, disappointed.

"If Uncle Bobby hadn't of intervened…" she took her knife from her back pocket, pulling the blade out. "This would have been found in my gut. That's why I can't lose Dad again."

Sam looked from his niece to the knife in her hands. He knew how hard his brother's death had affected her, but Sam never imagined she would go as far as suicide. Sam pulled her in, in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Peanut. I'm so sorry." He kissed her head and continued to hold his niece.

Sarah hugged him back. "You're not angry or upset with me?" she asked from his shoulder.

"No," he replied. "If anything, I'm angry at myself."

Sarah pushed away, sitting up straight. "Don't tell Dad, okay?"

"I won't, I promise."

Sarah looked away. "It's murderous keeping things from Dad but sometimes…sometimes I think he'd be better off if he didn't know some things."

"I hear ya on that, Peanut," Sam forced a smile for her. "Come on. Let's go make sure your dad is still alive."

Sarah nodded and stood up to follow her uncle. Sam wrapped his arm around her head, holding it to him as they walked.

When they returned to their motel room they found the wall clock broken on the floor and Dean sitting over on the couch, sucking on a beer.

Sam asked, "Everything all right?"

"Oh yeah," Dean replied. "Just peachy."

Sam eyed his brother as he set the plastic bag down on the table beside the door.

"Find anything?" he asked of them.

"Jessie O'Brian was cremated," Sarah said, disappointed as she made her way around the coffee table and sat down next to her father. "Dad, stop scratching it before you make it worse."

"Yes, Mommy," Dean told her, jokingly, receiving a glare. He just smiled at her and wrapped his arm around his daughter and kissed her head.

Sam sat down in the arm chair across from them, placing his feet up on the coffee table. "How ya feeling?" he asked.

"Awesome," Dean said and smiled at him, "Nice to have my head on the chopping block again. I almost forgot what that feels like."

"Yeah," he mumbled, looking away.

Sarah held her head against her father's torso as he took another drink.

"It's freaking delightful," Dean said, sarcastically, holding the bottle to his mouth.

"We'll keep looking," Sam promised Dean.

At that point, Dean started coughing, making Sarah look up. Dean removed his own feet from the coffee table to set his beer down.

"Dad? Are you okay?" Sarah asked, worried.

Dean was hunched over, coughing over and over. It felt like something was moving itself up his throat. He quickly stood up and hurried over to the sink as he tried to push whatever it was out of his airways. Sam and Sarah followed, standing on either side of him. Eventually, Dean was able to cough it out into the sink and rinsed it off, looking to be some kind of wood chip.

"We've been completely ignoring the biggest clue we have. You," Sam said in realization.

Dean turned around, looking at the wood chip in his hand, "I don't want to be a clue."

"The abrasions, this. This disease, it's trying to tell us something."

"Tell us, what? Wood chips?"

Sam laughed, shaking his head. "Exactly," he said, looking up at his brother.

"Didn't we pass a lumber mill on the way into town?" Sarah pointed out.

"You bet we did, Peanut," he smiled at his niece.

Sarah couldn't help smile in return. She couldn't help feel hopeful this time around, that there was a clue to saving her father, this time. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she told the brothers. "We have less than twenty-four hours, let's get a move on."

"Right behind you, Peanut," Sam agreed. "Come on, Dean."

Dean frowned. At this point, he didn't want to go to an abandoned lumber mill and he definitely didn't want his little girl to be going inside one. When they pulled up to the lumber mill, Dean suggested Sarah wait outside.

"Dad, I'll be fine. Trust me," she assured him. "I've been through a lot worse."

"I know but I really think we should wait outside while Sam checks it out," he told her.

"Dean, I need backup, and you're all I got," Sam spoke up before he walked towards the trunk of the car. "You're going in, Dean."

Dean took a long drink of his alcoholic drink before following his brother to unlock the trunk, "Let's do this," he roared, trying to build up some confidence. Dean unlocked the trunk as he looked around some more. "It's a little spooky, isn't it?"

Sarah rolled her eyes, trying to hide it from her father.

Dean opened the trunk and Sam lifted the weapon case, grabbing a couple shotguns, handing one to Sarah and passed Dean his gun.

"Oh, I'm not carrying that," Dean declined.

Sam stood up, straight, giving his brother a look.

"It could go off," he shrugged.

Sam looked at the gun then back to his brother, now giving him an _are you kidding me_ look.

Dean reached in and grabbed a flashlight, grasping it tight in his hands, "I'll man the flashlight."

Sarah rubbed at her eyes with her right hand as Sam nodded at Dean, "You do that," he said.

Once the Winchesters found a way in the lumber mill, they carefully made their way inside.

Dean pulled his daughter in close. "Maybe you should stay close to me, Baby Girl," Dean told her, pinning Sarah to his side.

Sarah pushed out of his grasp. "Dad, please," she told him.

"Look, if you're gonna come in here, I want you by my side, okay?"

"Dad, I'll be fine. I have you and Uncle Sam right here with me. It's okay, I promise," Sarah assured her father and turned to walk beside her uncle, both of them with their shotguns raised.

Dean swallowed hard and gripped the flashlight in his hand. He followed close behind, making sure to keep an eye on his daughter.

Once they were deep inside the lumber mill, both EMF readers started going off in their pockets. Sarah pulled hers out first, not long before Sam pulled his out. It hummed louder when the EMF readers were pointed near Dean.

"EMF's not gonna work with me around, is it?" Dean forced a small laugh.

Sam scoffed, shaking his head. "You don't say."

They turned them off and placed them back in their pockets. Sam barely took a step forward when he noticed something on the ground and stopped abruptly, making Dean jump out of his skin.

Sam reached down and moved a piece of cloth to reveal a ring, picking it up to read the inscription. " _To Frank, Love Jessie_. Frank O'Brian's ring."

"Frank was here, recently?" Sarah asked, kneeled beside her uncle.

"Guess so," he said.

"What the hell was Frank doing here?" Dean asked, this time.

"No idea." Sam stood up and the three of them continued deeper into the mill, him and Sarah's shotguns raised to be ready for anything. Heading down a long, dark tunnel with Sarah between the brothers and Sam in the lead, they heard a loud thump coming from one of the rooms. They stopped once they heard it, staring in the direction the sound had come from. Sarah felt her father's hand grip her shoulder in protectiveness.

Sarah followed her uncle into the room where a bunch of old lockers were. Very carefully, they made their way to the one that the sound was coming from. Dean stared over at his brother, switching the light between him and the locker. Sam reached out to open it, looking back at Dean and Sarah, mouthing _on three_. Sarah nodded, gripping the shotgun in her hands.

Sam counted, softly to three before he thrust opened the locker to reveal a brown and black, tabby cat inside. The moment the cat meowed, relieved it was finally released from its prison, Dean screamed, loudly. He kept it up for a good ten seconds as the cat leaped out and scurried away before Dean grabbed onto his knees, panting hard.

Sam and Sarah stared back at him, watching Dean. "You done, Dad?" Sarah asked, actually feeling embarrassed, and just when she thought her father could never embarrass her.

Dean stood up straight, placing his hands on his sides and smiled, "That was scary."

Sarah just exchanged looks with her uncle before following him out of the room, thinking the same thing.

Dean watched them leave. "What?" he whimpered after them.

The Winchesters found another room with several old papers littering the ground. While searching around the room, Sam found an old work ID of a man named, Luther Garland. Dean wandered over to a desk where there was a charcoal drawing of Jessie O'Brian. He grabbed it up, ripping it in the process. Once the picture ripped, the lumber mill was activated and the machines started working, making Dean turn around, shining the flashlight around the room. Sam and Sarah looked around behind them. Sarah held her shotgun up.

Dean was the first to spot someone standing over in the corner, facing the wall. Once Sam and Sarah noticed, they pointed their shotguns at the person, taking a step towards it.

"Hey," Sam hissed at the person.

Sarah stood there, prepared to shoot, her finger on the trigger when she felt herself being snatched up and carried out of the lumber mill. She noticed it was her father. "Dad," she called out to him but Dean kept on running. He ran until they were back outside, where Dean kneeled behind the Impala and held his daughter in a death grip, holding her close.

Sarah tried to break free but her father wouldn't let go. "Let go, Dad," she tried to tell him.

Dean refused to let go.

Sarah eventually stopped and looked into her father's terrified eyes. "It's okay, Dad," she assured him, reaching out to hold the side of his face. "Everything's gonna be all right, I promise."

Sam came running outside, shortly after, holding up the ID. "I guess we got the right place," he told them.

"Guess so," Sarah agreed while Dean did not say a word.

After grabbing Luther Garland's file from the sheriff's office, the Winchesters visited a retirement home where a brother of Luther Garland's was living in. All the while, Dean was growing much worse in anxiety, jumping at every movement someone made, including slow ones made by little old ladies.

"This isn't gonna work," Dean moaned as they made their way down the hall. "I mean, come on. These badges are fake. What if we get busted? We could go to jail."

"Dean," Sam stopped, quickly, turning to face his brother and shushed him, "calm down. Deep breath, okay." He made Dean take a deep breath, doing the same to show him. "There, you feel better?"

Dean shook his head, staring back at Sam.

"Just come on," Sam hissed, continuing down the hall again.

Sarah took ahold of her father's right hand. "It's okay, Dad. Just like I said. Everything will be fine," she assured him, rubbing her thumb against his.

This time, Dean allowed his hand held and comforted as they followed Sam down the hall. The minute they entered the dining room though, Sarah let go as they walked up to an old man sitting in a wheelchair, dozing off.

Sam cleared his throat to get the man's attention, "Mr. Garland? Hi. I'm Agent Tyler, this is Agent Perry and Agent Maddie, FBI. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your brother, Luther."

The man moved his head back, taking a deep breath in. "Let me see some ID," he told them.

Dean's eyes widened and looked over at his brother.

"Certainly," Sam agreed and pulled out his badge, motioning for Dean to do the same. Sarah was the first one to pull out her badge and hand it to the man, before the brothers did the same.

"Those are real," Dean nodded with a smirk as the man looked the badges over. The man just stared up at him.

Sam cleared his throat.

"Obviously. I mean, who would pretend to be FBI agents, huh?" he forced a laugh. "That's just nutty."

Sarah placed all her weight onto one leg and quickly, but carefully kicked her father behind her while holding her hands inside her pants pockets which Dean winced from the minor pain in his shin. Sarah gave the man a kind smile.

The man shrugged it off and gave them back their badges. "What do you want to know?" he asked them.

"Uh, well, according to this," Sam began, sitting in the chair across from the man, holding Luther Garland's file, "your brother, Luther, died of physical trauma."

The man scoffed at his lap.

"You don't agree?"

"No, I don't," he told them.

"What happened then?" Sarah asked, taking the other chair while Dean pulled up a third one from another table.

"Don't matter what an old man thinks."

"Mr. Garland, we're just trying to get the truth on your brother," Sam assured him. "Please."

Sarah nodded in agreement.

The man, Mr. Garland looked down at the table before he noticed the ID of his brother and reached over to pick it up, looking at the picture. "Everybody was afraid of Luther. They called him a monster. He was too big, too mean-looking. Just too…different," he explained. "Didn't matter that he was the kindest man I ever knew. Didn't matter he'd never hurt no one." Mr. Garland's voice cracked, "Lot of people failed Luther, I was one of them. I was a widower with three young'uns and…" He paused, looking down at his lap. "I told myself there was nothing I could do."

Sarah looked down at the table. Sam got her attention, "Mr. Garland. Uh," he unfolded the charcoal drawing they had found at the mill and showed it to him, "do you recognize this woman?"

Mr. Garland picked part of it up off the table, looking at it. "That's Jessie O'Brian," he said. "Her man, Frank killed Luther."

The Winchesters exchanged looks between them. "Are you sure, sir?" Sarah asked.

"Everybody knows it. They just don't talk about it. Jessie was a receptionist at the mill," Mr. Garland explained. "She was always real nice to Luther, and he had a crush on her. But Frank didn't like it. Then when Jessie went missing Frank was sure Luther had done something to her. Turns out the old gal had killed herself, but Frank didn't know that," he shook his head. "They found Luther with a chain wrapped around his neck. He was dragged up and down that stretch outside that plant till he was past dead."

Dean asked, "And O'Brian was never arrested?"

"I screamed to every cop in town. They wouldn't look into Frank. He was the pillar of the community. My brother was just the town freak."

"You must have hated Frank O'Brian," Sam said.

"I did for a long time, but," he chuckled to himself, "life's too short for hate, son. Frank wasn't thinking straight. His wife had vanished, he was terrified. A damn shame he had to put Luther through the same thing but…that's fear." Mr. Garland raised his eyebrows, "it spreads and spreads."

When they had all they needed, the Winchesters thanked Mr. Garland for his time and left the retirement center.

"Now I know what these are, road rash," Dean said as he climbed down the steps. "And I'm guessing Luther swallowed some wood chips when he was being dragged down that road."

They walked over to where they parked. "Makes sense," Sam agreed, stopping on his side and leaned on the roof of the car. "You're experiencing his death in slow motion."

"Yeah, well, not slow enough." Dean stopped on his side, facing Sam. "I say we burn some bones and get me healthy."

Sam shook his head, once, "Dean, it won't be that easy."

"No, no. It'll be that easy," he argued. "Why won't it be that easy?"

"Luther was road-hauled," Sam started.

"Luther is probably scattered all over that stretch in front of the mill, Dad," Sarah added.

"There's no way we're gonna find all the remains."

Dean searched the ground. "You're kidding me," he said.

"I'm sorry, Dad," Sarah told her father, her voice cracking.

Dean looked over his daughter and saw the terrified look in her eye.

"Hey, we just gotta figure something else out, that's all," Sam assured them.

"You know what? Screw this," Dean said out of nowhere, walking away.

Sam followed him, "Whoa, whoa, Dean. Come on…"

Dean stopped to face him again, lifting his arms out to the sides, "No, I mean, come on, Sam." He lifted his arms out again, "What are we doing?"

"We're hunting a ghost."

"A ghost, exactly. Who does that?"

Sarah stared up at her father with an eyebrow arched, "We do, Dad."

Dean nodded, freaking out, "Right. And that's exactly why our lives suck."

"What?" Sarah questioned, confused.

He shrugged, "I mean, come on, we hunt monsters. What the hell? I mean, normal people, they see a monster, and they run. But not us, no, no, no. We…We search out things that want to kill us," Dean explained, pointing at the ground. "Huh? Huh? Or eat us! You who does that? Crazy people! We are insane. I let my young child do things that normally make them wet the bed at night. How's that for good parenting?" Dean walked down the car, the other way, this time, "And then there's the bad diner food, and then the skeevy motel rooms, and the truck-stop waitress with the bizarre rash…"

"You could have kept that last one to yourself, Dad," Sarah interrupted her father, rubbing the back of her head, looking at the ground.

Dean continued, "And you, Sarah choose to have this life? Why? Seriously, do you and Sam like being stuck in a car with me, eight hours a day, every single day?" Sarah tried to respond but he answered for her, "I don't think so. I mean, I drive too fast, and I listen to the same five albums over and over again," his voice was running at a fast speed, "and we sing along. We're annoying, I know that. And you, Sam, you're…you're gassy."

Sam stared back at his brother at that.

"You eat half a burrito and you get toxic," he said, waving his arms above his head. "I mean," he tossed the keys at Sam who was caught off guard and walked away, "you know what? You can forget it."

"Whoa. Dean, where are you going?" Sam asked of him.

Dean stopped to point over at his brother, "Stay away from me, Sam, okay? Because I am done with it. I am done with the monsters, and the hellhounds, and the ghost sickness, and the damn Apocalypse." He then stormed off. "I'm out. I'm done. I quit."

Sam groaned in frustration, looking away.

Sarah watched her father walk away before looking between him and her uncle. "What the hell just happened?"

"I have no clue, Peanut," he replied.

Sam and Sarah tried to go after Dean but he was already gone. They searched for him all over town but could not find him.

After an hour or so, Sam decided to head back to the motel room.

Sarah stared out the window.

Sam glanced over at his niece. "We'll find him. Nothing's gonna happen, not this time," he assured her.

"We have less than four hours, Uncle Sam and Luther's body is jigsaw puzzled all over that street. How else are we gonna save Dad?" she asked.

"I'll call Bobby, maybe he knows of something we can do." Sam looked between his niece and the road ahead as he drove.

"What I don't understand is why we weren't affected but Dad was. We're all in this gig together," Sarah shrugged. "What has Dad done to be affected by this disease?" She exchanged looks with her uncle who reached over and wrapped his arm around her, pulling Sarah in towards him.

When they got back to the motel room, they found Dean sitting there, out of breath and drenched in sweat.

"We looked everywhere for you, Dean," Sam scolded his brother, walking towards him. "How the hell you get here?"

Dean stared up at him, catching his breath still, "Ran."

Sam sighed and walked over to sit on the other end of the couch. Sarah walked over to sit beside her father until she got a whiff of him and decided to sit over in the arm chair. No one said anything for a moment as the Winchesters sat there in silence.

Dean was the first one to speak. "What do we do now? We have less than four hours on the clock."

Sam sighed, looking ahead. He couldn't think of anything to say. Neither of them was sure they would get Dean out of this mess. Not only that but the hallucinations were getting worse. Dean panicked when he thought he saw Sam change into the yellow-eyed demon and freaked out like Sam was trying to kill him. Sam got him to snap out of it though.

Sam called Bobby who said he would be up there as soon as he could. With Dean back at the motel, Sam and Sarah waited for Bobby at the lumber mill. Sarah paced around the car, sucking and biting on her lower lip.

"If you don't stop, you're gonna be the youngest person I know with high blood pressure," Sam warned his niece, watching her. "Bobby will be here."

"Time is running out, Uncle Sam. I can't calm down until I know this thing will be over and Dad will be fine," she said.

Soon after, Bobby pulled up behind the Impala in his car. Sarah ran over to him and knocked the wind right out of the guy, hugging his waist. "Please tell us you have something," she said, looking up at him.

Bobby held his arms around the kid, "Whatever happened to hello?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said. "Hi, Uncle Bobby. Do you have anything?"

Bobby just snickered at the kid. "Yeah, I found something. I hope it can help." They walked over to where Sam was standing in front of the Impala. "Howdy, Sam," Bobby greeted him.

"Hey, Bobby. Thanks for coming up so quick."

Bobby looked around. "Where's Dean?"

"Uh…" Sam turned halfway and scooted onto the hood and leaned his arms on his knees, folding his hands together. "Home sick."

Bobby folded his arms and leaned against the Impala beside him, "So has his hallucinations started yet?"

"Yeah, few hours ago."

"How we doing on time?"

"We saw the coroner about eight AM, Monday morning. So, huh," Sam looked at his watch before looking forward, "so just under two hours." He looked over at Bobby, "What about you? You said you found something."

Bobby held out the book he had been holding, "This encyclopedia of spirits dates back to the Edo period."

Sam opened it, flipping the book around the right way, staring at the Japanese font. Sarah leaned on his right leg to look for herself. "You can read Japanese?" Sam asked Bobby who spoke it for him. "Guess so. Showoff."

"Try watching Anime around him," Sarah nodded over at Bobby. "It's obnoxious."

Bobby grinned, teasingly at her which Sarah smirked right back. "Anyway," he got back on topic, "this book lists a kind of ghost that could be our guy. It infects people with fear. "It's called a _Buru Buru_."

"Does it say how to kill it?" Sam asked.

"Same as usual, burn the remains."

Sarah sighed. "Oh, that's just great," she said, sarcastically.

"Is there a plan B?" Sam asked.

Bobby took in a deep breath. "Well, the _Buru Bura_ is born of fear. Hell, it is fear. And the lore says you can kill it with fear."

"So we have to scare a ghost to death."

"Pretty much," he shrugged, shaking his head once.

"How the hell do we scare a ghost to death?" Sarah asked.

No one said anything as they tried to think of a way to scare Luther's ghost to death. It was tough when it was usually the ghost that does the scaring. Finally, something came to Sam first.

"We could try reliving Luther's death."

"You think that'll work?" Sarah asked.

"Couldn't hurt." Sam then laid out the plan among them, calling Dean after they set everything up to let him know everything would be fine.

"This is a terrible plan," Bobby informed him when Sam hung up, cocking the shotgun in his hand.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he agreed.

"I know I said scare the ghost to death, but this?"

"Hey," Sam scoffed, "if you got a better plan, I'm listening."

Bobby just stared back at him.

"I got nothing," Sarah admitted, holding her own shotgun.

So the three of them started to put the plan into action, hoping it would work. While Bobby got behind the wheel of the Impala, Sam and Sarah headed inside the lumber mill to try and get Luther to come out. Everything seemed quiet except for a few squeaks as they looked around, unknown to them that they were being watched. All the while Dean's hallucinations continued growing even stronger and his time was running out.

Once they were deep into the mill, Bobby came on a walkie-talkie Sam had with him. " _Any luck?"_

"I don't know what's wrong, Bobby," Sam replied, looking around. "Last time he came right at us. It's almost like he's uh…. Like he's scared." He looked around some more, looking over at the table they had found before with the charcoal drawings and set the shotgun down on the ground, slowly.

 _Now what?"_

"I guess we gotta make him angry." He hurried over to the table and picked up one of the drawings. "Hey, Luther," he called out, ripping it in half before grabbing another one.

Sarah looked back over her shoulder as Sam called out to him, and looked around waiting to see what would happen.

"Come on, Luther. Where the hell are you?" Sam tore every drawing he could find, making every machine in the mill turn on. "What are you waiting for?"

Sarah looked around the mill, her heart beating faster in anticipation. She slowly turned her head around to see Luther standing behind her uncle. "Uncle Sam, watch out!"

Sam turned around just in time for Luther to grab him up and throw him across the room. Sarah raised her shotgun, ready to shoot if their plan backfired. It wasn't easy watching her uncle get beat up by a ghost but it had to happen so they could save her father.

Once Luther had Sam on his back, shoving him on the ground, repeatedly, Sam managed to reach over his head and grab the chain they had hidden there in the dirt that was attached to the back of the Impala, and wrapped it around Luther's neck, surprising him.

"Bobby, punch it!" Sam yelled. They heard the roar of the Impala's engine and the sound of the tires screeching, unraveling the chain before dragging Luther through the double, push doors and down the same road as before. Sam and Sarah rushed after, stopping in the doorway, watching and hoping.

Time was drawing right to the very end for Dean. They were basically neck and neck. Bobby sped down the road, continuing to drag Luther behind as he struggled against the chain. His ghostly body scraped against the asphalt as Bobby floored the gas pedal all the way down.

Sarah stood there, biting her lip. She closed her eyes and prayed it would work, that they weren't too late. "Come on, please, God. Let this work. Please, God, I'm begging you," she silently prayed under her breath. "Don't let my dad go back to hell. Please." When Sarah opened her eyes, she saw the Impala was dragging nothing but the chain, sparks igniting from metal scrapping against the road.

Suddenly, the machines in the lumber mill turned off and Bobby hit the brakes before he drove into the wall. All three of them blew a sigh of relief, glad it had worked, after all.

Remembering, quickly, Sarah pulled out her phone and called her father, hoping he would answer. It rang several times before Dean finally answered and she blew another sigh of relief, thanking God over and over again.

The Winchesters and Bobby pulled over and celebrated on the side of the road. Dean passed out beers to the men and a root beer for Sarah.

"So you guys road-hauled a ghost," Dean was asking of them, "with a chain?"

"Iron chain, etched with spell work," Sam pointed out.

Dean scoffed with a smile into his beer, "That's a new one."

"Hey, it saved your ass, didn't it?" Sarah told her father, twisting off her cap, grinning up at him.

Dean nudged his daughter in the leg, gently. "Shut up," he teased her.

"That's what he was most afraid of," Sam shrugged and looked over at Bobby. "It was pretty brutal though."

"On the upside, I'm still alive," Dean pointed out, grinning. "So, go team."

"Yeah," he agreed. "How you feeling, by the way?"

Dean shrugged, "Fine."

Bobby was leaning against his own car, with his arms folded, holding his beer. "You sure, Dean? Because this line of work can get awful scary."

Dean stared at him. "I'm fine," he repeated, defensively. "What, you wanna go hunt? I'll hunt." He had stood up from where he was leaning against the Impala. "I'll kill anything."

"Aww," Sam teased his brother, looking over at Bobby.

Bobby agreed, "He's adorable."

"Just like a wittle kid," Sarah smirked up at her father and the three of them laughed while Dean turned away, taking a drink of his beer as he mumbled, "Whatever," to himself.

Bobby stood up straight, walking around his car, "I gotta get out of here."

Sarah hurried over to hug him, good-bye. "Love you, Uncle Bobby," she told him.

He hugged her back, "Right back at ya, kiddo." When Sarah let go, Bobby continued as he waved back at them, "You boys drive safe."

"You too, Bobby," Sam held his beer up towards him. "Hey, thanks."

Bobby slid into his car and started the engine before taking off. Sarah waved until he was down the dirt road and wandered back over to lean against the Impala, next to her uncle. No one said anything for a brief moment until Sam did.

"So, uh," he said, drawing in the dirt with his foot, "So what did you see? Near the end, I mean?"

"Well, besides a cop beating my ass?" Dean answered, jokingly.

Sam nodded at his brother, "Seriously."

Dean stared at the ground. He looked up at Sam again, catching another hallucination of a glint of yellow again for a moment. Dean looked at the ground once more, sucking on his lower lip. Looking directly at the ground, he finally answered, "howler monkeys. The whole room full of them."

Sarah's eyebrow rose at that. "That's what you're afraid of?" she asked of him.

"Hey, they can be pretty vicious," he shrugged.

Sarah just laughed to herself, looking away as she held her root beer up to her mouth. Her smile quickly faded away as she thought about the last couple of days, a sickly thought finally coming to mind. Thinking about it now, Sarah had thought of the reason why only her father was affected and she didn't even want to think of the possibility.


	144. Chapter 144- Its the GP, SW (P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 144

"Now, how many razor blades did they find?" Sam was asking as Dean and Sarah searched around a suburban family's kitchen.

"Two on the floor, one in his stomach," the victim's wife explained, her arms folded and looking away at the floor. She looked up at Sam, her voice cracking, "one was stuck in his throat. He swallowed four of them. How is that even possible?"

Dean was looking near the stove while Sarah searched the cabinets behind Sam.

"The candy was never in the oven," she told Dean.

He lifted his head, closing the oven door before standing up. "We just have to be thorough, Mrs. Wallace."

"Did the police find razors in the rest of the candy?" Sam asked next.

"No," she shook her head. "I mean, I don't know. I don't think so."

Dean moved on, looking in the fridge next. When he closed it, he noticed a black scruff mark on the floor as if the fridge had been recently moved.

"I just…." The woman, Mrs. Wallace was looking at the floor again. "I can't believe it. You hear urban legends about this stuff, but it actually happens?"

"More than you imagine," Sam told her as Dean was checking behind the fridge now. He reached back and pulled out a brown pouch tied close. He stood up and showed it to Sam. Sam glanced over at it before diverting his eyes away quickly before Mrs. Wallace saw it, to which Dean quickly put it away, as well. "Mrs. Wallace," he said, looking downward before lifting his eyes back at her, "did Luke have any enemies?"

She stared back at him like Sam was crazy, "Enemies?"

"Anyone who might've held a grudge against him?"

Sarah had stood up from one of the lower cabinets, walking towards the stove where Dean secretly showed her the hex bag he had found.

Mrs. Wallace shook her head, "What do you mean?"

"Coworkers, neighbors," Sam explained. He paused for a moment before he said, "maybe a woman."

"Are you suggesting an affair?" she asked, outraged.

"Is it possible?"

Mrs. Wallace shook her head, "No. No, Luke would nev…" She looked away.

"I'm very sorry," Sam apologized, "We just have to consider all possibilities."

She looked back at him. "If someone wanted to kill my husband, don't you think they'd find a better way than a piece of candy he might eat?"

Sam looked over at Dean who was smiling at him.

"She's got a point there," Sarah pointed out.

He looked over at Sarah next, giving her a, _hush!_ look.

While Sam studied up on the pieces inside the hex bag, Dean and Sarah looked into the victim's background to see what reason anyone would want him dead. Once they were done, they stopped for gas. As Dean filled up the gas tank, Sarah went inside the store to pay for the gas for him, as well as grab drinks and something to eat, also grabbing a big bag of candy for any trick-or-treaters they might get. What were the odds of razor blades being in all the candy in the town?

Sarah came back out, walking over to the car where Dean was already in the driver's seat, waiting. She slid in the passenger's seat, shutting her door. Dean grabbed the plastic bag from her and looked inside, grabbing one of the Cokes. He also tried tearing into the candy until Sarah yanked it out of his hands.

"Dad, that's for the kids," she told him. "If there's any left over after Halloween, you can eat it."

"Come on, Sarah," he complained. Dean remembered, "I have to check it to make sure there's no razor blades inside. You don't want to murder any kids, do ya?"

"I already checked, Dad," Sarah twisted the cap off her grape soda.

"How? The bag is sealed closed. Come on." Dean reached down where Sarah had set the bags and picked it up, pulling it open before taking a piece of candy out.

"Fine, you can have one piece of candy but only one and just so you can test it."

Dean looked over at his daughter. "Just for that, I'm grabbing more," he said, taking out a small handful before setting the bag back down. "You keep forgetting who's the parent around here."

Sarah glared up at her father, "No I don't. I'm just trying to watch out for the other kids."

"I get that but you, Sarah Lynn, cannot tell me what to do. I tell you what to do since I am your father, and a father always knows best," he said, starting the car.

Sarah sat there with her arms folded, looking away.

Dean pulled away from the gas tank, towards the exit of the small parking lot. "Just because you hit double digits, doesn't make you grown up." Dean pulled out a piece of candy from his jacket pocket and opened it as he drove with his knee. "So you're gonna sulk now because you didn't get your way?"

Sarah tightened her folded arms, not responding.

"You want to act grown up but yet you're acting way younger than ten, Sarah and I don't like it. I know how you are and if you don't knock off the immature sulking, you're gonna get something to sulk about."

Sarah unfolded her arms and twisted around to stand up on her legs, grabbing the candy and the plastic grocery bag before climbing over the seat into the back.

"I guess someone wants to be treated like a four-year-old today," Dean shrugged as he drove back to their motel.

Sarah curled in the space on the floor, in front of the seat. "I'm trying to cool down and give myself a breather so I don't latch out at you and get myself into hot water," she snapped at her father.

"First of all, lose the attitude and do not raise your voice to me, Sarah Lynn," he warned her. "Second, just tell me that instead of sulking like a little kid."

Sarah folded her arms again. "I don't have an attitude," she said, crossly. "You're the one that's making it worse when I'm the one trying to end it. Why don't you just drive and freakin' leave me the hell alone?"

Dean raised his eyebrows at that but just shook his head, continuing to look forward. Someone was going to get it when they got back to the motel.

The rest of the car ride was in silence except for the radio that Dean turned on. When he finally pulled into the parking lot and parked near their room, Sarah was the first one out and stormed inside, slamming the door behind her, making Sam look up from his laptop.

"Everything all right, Peanut?" he asked as Sam watched her walk inside.

"Fine," she told her uncle, calmly as she could. Sarah handed him a Coke before searching around for a good hiding spot for the candy.

Dean walked in the door, next, removing his jacket to toss on the bed and tossed the keys on the table by the door. "Sam, get out," he told his brother, firmly.

Sam was about to ask why but caught the look in his brother's eye he normally had when his niece had crossed the line and stood up, closing his laptop. Grabbing his jacket, Sam left the motel room.

Dean waited until the door closed behind his brother before ordering his daughter over where he sat on the foot of the bed.

"Hold on," Sarah said from the other side of the couch Sam had been sitting on.

"Now," he told her, firmly.

Sarah sat back on her heels and stood up to look over at her father. "What?"

Dean let out a frustrated breath of air. _Oh, God, it's the preteen years_ , he realized to himself, remembering when Sam's stubbornness grew worse when he was around Sarah's age, and even himself, as well. "Do not talk back to me, Sarah Lynn. I said to get your ass over here, now."

Sarah rolled her eyes and took a step, walking towards where her father was sitting, stopping right next to him, folding her arms again to wait for him to start the lecture. It didn't come, not yet anyway. Dean reached out and took ahold of her upper, left arm, tugging her over his lap. He then rained his hand down on her bottom. Sarah flinched at each one but did not cry, this time.

Dean kept it up for his usual amount of time before he let her up. "Look at me, Sarah Lynn," he started his lecture. "I don't ever want to hear you talk to me in that way again, do you understand me?"

She nodded at her father. Even though she wasn't crying, her face showed she wasn't too happy about it.

"I can't hear you."

"Yes, sir," Sarah said.

"And I also don't want to hear you slamming a door either," Dean told her, firmly.

"Would you rather I lash out at you, or slam a door?" she asked, folding her arms again.

"Lash out at me for what? Reminding you that I'm the parent?"

"I wasn't trying to be a parent, Dad. I was just trying to make sure the candy I bought, with my own money, was saved for Halloween," Sarah argued.

"Yeah, in a parental tone, telling me what to do," Dean pointed out to her.

"I wasn't telling you what to do, Dad. I was hoping you would be the nice guy and just try _one_."

Dean rose to his feet. "Yeah, well, it didn't sound like that, Sarah Lynn. Ever since I got back you've been doing this and it's gonna stop. I mean it. I let you back in I can take you right back to Bobby's."

Sarah glared up at her father. "Yeah, you've been acting different since you got back, too. Maybe I'll take myself back to Uncle Bobby's."

"That is fine with me," he shrugged. "As soon as we're done here we'll head up to Bobby's place and drop you off."

"Sounds good to me," Sarah agreed. "I mean, make everyone happy, and by the sound of it, you too." At that, Sarah stormed passed her father and yanked the door open, remembering to close it gentler, this time.

Dean watched her leave and sighed at the floor, rubbing his eyes in one hand.

Sam looked up from his phone where he was leaning on the roof of the Impala when he heard his niece come out. He watched as Sarah made her way across the parking lot. "Whoa, whoa. Where do you think you're going?" he asked, hurrying around the car to walk beside her.

"Anywhere but here," she replied, bitterly.

Sam stepped in front of his niece and kneeled down to her level. "What's going on? What happened in there?"

"Nothing." Sarah flinched, holding her stomach now.

Sam noticed it. "What's wrong? Is something wrong with your stomach?"

"It's fine, it's just been hurting since last night," she assured her uncle.

Sam reached up and felt her forehead. "You feel normal."

Sarah keeled over, hugging her stomach to her, "It feels like it's twisting up into knots."

"I saw an urgent care right down the street." Sam stood up and motioned to head in the direction the urgent care was in. As they walked down the sidewalk Sam tried once again to get his niece to talk to him about what was going on between her and her father. When she did finally talk, Sam found it strange how the whole thing started over a bag of candy.

They barely got far when Sarah admitted she really had to use the restroom. Rushing inside a laundry mat the two of them had stopped in front of, Sarah made her way passed the busy washing machines towards the back and shoved the door open, slamming it shut and locked it behind her.

Sam waited inside as he walked up and down the aisles, wondering what was taking his niece so long in the bathroom. Finally his cellphone rang. Taking it out of his jacket pocket where he had his hands, Sam looked at the screen and saw it was Sarah calling him.

"Everything alright, Peanut?" he asked, concerned.

She hesitated. "Um, I need you to do a couple things for me. If you do this, I might let you out of the dog house."

"Sure, anything, Peanut."

"I need you to go back to the motel and grab my duffel bag. Then I need you to go to the Walgreens across the street and pick me up some…." Sarah fidgeted on the toilet, swallowing. Right now, she wished she was talking to Ellen or Jo, or even her grandmother at that point, instead of her uncle.

"It's okay, Peanut," he assured her, "you can tell me anything. Do you need some medicine? Are you sick?"

"No, I'm not sick. I…" Sarah sucked on her lower lip. "I…started."

Sam stared forward, scrunching his eyebrows together. "You started? What do you mean you started?" Then it dawned on him. "Oh, shit." Sam knew exactly what that meant. "Stay put, Sarah. I will be right back, I promise."

Putting his phone away, Sam dashed right out of the laundry mat and sprinted back to the motel room, running as fast as he could. Down the sidewalk, maneuvering around other pedestrians, Sam made it, crossing the parking lot and pushed through the door of the motel where Dean was sitting in his spot on the couch.

Dean looked up from Sam's computer. "Hey, Sam, I've been looking over your resear…" Sam barely heard his brother as he grabbed Sarah's duffel bag and dashed right back out, forgetting to shut the door behind him. "What the hell?" he called after him.

Sam dashed across the parking lot, once more and across the street when it was clear, running into the Walgreens. He stopped long enough to look around the store before hurrying over to the woman's personal hygiene aisle and stopped at the pads and tampons, looking up and down, and around the different brands. Sam could research like none other, salt and burn a ghost, and was even prelaw, but nothing he had ever faced or studied for could ever prepare him for the decision he had to make now and fast.

Unable to come up with a decision, Sam worked up the courage to ask an associate for help, explaining the situation to her. The young associate just smiled, sweetly and helped Sam pick out the right one perfect for little girls who had just started. He thanked her and paid for it before rushing out of the store and back to the laundry mat.

Sam knocked on the door. "Peanut, it's me. I'm back and I have everything you need." The door unlocked and opened a crack. The only thing he saw was a hand reach out and took the duffel bag and plastic bag from him. Sam waited once again until Sarah finally came out. He noticed she was crying.

"Peanut, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Sarah sniffed in, walking over to her uncle. "I knew this would happen but I never thought it would come this soon," she said.

Sam reached back and rubbed the back of his head. He couldn't believe his niece had just become a woman that day. "It's normal for someone your age, Peanut. I'm so proud," he smiled at her. "My little peanut is a woman now."

"How do you think Dad's gonna take it?" Sarah asked as they made their way over to the laundry mat's front door.

He shrugged, "I don't know. It's probably gonna be awkward for him. I know I couldn't help feel that way but hey, we're guys. We don't have to go through this stuff." Sam held the door for his niece before following her out. "I'll tell you one thing. That explains the whole getting mad over a bag of candy argument. Your hormones are kicking in, and it's gonna be hell on earth once a month."

Sarah moaned, covering her hand over her face. "Oh, great."

Sam laughed as they walked back to the motel room. "I love you, Peanut," he told her.

Sarah smiled up at her uncle. She wrapped her arm around him and hugged her uncle to her. "Love you, too, Uncle Sammy."

Returning to the motel room, the two of them walked inside. Sam closed the door behind them.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Dean demanded, standing up from the couch. "Sarah takes off, then I see you, Sam, run in here, grab her bag and leave without a word. I thought something happened. Someone better start explaining."

"Tell him, Peanut," Sam urged his niece, gently. "Your dad needs to know what's going on in your life."

Sarah stared down at the floor for a long time.

"Sarah, start talking," Dean told her, firmly.

"Dean," Sam hissed at his brother. "This is a big milestone in her life that just happened. Don't push her."

Dean stared at Sam. "What are you talking about? Milestone?"

Sarah dropped her duffel bag on the floor, a tear rolling down her face. She wiped it away before looking up at her father. "I'm not your baby girl anymore."

"What are you talking about, Sarah? Of course you're still my baby girl," he assured her. "I mean, just because we have a few tiffs now and then, doesn't mean I'll love you any less."

But Sarah shook her head. "No, I don't mean about that. I mean…." She stopped, another tear appearing from her eye.

Dean stared back at her. "Baby Girl, what's wrong?" he asked, sensing something was wrong.

Her eyes started glossing over and Sarah felt her uncle wrap an arm around her, rubbing her shoulder. "I…I started today. We were on our way to the urgent care down the street and on the way it happened."

Dean had the same expression his brother first had. "Started? Started what?" He looked over at Sam who raised his eyebrows at him. Then it hit him, too and looked back at his daughter. "You started?" he nodded once.

She nodded.

Dean put his hand over his mouth, wiping it down once before walking away from them, staring at the floor. When he stopped and turned back around, there were tears on his face. Dean couldn't believe his little girl had become a woman that quick. Where had the time gone? It seemed like just yesterday he was picking her up from her grandparents' house at seven years old, now here she was, ten years old and a woman.

Dean rushed over and fell to his knees, pulling Sarah into an embrace and held her close. "No matter how old you get or whatever milestone you hit, you will always be my baby girl. Don't you ever forget that," he told her. "I love you, Baby Girl."

Sarah held her arms around his neck. They were both crying but if it was a contest, Dean would be winning. "I love you, too, Dad," she told him right back.


	145. Chapter 145- Its the GP, SW (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 145

That evening, during a teenaged Halloween party, someone else was murdered, as well. Sam and Sarah searched around while Dean interrogated the victim's friend. Sam was the one to find the hex bag in the couch while Sarah was afraid to move around too much. The Winchesters researched some more in the motel room, ordering pizza for dinner. After Sarah had gone to the bathroom every forty-five minutes, Dean finally stood up and opened a window.

"Dude, is it gonna be like this, every month for the next forty years?" he asked when Sarah came out of the bathroom for the fifth time that evening.

She shrugged, "I don't want to get an infection."

Dean sighed and returned to his brother's laptop.

Sam was lying over on his bed, reading. He sat up, finding something.

"I'm telling you, both of these vics are squeaky clean," Dean said. "There is no reason for wicked-bitch payback."

"Maybe because it's not about that," Sam replied.

"Wow, insightful," he shrugged, sarcastically.

"Maybe this witch isn't working a grudge. Maybe they're working a spell. Check this out." Sam read out loud from the book he had been reading as he stood up, "Three blood sacrifices over three days. The last before midnight on the final day of the final harvest." He closed the book and passed it to his brother. Sarah stood up again to see, as well. "Celtic calendar, the final day of the final harvest is October thirty-first," he finished, sitting down across from Dean.

Dean questioned, "Halloween?"

"Exactly."

"What exactly are the blood sacrifices for?" Sarah asked, curious. "If I even want to know."

"Well, if I'm right, this spell is for summoning a demon," Sam replied.

"A demon?"

"Not just any demon," he shook his head and leaned back in his chair. "Samhain."

Sarah's eyebrows rose in surprise while Dean asked, "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"Samhain is the origin of Halloween," Sarah told him. "The Celts believed that October thirty-first was when the veil was thinnest between the living and the dead."

"It was Samhain's night," Sam added, "masks were put on to hide from him. Sweets left on doorsteps to appease him. Faces carved into pumpkins to worship him."

Sarah nodded, "But Samhain was exorcised centuries ago."

"So even though Samhain took a trip downstairs," Dean said, looking down at the book, "The tradition stuck."

"Exactly, which is why I never bothered to take part in it," Sarah explained.

"You bought candy today for the kids," Dean pointed out.

"Well, I wasn't about to open the door and deny a kid of what they want, I'm not that mean, you know."

"All right, sheesh," Dean said. "Bite my head off, why don't you." He turned back to his brother, "So some witch wants to raise Samhain and take back the night?"

"Dean, this is serious," Sam told him.

He shrugged, nodding, "I am serious."

"We're talking about heavyweight witchcraft," he explained. "This ritual can only be performed every six hundred years."

"And the six-hundred marker rolls around…"

"Tomorrow night," Sam finished.

Dean smiled down at the table, "Naturally." He looked the page over once more, "There sure are a lot of death and destruction for one demon."

"That's because he likes company," Sam explained. "Once he's raised, Samhain can do some raising of his own."

"Raising what, exactly?" Dean asked.

"Dark evil crap, and lots of it. And they follow him around like the freakin' pied piper."

"So we're talking ghosts."

"Yeah, and zombies, and vampires, and werewolves, and demons, and shapeshifters, and…."

"Okay, Sarah, I get it, everything we hunt, right?" Dean interrupted his daughter, switching between her and Sam.

Sam nodded.

"Leprechauns?"

"Dean," Sam told him, firmly.

"Those little dudes are scary," Dean shrugged. "Small hands."

"Dad, wasn't your favorite cereal as a kid, Lucky Charms?" Sarah pointed out.

Dean gave her a look before looking over at Sam. "So it's gonna be a slaughterhouse."

Sam and Sarah agreed.

The next day, Dean went and talked to Mrs. Wallace again while Sarah went and talked to the second victim's friend, Tracy. Sarah ended up trailing her right to Mrs. Wallace's house where her father was staked right outside, waiting for anything. They returned to the motel room where Sam had done some digging on Tracy who had gotten suspended from school for violent altercations with one of her high school teachers so they decided to go up to the high school and have a chat with the teacher.

Asking at the front office first, the Winchesters headed for the art department, walking inside one of the classrooms. Dean looked up at the different masks that hung from the ceiling, made by students. He stopped at one in particular, reliving past horrors.

"Bring back memories?" Sam asked, coming up behind his brother, surprising him.

Sarah looked between her father and the mask he had been looking at, knowing all to well what he was remembering. But Dean played it off, "What do you mean?"

Sam was looking around at all the masks, as well, "Being a teenager, all that angst."

"Oh," Dean nodded, sighing to himself.

"What'd you think I meant?" he asked.

Dean shook his head, "Nothing." He looked over at a kid, trying to fit a long bong he had made, inside a large kiln. Only not large enough. "Now, that brings back memories."

Sarah covered her eyes in one hand, shaking her head at the floor.

At that moment, the art teacher walked in. "You gentlemen wanted to talk to me?" he asked, walking in the door, carrying a box of stuff.

"Mr. Harding," Sam greeted.

"Oh, please, Don," he told them, holding his hand out for Sam to shake.

"Okay, Don."

"Even my students call me Don," the teacher, Don explained and shook Dean's hand next, followed by Sarah's.

"Yeah, we get it, Don," said Dean as Don walked passed them to set the box down. "I'm Agent Geddy, this is Agent Lee and Agent Martin." The Winchesters walked over to Don, taking out their badges to show him. "We just had a few questions about Tracy Davis."

"Uh, Tracy," Don nodded, "Bright kid, loads of talent. It's a shame she got suspended."

Dean barely glanced back at Sam, "You two had a, uh, violent altercation?"

He laughed, "Yeah, she exploded. Uh, if Principle Morrow hadn't walked by when he did Tracy would have clawed my eyes out."

Sarah asked, "Why?"

Don shrugged, "I was only trying to rap with her about her work. It had gotten inappropriate and disturbing."

Dean looked away with just his eyes for a second. "More disturbing than," he turned around and pointed at the masks, "those guys?"

"She would cover page after page with these bizarre, cryptic symbols," he explained. "And then there were the drawings. Detailed images of killings. Gory, primitive. She would depict herself in the middle of them, participating."

Sarah folded her arms across her chest, lightly as she listened.

"Symbols? What kind of symbols?" Sam asked, looking down at an old coin from one of the hex bags, in a ziploc bag, this time. "Anything like this?" He showed it to Don.

"Yeah," Don nodded. "I think that might've been one of them."

"You know where Tracy is now?" Dean asked of him.

"I imagine her apartment."

"Apartment? Isn't she in high school?" Sarah asked.

"Yeah, she got here about a year ago, alone. As I understood it, as an emancipated teen," he explained. "God only knows what her parents must have been like."

After speaking with the teacher, the Winchesters searched for Tracy. She wasn't at her apartment and none of her friends knew where she was. They met back at the motel where they ran into their first trick-or-treater as Sarah thought they might.

"Trick or treat," the kid said, holding up his Halloween bucket of candy.

"This is a motel," Dean pointed out to the kid.

"So?" he shook his head.

"So we don't have any candy."

"Yeah, remember I bought some. I just hid it inside…"

"We did, but it's gone," Dean interrupted Sarah who gave him a glare.

"Dad, how did you find it? I stashed it in another hiding spot after our fight," she asked of her father.

Dean just shrugged. "Sorry, kid, we can't help you," he told the trick-or-treater.

"I want candy," he protested.

"Well, I think you had enough," Dean nodded.

The trick-or-treater glared up at Dean before walking right pass him. The Winchesters headed inside their motel room.

"I can't believe you that extra-large bag of candy in two days, Dad," Sarah told her father as she was walking through the door.

Suddenly, Sam shoved passed his niece, quickly taking out his gun, "Who are you?" he demanded of the two strangers inside their room.

Sarah dashed in front of her uncle. "Relax, Uncle Sam," she assured him, looking over at Castiel sitting on one of the beds with his back to them. "That's Angel Boy. The other one I have no idea though."

Castiel rose from the bed and walked over to them while the other guy stayed standing at the window, his back also to them. "Hello, Sam," the angel greeted him.

Sam stared at the angel in amazement, "Oh my God," he said, making his niece slap her hand over her eyes. "Or, uh…." Sam looked between his family and the angel. "I didn't mean to…Sorry, it's an honor." He walked closer to Castiel, "Really, I've heard a lot about you," and held out his hand for him to shake.

Castiel looked at it with just his eyes, stiff as usual. Sam waited for the angel to accept the handshake. When Castiel finally got the message, he gripped his hand and shook it, "And I you," before grasping both hands around Sam's. "Sam Winchester, the boy with the demon blood. Glad you ceased your extracurricular activities."

"Let's keep it that way," the other angel standing over by the window said over his left shoulder.

"Yeah, okay, Chuckles," Dean told him before turning back to Castiel. "Who's your friend?"

Castiel changed the subject, getting down to business, "This raising of Samhain, have you stopped it?"

He asked, "Why?"

"Dean, have you located the witch?"

"Yes, we located the witch," he answered.

"And is the witch dead?"

"Not yet," Sarah spoke up.

"We know who it is," Dean added.

"Apparently, the witch knows who you are, too." Castiel walked, stiffly over to the nightstand between the beds and picked up a hex bag. "This was inside the wall of your room. If we haven't found it, surely one or all of you would be dead."

"Thank you, Castiel," Sarah thanked him. "We appreciate it."

"So do you know where the witch is now?" he asked, looking at the floor.

Sarah looked up at her father who returned it.

"We're working on it," Dean shrugged.

"That's unfortunate," Castiel told them.

"What do you care?" he asked.

Castiel looked over at the other angel who didn't utter a word. "The raising of Samhain is one of the sixty-six seals."

"So this is about your buddy, Lucifer?" Dean guessed.

"Lucifer is no friend of ours," the other angel finally spoke.

"Even I know that's just an expression," Sarah told the angel.

"Lucifer cannot rise," Castiel got their attention once more. "Breaking of the seal must be prevented at all cost," he explained, walking back closer to the Winchesters.

"Okay, would you like to enlighten us on the whereabouts of the witch?" Sarah asked.

"You of all people, Sarah, should know we are not omniscient. This witch is very powerful. She's cloaked even our methods."

"Okay," Sam quickly spoke up again, "we already know who she is. So, if we work together…"

"Enough of this," the other angel said.

"Okay, who are you and why should I care?" Sarah asked, irritably.

The angel finally turned around to stare at them. "This is Uriel," Castiel introduced. "He's what you might call…" he looked over at the other angel. "…a specialist."

The angel, Uriel walked a little closer to them and stopped halfway.

Dean asked, "What kind of specialist?"

No one said a word. The angels exchanged looks between themselves.

"Okay, someone start explaining or it's gonna be hell on earth," Sarah warned the angels, her arms folded.

Uriel looked over at the little girl, "Is that the demon blood talking?"

"No, that's another kind of blood talking. As in I will kick your sorry, little angel ass all the way back to heaven if you don't start explaining why it is you're here," she threatened.

Dean gripped her shoulder from beside her, "Easy, Baby Girl," he told her, gently, reminding her about what he told her a couple days ago.

Castiel gave in. "You, all of you, need to leave this town immediately."

Dean asked, "Why?"

"Because we're about to destroy it," he answered.

The Winchesters exchanged looks between themselves, shocked to hear what they just heard.

"What are you, nuts?" Sarah blurted out.

"So this is your plan?" Dean questioned, raising his hands out. "You're gonna smite the whole, freakin' town?"

"We're out of time. This witch has to die. The seal must be saved."

"There are a thousand people here," Sam pointed out.

"One thousand, two hundred fourteen," Uriel said, calmly.

"And you're willing to kill them all?" he questioned.

Uriel shook his head, "This isn't the first time I've…purified a city."

"This isn't Noah's Ark, this is a city with a lot of good people here," Sarah argued.

"Look, I understand this is regrettable," Castiel said.

Dean nodded, "Regrettable?"

"We have to hold the line. Too many seals have broken already."

"So? That doesn't mean a thousand, two hundred and fourteen people have to die because of it. Have a freakin' heart, for Christ's sake," Sarah continued to argue.

"It's the lives of one thousand against six billion," he told her. "There's a bigger picture here."

"Right," Dean nodded at the floor, "because uh, you're a _bigger picture_ kind of guys."

Castiel took a step towards Dean, standing inches from his face. "Lucifer cannot rise. He does, and hell will rise with him. Is that something you're willing to risk?"

Sarah maneuvered herself in between her father and the angel, pushing Castiel away from him. "We are going to kill this witch before Samhain is summoned. No one's gonna die, not on our watch."

"We're wasting time with these mud monkeys," Uriel told Castiel, bitterly.

Sarah felt her fists curl at her side. Dean had to hold her back from doing anything rash.

"I'm sorry," Castiel apologized, stiffly as he turned away, "but we have our orders."

"No, you can't do this," Sam objected. "You're angels. I mean, aren't you supposed to… You're supposed to show mercy."

Uriel cocked his head, "Says who?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe the Lord," Sarah spat out at them, still held onto by her father.

"We have no choice," Castiel said, looking away.

"Of course you have a choice," Dean told him. "I mean, come on. What, you never…you've never questioned a crap order, huh? Are you just a couple of hammers?"

"Look, even if you can't understand it…have faith." Castiel looked over at the Winchesters, "The plan is just."

"I do have faith," Sarah corrected the angel, "Faith that we will succeed here."

"Tell me something, Sarah," he said, looking up at the ceiling, "when your father gives you an order, don't you obey?"

Sarah found it hard to respond when she knew he was right.

It was Dean who spoke. "Well, sorry, boys. Looks like the plans has changed," he told the angels, rubbing his daughter's upper, right arm as he held both of them.

Castiel stared back at him, at that.

"You think you can stop us?" Uriel questioned.

Dean shook his head over at him, "No." He walked around Sarah, towards the other angel. "But if you're gonna smite this whole town then you're gonna have to smite us with it because we are not leaving." Dean stopped in front of him. "You see, you went through the trouble of busting me out of hell I figure I'm worth something to the man upstairs."

Uriel just stood there, watching him.

"So you wanna waste me? Go ahead. See how he digs that."

"I'm gonna drag you out of here myself," Uriel told him, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but you're gonna have to kill me. Then we're back to the same problem. I mean, come on. You're gonna wipe out a whole town for one little witch?" Dean shrugged, "Sounds to me like you're compensating for something." They stared at each other for a moment before Dean turned around and walked back over to Castiel. "We can do this. We will find that witch and we will stop the summoning."

Castiel stared up at Dean.

"Castiel, I will not let these…" Uriel tried to object.

Castiel held up his left hand to the other angel as he continued to stare at Dean, "Enough." He moved closer to Dean, "I suggest you move quickly."

The Winchesters left the motel room, finding another unpleasant surprise waiting for them. The Impala was egged. Splotches of yolk covered the hood, the windshield, and the front side windows.

Sarah sighed, looking at the mess. "This is why I was trying to persuade you not to eat the candy, Dad. Why I bought candy in the first place. I was trying to keep this from happening."

Dean looked over at his daughter, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry, Baby Girl. I got a little defensive, I guess."

"I'm sorry, too. I should have just come out and said it, instead of trying to tell you what to do." Dean half hugged her before they slid inside the car where Sam was already sitting there, fingering the hex bag Castiel had found for them.

After slamming his door shut, Dean noticed and asked, "What?"

Sam shrugged it off, "Nothing." He continued to stare at the hex bag, untying it now. "I'd thought they'd be different like what Sarah has said before."

"Who? The angels?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Well, I tried to tell you," Dean shrugged.

"I just…." Sam shrugged again. "I mean Sarah said angels are righteous."

"Well, they are righteous," Dean shrugged again, too. "I mean, that's kind of the problem."

Sam looked up at his brother.

"Of course, there's nothing more dangerous than some A-hole who thinks he's on a holy mission."

Sam shrugged a third time and looked back down. "But this is God and heaven? This is what I've been praying to?"

"Look, man, I know you and Sarah are into the whole God thing. You know, Jesus on a tortilla, stuff like that."

Sarah looked up from where she was playing with her knife, staring over at her father, unsure she heard right or not about Jesus on a tortilla.

"Just because there's a couple of rotten apples, doesn't mean the whole barrel is rotten" Dean pointed back into the backseat, "Look at Sarah, she's known them all this time and we still hear her praying at night. All we know, God hates these jerks." He looked down himself, fiddling with his keys, "Don't give up on this stuff, is all I'm saying. Babe Ruth was a dick, but baseball is still a beautiful game."

Sarah watched her father. She smiled and saw her uncle force one, too before he picked up a charred bone that was inside the hex bag.

"Well, you gonna figure out a way to find this witch or are you just gonna sit there fingering your bone?" Dean asked finally before placing the key inside the ignition.

It suddenly just dawned on Sam. "You know how much heat it would take to char a bone like this, Dean?"

"No," he shook his head, leaning on the wheel.

"A lot," he replied. "I mean more than a fire, or some kitchen oven."

Dean just stared at the bone. "Okay, Betty Cocker, what does that mean?"

Sam looked ahead, out the windshield, "It means we make a stop."


	146. Chapter 146- Its the GP, SW (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 146

The Winchesters returned to the high school and snuck into Don's classroom. They searched around until Sam found a locked drawer and got it open to find bone remains of very young children. Searching around for an address to where the teacher lived, they hurried back out to the Impala as quickly as they could. A dangerous race against time.

The Winchesters pulled up to the house. There was commotion coming from the basement so they headed down there first. Tracy was tied, hanging from her wrists and gagged while Don was reciting the ritual. With their guns raised, all three of them shot Don in the back, to which he dropped dead.

Sam kneeled beside Don's body to check for a pulse while Dean cut Tracy loose. Don was dead.

Tracy thanked them. "He was gonna kill me," she said, looking at Don's lifeless body. Ugh! That sick, son of a bitch. I mean, did you see what he was doing?"

Sam nodded at her, keeping a cautious eye on the body.

"Did you hear him? How sloppy his incantation was?"

The Winchesters raised their heads at that.

She sneered, "My brother always was a little dim."

They took a step towards Tracy, redrawing their guns but were knocked backwards, losing them.

"He was gonna make me the final sacrifice," Tracy admitted. She arched her eyebrows, "His idea. But now that honor goes to him. Our Master's return? The spell work works a two-man job, you understand? So for six hundred years, I had to deal with that pompous son of a bitch," she said bitterly over at the body before walking over to bend down towards it. "Planning, preparing." Tracy kneeled down. "Unbearable."

Tracy picked up a knife, "The whole time I wanted to rip his face off." She squirted blood from Don's bullet wounds. "Then you get him with a gun," smiling over at the Winchesters who was still in agonizing pain from the fall. "Uh, I love that."

She stood up again. "You know, back in the day, this was the one night you kept your children inside. Well, tonight, you'll all see what Halloween really is." Tracy finished the ritual, raising the cup as she closed her eyes.

Sam was trying to slither over to Don's body. He reached over when he was in range and dipped his hands in the puddle of blood before wiping it all over his face, his family thinking he was crazy. He told them to follow his lead as he wiped blood over his niece's face and then his brother's before lying back, motionless.

Tracy finished the ritual. The floor cracked underneath and black smoke rose behind her. Sarah stole a peak through one closed eye, opening it just a tad. The smoke hovered in the air before shooting into Don's mouth. His eyes opened to reveal a terrifying hazed blue color.

Samhain stood up and walked towards where Tracy was still standing at the altar. She turned around and smiled, happily. The demon took her face into his hands and kissed her.

"My love," she smiled.

Samhain looked her over. "You've aged," he said.

"This face," she admitted, disappointed, "I can't fool you."

"Your beauty is beyond time." The demon rested his forehead against hers right before he snapped her neck, watching her fall to the floor. "Whore." Samhain then turned around, taking in what he could see of his new surroundings. He walked forward, stopping to look at the Winchesters who was still lying motionless on the floor before moving on.

Sarah was the first to open her eyes then her father who looked over at Sam.

"What the hell was that?" Dean asked of his brother.

"Halloween lore," he explained. "People used to wear masks to hide from him." Sam shrugged, "So I gave it a shot."

Dean and Sarah looked over at him. "You gave it a shot?" Dean questioned his brother and stared at him.

"Well, at least it worked," Sarah said, relieved.

Wiping the blood from their faces, the Winchesters headed for the cemetery to try and stop Samhain.

"Hey, Uncle Sam," Sarah said as they slid into the Impala. "Does it bother you that you and him have the same name, pretty much?"

Sam didn't say anything as Dean started the car and drove away from the curb. He was too deep in thought, thinking about just how powerful Samhain was. That it may take more than what they had originally handled demons with.

"So this demon's pretty powerful," he finally said out loud.

Dean and Sarah agreed.

Sam took in a deep breath. "It may take more than the usual weapons."

Dean looked over at his brother who looked back. He knew exactly what Sam was referring to. "Sam, no," he objected, shaking his head. "You're not using your psychic whatever."

"But…" Sam tried to argue.

"Ruby's knife is enough."

"Why?"

"Because the angels said so, for one," Dean reminded him, raising his voice a little.

"I thought you said they were a bunch of fanatics?" Sam questioned his brother.

"They happened to be right about this one."

Sam shook his head forward, looking ahead, "I don't know, Dean. It doesn't seem like they're right about much."

"Forget the angels then. You said it yourself, these powers, it's like playing with fire." Dean looked down and grabbed Ruby's knife, holding the hilt towards Sam. "You said you would stop for Sarah, Sam. Please."

Sam looked over at the knife in Dean's hand and reluctantly took it. It felt harder when Dean reminded him of his promise to his niece. He didn't want to give in because of her but Sam felt there was no other choice in the matter. Samhain was the most powerful demon they ever faced, even more than the yellow-eyed demon.

Sarah watched her uncle. She couldn't believe he wanted to use his powers after that speech he gave back in the closet. Was their powers that strong and that tempting that her uncle was giving in yet again? Sarah leaned her head back and moved her eyes away. They caught sight of the army man stuck in the ash tray. She touched the toy in her hand and fingered it with her thumb. Sarah wasn't sure about anything at this point. Her faith in heaven and in her uncle were both being tested.

Dean pulled up to the cemetery. Jumping out, they hurried to the trunk and grabbed all the weapons they had for ghosts and zombies before they dashed inside one of the mausoleums where several high school students were having another Halloween party, screaming and panicking.

"Help them," Sam ordered Dean.

"Dude, you're not going off alone," Dean told him.

"Do it." Sam took off down the hall after Samhain.

"Sarah, go with him," Dean ordered his daughter.

Sarah barely nodded as she took off after her uncle. She ran so fast she almost ran into him when Sarah finally caught up. Looking up, Sarah noticed Sam was staring at the demon. "Uncle Sam, remember what you said. We can take this demon down just like all the other demons _we_ took down together, as a family."

Sam wasn't listening. He took a step forward, towards Samhain. Sarah hurried after her uncle. She stopped and shielded her eyes when the demon twisted around and surrounded them in a bright light. The light quickly vanished and Sam was still walking towards it.

"Yeah, that demon ray-gun stuff," Sam scoffed, "doesn't work on us." He stopped, staring at it.

Samhain dashed towards Sam who landed an upper-cut at it. Sarah was impressed and watched as her uncle fought with the demon, both of them landing punch after punch at each other, watching from behind a wall she had ducked behind as Dean took care of the zombies and ghosts in the other room.

Eventually, Samhain had Sam pinned by his throat up against the wall. Sam pulled out Ruby's knife and tried to use it, but only managed to cut into the demon's arm before being thrown across the room.

Responding quickly, Sarah tried to come to her uncle's aid. She hurried over to where the knife landed, sliding on the floor to grab it. The demon noticed Sarah out of his side vision and turned on her instead, dashing towards her.

Sam's heart skipped a beat when he saw the demon go after his niece. Getting to his feet fast, Sam held out his right hand and focused on Samhain, stopping the demon in its tracks. Sam struggled with it as Samhain struggled to continue towards Sarah. Sarah looked up at the demon and over at her uncle. Her father coming around the corner down the hall caught her attention. Remembering the knife in her hands, Sarah got to her feet, quickly and plunged the knife right into the demon's lower gut, shoving it farther as Sam continued to hold it in place, trying to exorcise it.

Samhain cried out and fell to its knees, light emitting from its eyes and mouth. Sarah watched it fall over before looking over where her uncle was still standing, out of breath. No one said anything as the family stood rooted to their spot.

Sarah wasn't even sure what to say. Though the demon was coming after her, Sam did go back on his word and used his psychic powers. If he hadn't though, who knows what could have happened.

Finally, Dean called, "Sarah, come here."

Sarah looked over in his direction. She glanced back at her uncle, mouthing, "Thank you," before walking over to her father, stopping to pull Ruby's knife out. When she reached her father, Dean kneeled down to her level.

Dean checked her over. "You okay, Baby Girl. Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm fine, Dad. Uncle Sam did all the fighting," she assured him.

Dean stopped, cupping her face in his hands, looking her in the eye. He started to say something but decided not to and stood up. "Come on."

Sarah looked back at Sam.

Dean was already leaving. "Let's go, Sarah," he told her.

Sarah stayed rooted to the spot. One foot managed to move in the direction her father went, but at the last minute she ran back over to her uncle and hugged him. Sam was caught off guard but held his arms around her head, holding it to him. She looked up at him but did not say a word. Instead, Sarah turned and walked back over to where her father was waiting.

No one said anything on the drive back. The car was in an awkward silence. Early the next morning, Dean and Sarah went out for breakfast while Sam stayed back to pack. On the way back from breakfast, the two of them stopped at a park where some children were playing. While Dean sat on a bench, Sarah wandered onto the playground and over to the swings, taking the one on the end.

She stared at the sand, replaying everything in her mind. Sighing, Sarah looked up into the sky, "What is this I have? Am I gonna lose to this like Uncle Sam did? Is it gonna consume me, too? Do I even have a chance at saying no?" Sarah paused for a long time before continuing. "And what's up with your angel pals? Who are they exactly?" Sarah looked down at the sand again. "All I learned growing up, they don't feel like the kind of angels. Are they working for you, and is Dad really important? I mean, he must be if you brought him back, right?" Sarah shrugged, "Okay, I admit, Angel Boy seems cool but his partner, something's off about him, I can feel it. Just show me what all this means. Help me to understand all this. Help Uncle Sam fight this…this addiction. We need Your help, Lord." She paused for a second before she closed the prayer.

Castiel caught her eye, sitting over on the bench next to her father. Curious, she wandered over to see what the angel wanted.

"Your orders were to follow my orders?" Dean was asking the angel when Sarah was in earshot.

"It was a test," Castiel explained, "to see how you would perform under…battlefield conditions, you might say."

Dean looked over at Sarah who had stopped not that far in front of them. He looked back over at the angel, "It was a witch, not the Tet Offensive."

Castiel gave a small laugh at that, surprising Sarah. That was the first time they heard the angel laugh.

"So I, uh, failed your test, huh?" Dean said, looking ahead at the playground again. "I get it. But you know what?" He ran his tongue over his upper lip. "If you were to wave that magic time-traveling wand of yours and we had to do it all over again, I'd make the same call."

Sarah glanced down at the ground, listening.

"Because I don't know what's gonna happen when these seals are broken. Hell, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. But what I do know is that this here… these kids, the swings, the trees…all of it is still here because of my family and me."

Sarah looked back over her shoulder at everything. Castiel got her attention, "You misunderstand me, Dean," he said. "I'm not like what you think. I was praying that you would choose to save the town."

Dean stared over at him. "You were?"

"These people," Castiel leaned forward, slowly on his arms, staring out at the park, as well, "they are all my father's creations. They are works of art. And yet, even though you stopped Samhain, the seal was broken. And we are one step closer to hell on earth for all creation. And that's not an expression. It's literal."

"We tried all we could," Sarah spoke up.

"I know," he told her and looked over at Dean, "You of all people should appreciate what that means, Dean. And in a way, you as well, Sarah," he added, looking back at her again.

Sarah caught her father looking over at her. Sarah may have never been there like her father was but she seen it and she knew it wasn't pleasant and knew that it could never touch earth's soil.

"Can I tell you something if you promise not to tell another soul?" Castiel asked, looking away.

"Of course," Sarah replied.

Castiel looked down at his lap, "I'm not a…hammer, as you say. I have questions. I….I have doubts." He looked up at the sky. "I don't know what is right and what is wrong anymore…whether you passed or failed here."

Sarah perked up at the angel's confession. It was the exact same feelings she was just praying about and couldn't help feel how Castiel felt.

"But in the coming months both of you will have more decisions to make. I don't envy the weight that is on your shoulders, Dean. I truly don't."

Sarah and Dean exchanged looks between them before Dean looked off to the side. When they looked back at the angel, he was gone. Sarah stood there for a moment, staring at the ground. Eventually, she walked over and sat down next to her father to lay her head against him. They weren't sure what decisions Castiel meant they would have to make but they knew one thing: whatever happened they would always stick by each other no matter what happened.


	147. Chapter 147- I know What you Did(P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 147

Thanks to an angel's big mouth, Sam learned Dean lied about what he remembered from hell. It also didn't help that Sarah knew the truth either and felt hurt he was confiding more in his daughter than in his own brother. Sam tried getting his brother to talk about it to let him help but Dean wouldn't budge an inch.

At first, Dean tried to tell Sam that Uriel was lying but finally gave in right after the Winchesters were done with a very odd hunting gig of haunted shower rooms, a talking teddy bear, and "superboy." But like Sarah once said, there was no talking about something as gruesome as hell. No one could understand unless they, at least, seen it with their own eyes. That was what helped Dean talk about it with his daughter. Even though she never lived it, herself, Sarah had seen it and was still plagued with nightmares. Dean never brought up Alistair though and Sarah wasn't asking either, even though she wanted to. She just hoped her father would bring it up so she could.

While Sam was over playing pool with some biker guy, Sarah sat at a table inside a bar, her Pokémon cards laid out in front of her, playing by herself. Dean was over trying to persuade Sam to stop, considering he was three sheets to the wind and had already lost a lot of money, so far. Sam wasn't having any of it.

Dean was keeping an eye on his daughter but had looked away for a second, giving an opportunity for another biker guy to walk over to where Sarah was sitting. The guy had a few drinks, holding one in his hand.

"Hey, beautiful," the guy nodded down at her.

Sarah barely looked up. "Hello," she greeted, trying to sound as polite, as possible. "You might not want to try anything, buddy."

The guy nodded, with a smirk, "Oh, really? And why's that?" He reached out with a fingerless-gloved hand to caress Sarah's cheek. However, the guy had a rude, surprising awakening. Sarah jumped to her feet, grabbing the same wrist before kicking him in the groin. Once he grabbed his private sector, holding it in pain, Sarah twisted the arm she was still holding, shoving him to the ground since he was keeled over and focused on the first wave of pain.

"I tried to warn you, buddy," she shrugged, kneeled on the guy's back.

Dean hurried over as the whole bar was staring at the scene. "You okay, Baby Girl?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, just showing buddy boy here what happens when he tries to hit on little girls." Sarah gave the guy's arm another twist, making him cry out in more pain.

Dean motioned Sarah off of him before reaching down to pull the guy up by the front of his shirt and leather jacket. "Go anywhere near my little girl again, _I will_ kill you," he warned the guy before punching him in the face. The guy stumbled backwards and tried to stumble to his feet before getting as far away from both of them, as possible. Dean turned back to his daughter, kneeling to her level and held onto her upper arms to look her over. "You sure you're okay? Did he hurt you?"

Sarah shook her head. "I'm sure, Dad. I got him before he could do anything."

He sighed in relief and pulled his daughter into his arms. While Dean was hugging Sarah, his eye caught Sam walking away from the middle of a pool game. He stood up, trying to spot where Sam was headed. His emotions rose when he saw Ruby standing nearby and quickly followed.

Sarah hurried after her father when she noticed, as well.

"You got a lot of nerve showing up anywhere near me," Dean told Ruby off after Sam greeted the demon with Sarah backing him up, also with a cold remark.

"I just have some info and I'm gone," Ruby told them.

Sam asked, "What is it?"

"I'm hearing a few whispers."

"Ooh, demon whispers," Sarah remarked, sarcastically. "That's reliable."

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Sarah," Dean agreed with a shrug, looking over at Sam before walking around him.

"A girl named, Anna Milton escaped from a locked ward, yesterday," Ruby explained to Sam, ignoring the other two. "The demons seem pretty keen on finding her. Apparently, some real heavy hitters turned out for the Easter egg hunt."

"Why? Who is she?" asked Sam.

Ruby shook her head, "No idea. But I'm thinking she's important. Because the order's to capture her alive."

Sam looked away, thinking on it.

"I just figured whatever the deal is you might want to find this girl before the demons do."

"Oh, yeah, that's smart. Have us do your dirty work then snatch the girl from us. Yeah, great plan. You figured that out all by yourself?" Sarah told her, sarcastically still.

"Look, shorty, I'm just delivering the news. You can do whatever you want with it. As far as I'm concerned, I told you, I'm done." Ruby turned around to walk away, ignoring Sarah who motioned towards her like she was going to rip the demon to shreds. Sarah was still a little sensitive on the short remarks.

Sam quickly moved between the girls, stopping Ruby from leaving. "Wait, this hospital Anna escaped from. Got a name?" Once Ruby gave the name of the hospital, the Winchesters left the bar, heading out to where the Impala was parked.

Once on the road, Sam called to get any information on this Anna Milton, much to Dean and Sarah's protests. Sam thanked the person when he was done and hung up. "Well, Anna Milton's definitely real," he told the other two.

Dean shrugged, staring ahead as he drove, "Don't mean the case is real. This hospital is a three-day drive."

Sam looked away from where he was looking at his brother. "We've driven further for less, Dean." He caught Dean shaking his head and turned his head back to him. "You got something to say, say it."

"Oh, I got plenty to say about this," Sarah remarked, looking up from her DS.

"Please stay out of this, Peanut," Sam told her. "I'm talking to your dad, right now."

"Don't worry, Baby Girl. I'll speak for myself, this time. This sucks," said Dean.

Both brothers looked ahead again.

"You're not pissed we're going after the girl," Sam told him, knowing his brother well, "You're pissed Ruby threw us the tip."

"Right," Dean agreed. "Because as far as you're concerned, the hell bitch is practically family."

Sam didn't say anything.

"You know, something major must have happened while I was downstairs because I come back and you're B.F.F. with a demon and your only niece miles away?"

Sam stared out his window, tiredly, "I told you, Dean. She helped me go after Lilith."

"Well, thanks for the thumbnail," Dean nodded, sarcastically. "Real vivid. You wanna fill in a little detail?"

"Sure, Dean, let's trade stories," Sam also said in a sarcastic tone, looking over at him again, "you first. How was hell? Don't spare the details."

Dean gave his brother a hard glare, backed in a corner before looking ahead at the road.

Sam looked ahead, as well, a triumph look on his own face. He couldn't help think of six months ago and how broken up he was over losing his brother and having to desert his niece. Sam thought about saying something for a moment but decided against it.

Shortly after, Sarah felt drowsily, feeling her eyelids heavy as she stared at the top screen. Finally, she stopped fighting it and turned off her game before falling asleep. Once she was in a deep sleep, a nightmare started, with Alistair standing there, laughing evilly before she was shot awake, into a sitting position.

Dean sat down on the edge of the seat. He put his arm around her shoulders to hold his daughter to him.

Sarah looked around at her surroundings. The Impala was pulled off to the side of the road, hidden in a campground somewhere in the middle of nowhere. She wasn't sure how long time had passed since Sarah had fallen asleep. Once she had her breath back, Sarah told her father she was going to use the restroom and brush her teeth.

Sarah walked from the Impala over to the girls' restroom, heading inside. Placing her hygiene bag on the counter between a couple sinks, she stopped in front of the left sink. She looked over at the mirror in front of her and stared at her reflection. Alistair was still clear in her mind.

Turning on the water, Sarah tossed some onto her face a couple times. She turned and took some paper towels from the dispenser beside her and used them to dry her face before wadding them into a ball and tossed it in the trash, heading into one of the stalls and locked the door behind her. If only her father would bring the guy up, Sarah could finally ask but he never did.

A few days later, the Winchesters pulled into town, catching a few Z's first before heading for the hospital Anna escaped from, talking with her doctor. The doctor explained, two months ago, Anna was calm, a journalism major, bright person with lots of friends. Then one day, schizophrenia kicked in. She caught their attention when the doctor mentioned Anna had delusions of demons and how Lucifer would rise up and end the world.

The next stop the Winchesters checked was Anna's parents' house, finding both of them dead on the living room floor, dry blood pooled around from their necks. Sam found sulfur at the scene, giving them a clue demons were behind it. Looking around the room, Sam also noticed a picture of Anna and her family in front of a church building. Dean pulled out her drawing and they realized Anna was drawing the window of her church. So they decided to make the church their third stop in hoping to find Anna there.

They went in, cautiously, in case demons were around, heading up a flight of stairs. Sarah was right between the brothers, holding her gun in both hands, keeping it low. Sam was ahead in front of Sarah while Dean stayed back a little ways. He caught sight of someone hiding, getting Dean and Sarah's attention. They walked further into the room, thinking that it was probably Anna, putting their guns away.

"Anna?" Sam called out. "We're not gonna hurt you. We're here to help. My name is Sam. This is my brother, Dean, and my niece, Sarah."

"Sam?" the person finally asked. "Not Sam Winchester?"

Sam exchanged looks with Dean and Sarah before looking back where the voice had come from. "Uh, yeah."

The person came out of hiding, revealing a young woman they figured was Anna Milton, standing out in the open, some ways away, in front of a large, blue and white window. She looked over at Dean. "And you're Dean."

Dean stared back at her.

"Thee Dean?"

He cocked his eyebrows up and shrugged, "Well, yeah, Thee Dean, I guess."

"It's really you," she said as if in shock.

"Yeah, and if you want an autograph you're gonna have to go through his body guard, me," Sarah nodded towards her.

"You're Sarah?"

Sarah nodded with a smile, "You bet."

"I thought you would be taller," Anna admitted, taking away Sarah's smile.

"Hey," she objected, offended.

Anna stepped forward, walking towards the family. "Sorry," she apologized to Sarah. "The angels talk about you." She looked over at Dean, "You were in hell, but Castiel pulled you out and some of them think you can save us. "And," Anna looked over at Sam, "some of them don't like you at all."

Sarah couldn't help snicker how Anna had made that sound.

Anna looked down at Sarah. "The angels talk about you, as well, conflicted on their feelings for you."

Sarah looked up at the young woman, confused, exchanging a quick look with her father. "Conflicted? Why would the angels be confused whether or not they like me?"

"I don't know that's just what I hear." Anna looked between the three of them. "They talk about you all the time, lately. I feel like I know you."

"So you talk to angels?" Dean asked.

"Oh, no, no. No way," she shook her head, this time, looking down at the floor. She looked up again, at Dean, "They probably don't even know I exist. I just, kind of…overhear them."

"You overhear them?" Sam questioned her.

"Yeah, they talk and sometimes I just…hear them in my head."

"Like," Dean glanced away for a second with just his eyes, "right now?"

Anna shook her head, "Not at this second. But a lot. And I can't shut them out. There are so many of them."

Sam nodded while Dean said, "So they lock you up with a case of the crazies when really you were just tuning in to angel radio?"

Anna stared back at Dean before finally she replied, "Yes. Thank you," in relief. Sarah couldn't help know that feeling.

"Anna, when did the voices start?" Sam asked. "Do you remember?"

"I can tell you exactly," she turned back to him. "September eighteenth."

All three Winchesters exchanged looks between them. "Day I got out of hell," Dean said to Sam and Sarah.

"First words I heard, clear as a bell: Dean Winchester is saved."

Dean turned back to Sam, "What do you think?"

Sam shrugged, "This is above my pay grade, man."

He turned back to Anna and smiled, "At least we know why the demons want you so bad. They get ahold of you they can hear everything the other side's cooking. You're one-nine hundred-angel." Dean chuckled, making Anna smile back at him, as well.

Sarah thought she might of felt something and reminded Anna about being her father's body guard before Anna quickly changed the subject.

"Do you know, are my parents okay? I didn't go home. I was afraid."

Suddenly, the door opened behind them and Ruby hurried inside.

"You got the girl? Good, let's go."

Anna backed away, afraid. "Her face," she said.

"It's okay," Sam assured her, "she's here to help."

"Yeah, and Hitler was a saint," Sarah replied, sarcastically.

"We have to hurry," Ruby told them.

Dean questioned, "Why?"

"Because a demon's coming. Big-timer. We can fight later, Dean."

"Well, that's pretty convenient, showing up right when we find the girl with some bigwig on your tail," he nodded.

"I didn't bring him here, you did."

"What?"

Ruby raised her voice, "He followed you from the girl's house. We gotta go now."

Sam looked behind him to see blood leaking from a porcelain white statue's eyes, like tears. "Dean," he pointed over at it.

Dean and Sarah looked at the statue and saw it, too.

"It's too late," Ruby said in realization, staring at it, getting their attention again. "He's here."

Sam hurried Anna along to get her to somewhere safe while they fend off the demon that was coming as Dean moved closer to the statue, staring at it as he pulled his gun back out. There was something that didn't seem right.

Sarah had taken her gun back out. "What's wrong, Dad?" she asked.

"Nothing. Get ready," he told her.

She nodded and got her game face on, to be prepared for whatever happened.

Sam returned, holding a flask in his hand.

"No, Sam," Ruby told him. "You gotta pull him right away."

"Whoa, hold on a sec," Dean objected.

"Now's not the time to bellyache about Sam going dark-side," she snapped at him. "He does his thing, he exorcises that demon, or we die."

"No," Sarah blurted out, getting the adults' attention and turned on Sam. "Uncle Sam, you promised. I let it slide last time but not this time. We can take him out _our_ way, the way the three of us know how to do."

Sam looked down at his niece. He closed his eyes for a couple seconds and gave his niece an apologetic look before turning back around to face the door.

Sarah looked at the back of her uncle's head, hurt but had to put it aside when she heard the door slam open. A middle-aged man walked in the room and up the steps, catching his hand along the banister before wiping off the dust. Sam tried to raise his hand towards the demon but his eyes flashed white, blocking his psychic powers.

The demon sneered, "That tickles." He walked closer, shaking a finger, "You don't have the juice to take me on, Sam." The demon raised his hand and sent Sam flying across the room and crashing into the banister, where he rolled down the stairs.

Dean pulled out the knife once he shook the surprise and aimed it towards the demon who caught his wrist, holding it back.

"Hello again, Dean," the demon said, surprising Dean that he knew him and shoved him into a post.

Sarah had gotten distracted when she saw Ruby hurry away towards where Sam had hid Anna and tried to go after her, tackling Ruby from the back. "No, you don't, bitch," Sarah exclaimed.

"I'm taking the girl where it's safe," Ruby tried to tell her.

Sarah glared into the demon's eyes. "I don't believe you for a second. You're cooking up something with all the other demons, I know it. You may have my uncle fooled but I know there's something and I won't let you anywhere near that girl." She struggled with Ruby until she broke free and knocked the little girl away before getting back to her feet and took off to grab Anna. Sarah tried going after her but Ruby was already gone, along with Anna, by the time she got there. She hurried back to the fight just in time to be snatched up and crashed through a window, falling to the ground below, her father breaking most of her fall.

Ignoring the looks from passersby, the Winchesters hurried over to the Impala and sped off, out of there. Sarah managed to make it out with a few cuts from the glass while Dean got his shoulder dislodged, trying to protect her from the fall. They nursed themselves in their motel room.

While Sam stitched himself up, Dean was looking over his daughter, making sure she was alright. A good-size piece of glass had scraped against the right side of Sarah's forehead. It wasn't as bad as the nasty one Sam was stitching up.

"That's gonna scar," Dean said as he examined it while Sarah folded some gauze. Sarah handed it to her father for him to hold onto the cut while she taped it on there. "Are you almost done, Sam?" he called over his shoulder.

Sam was sitting over on one of the beds, grunting in extreme pain as he stitched a needle along his own wound, "Going as fast as I can."

"Good, because you know I got a dislocated shoulder over here," he muttered.

"Yeah," he grunted some more. "I'll pop it back when I'm finished."

When Sarah finished taping the gauze down, Dean wandered over to grab a beer, chugging some down. Sam used some to pour over his wound when he finished, yelling out from the pain.

Dean flinched from watching his brother before he said, "So you lost the magic knife, huh?"

Sam glanced up at him out of the corner of his eye, "Yeah, saving your ass," he reminded Dean. "Who the hell was that demon?"

"No one good," Dean replied, shaking his head. He stared at Sam before looking away. "We gotta find Anna."

"Ruby's got her," Sam was still looking down at his wound. "I'm sure she's okay." He set the beer down, "All right." Sam stood up from the bed. "Come on." He moved around to stand behind his brother who leaned over on the bed to prepare himself for what was about to happen. "On three. One…." Suddenly, Sam popped Dean's shoulder back into place, making Dean grunt in extreme pain.

Sarah was running her hands under the bathroom faucet, cleaning the blood off. "What happened to two and three?" she asked in the mirror. The moment she heard the popping sound and her father's grunts, she flinched, closing her eyes. It made her appreciate being unconscious when the doctors did the same thing when they were in that car crash.

Dean wandered back over to the bathroom counter where Sarah handed him an ice pack. "You sure about Ruby?" he asked his brother in the mirror.

Sam was sitting on the bed again, holding a towel on his arm.

"I think it's just as likely she used us to find radio girl and then brought that demon in to kill us."

"No, she took Anna to keep her safe," Sam assured him.

Sarah scoffed, drying her hands on another towel, "Yeah right. I had a feeling about her for almost a year. She's after something, I know it."

Dean turned back to the mirror, holding the ice on there again, "Agreed. Why hasn't she called to tell us where she is?"

"Because that demon is probably watching us, right now," Sam shot back at his brother. "Waiting to follow us right back to Anna again. That's why he let us go."

Dean laughed down at the sink. "You call this, letting us go?"

"Yeah, I do," he nodded. "Look, killing us would have been no problem to that thing. That's why for now, we gotta lay low and wait for Ruby to contact us."

"How's she gonna do that?"

Sam just shrugged, not saying anything.

"Or she's doing God knows what to Anna," Sarah grumbled as she walked over to the other bed and slumped down on it, tossing herself back and looked up at the ceiling.

"Sarah, stop it, okay? Ruby's not like that," Sam tried to tell his niece.

Sarah scoffed as Dean turned around to face his brother. "Why do you trust her so much?" he asked of Sam.

Sam let out a breath of frustration. "I told you."

Dean set the ice pack down, walking closer to Sam, shaking his head, "You gotta do better than that. And I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I mean, I really want to understand. But I need to know more. I mean, both Sarah and I deserve to know more."

Sam hesitated, staring downward with just his eyes. "Because…" he finally said, "she saved my life."


	148. Chapter 148- I Know What you Did(P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 148

Six Months Earlier:

Sam wandered through the hallway of a motel, miserably and drunk. He had run out of ideas of how to bring his brother back for him and his niece, and was missing Dean so much. He opened the door to his room, stumbling inside before closing it behind him. Sam moved more into the room before he was ambushed by someone. They held him while a woman ran over and kicked the crap out of him before frisking for Ruby's knife.

"Thanks for keeping this warm for me, Sam," she told with a smirk.

"Ruby," Sam realized.

She stepped back, holding the knife in her hand towards him. "It's nice to be back. Where I was, even for hell, it was nasty. I guess I really pissed Lilith off. Imagine my relief when she gave me one last chance. A ticket topside. And all I had to do was find you and Sarah, and kill you."

"Fine. Go ahead and kill me. But you'll never find Sarah," he grunted and egged her on to kill him, "Do it."

Ruby stared at Sam with her knife still raised. Suddenly, she pulled it back but instead of stabbing him, Ruby shoved the knife into her partner, who died, instantly on the floor. "Grab your keys. We gotta go," she told Sam. "Now."

Sam inhaled, exhaled, fast, trying to figure out what just happened.

"I'm starving," Ruby was saying as Sam drove behind the wheel of the Impala, "I just escaped hell. I deserve a treat."

Sam wasn't saying anything as he focused on the road.

She turned forward, "You know, a thank-you would be nice."

"Who asked for your help?" Sam finally uttered, bitterly.

"You have no idea what I've been through. When Lilith gets pissed, she gets creative. You wanna hear about the corners of hell I've seen, Sam?"

Sam tilted his head, disgusted. "No, I don't."

"And the things I had to do to convince her I was sorry, that I could be trusted."

"Well, this will definitely get you a fat Christmas bonus," he told her, sarcastically.

Ruby turned back ahead, "Very funny." No one said anything for a few seconds before she continued. "I'm a fugitive for you, Sam. I took all this risk to get back to you. So, yeah, I deserve a damn thank-you."

"Who asked you to save me?" Sam asked, bitterly, still looking ahead, gripping the steering wheel in his hands, tightly.

"I'm just trying to help," she tried to assure him.

"Can you help me save Dean?"

Ruby hesitated, looking over at him again. "No. Nothing I know is powerful enough to do that."

Sam glanced between Ruby, from the corner of his eye, to the road, before pulling off to the side. "Then I have no use for you," he told her.

"What?" she asked of him.

"Get out."

"Sam," Ruby tried to protest.

"Whose body are you riding, Ruby?"

She stared at him in shock. "What do you care? You never asked me that before."

"I'm asking now," he said.

There was a moment of silence before Ruby answered, "Some secretary."

Sam barely nodded. "Let her go."

"Sam…"

"Or I send you right back to hell," he threatened.

So, Ruby left the secretary's body and Sam helped the poor girl home before camping out in some abandoned house. While he was tending to his gun, cleaning it, he glanced at his phone. After a moment, Sam reached over to pick it up and went into his contacts where he stopped at his niece's name. He had seen Sarah steal her father's phone when they buried him so he kept the number. Sam tried now and then to work up the strength to call Sarah, knowing she would be pissed at him for leaving her behind without an explanation. He missed her so much,though. He missed her smile, her laugh, even her smartass-ness and the times when Sarah would pick on him, knowing it was all out of love. He had spent three years trying to get Sarah to open up to him, to talk to him when something was bothering her and Sam goes and deserts her. Thinking about his little peanut brought a tear to his eye until there was a knock on the door, interrupting Sam from his thoughts. He picked up a shotgun he had on the table beside him, cocking it before standing up to go see whoever was at the door.

A young woman was standing there, holding up a death certificate. "Proof," she said.  
"This body is one hundred percent, socially conscious. I recycled." The woman, who was actually Ruby walked inside, "Al Gore would be proud."

Sam closed the door with the barrel of the shotgun, looking the form over. "You grabbed a coma patient?" he asked of her.

Ruby started walking down the hallway, looking around. "You didn't want me to take a body with someone in it. And I made sure the spirit was gone. The apartment was empty. You happy?"

Sam was following behind her. "Why are you here?"

"Look, I can't bring Dean back," she said, turning around to face him.

He shrugged at that.

Ruby moved closer to the table Sam had been sitting at, looking over her left shoulder. "But I can get you something else that you want."

Sam flicked his eyebrows before moving to the other side of the table as he scoffed. "And, uh…" he set the shotgun on the table, looking over at Ruby, 'What's that?"

"Lilith," she stared back at him.

Sam examined Ruby over, not saying a word. Finally, he said, "You want me to use my psychic whatever."

"Look, I know that it spooks you."

Sam interrupted the demon, serious, "Skip the speech. I'm ready."

Ruby stared at Sam in surprise.

"Let's go."

"Slow down there, cowboy," she said.

"Just tell me what I have to do," he told her.

Ruby looked away, noticing a half drank beer on the table. She sat down in a chair, picking it up. "Look, Lilith is one scary bitch. When I was in the pit, there was talk. She's cooking up something big, apocalyptic big."

"So let's kill her," Sam said.

"You wanna go in there and half-ass it like before?" she demanded of Sam. "We have the time to get it right. Let's get it right."

Sam shrugged, "Okay. What do you want from me?" He took a drink of his beer.

"A little patience," Ruby said. "And sobriety. Promise me that…and I will teach you everything I know."

Present Day:

"So?" Dean asked, sitting across from his brother as Sarah rolled her eyes from where she was lying on the bed, behind Sam. "What'd she teach you?"

Sam took a deep breath into his nose. "Well, first thing I learned…." He scoffed. "I'm a crappy student."

"Tell me about it," Sarah said, remembering when she used to try and teach him about Pokémon. Sam reached over and grabbed a pillow from his bed, tossing it over at her. "Hey!" she protested, pulling the pillow from her face.

Six Months Earlier:

Sam prepared himself before raising his arm towards a demon they had tied to a chair, inside a devil's trap. He tried all he could, putting all his might into it, but the demon fought harder and won, the black smoke returning to his meat suit. Sam tried once more to exorcise the demon, with Ruby moving around, holding her knife in hand. Blood started leaking from Sam's nose as he continued. It was no use, his head started hurting too much and Sam had to stop.

The demon laughed at Sam before Ruby stabbed him in the neck. Sam tried to catch his breath.

After disposing of the body, Sam returned back inside the house, taking a couple aspirin.

"Just give it time, Sam," Ruby assured him. "It'll get better."

Sam tossed the bottle away and turned around to face her, smiling. "What?" he laughed, "I need more practice?" He popped the pills inside his mouth and washed them down with the beer he was holding.

"I'm not talking about pulling demons," she said.

Sam sat down on the edge of the table.

"I know losing Dean is…"

Sam interrupted her, "Hey. I don't want to talk about it." He looked away for a moment before he asked her, "You know what? Where do you get off slapping me with that greeting card "time heals" crap? What the hell do you know?"

"I used to be human," Ruby said and took a step towards him from where she was leaning against a wooden post. "And I still remember what it feels like to lose someone. I'm sorry." She tried to reach out and touch him.

Sam knocked her hand away. "Uh-huh," he objected, shaking his head. "Don't. I can't."

"Sam, you're not alone." Ruby moved towards him and kissed Sam on the mouth.

Sam shoved her away and got up to walk to the other side of the room. "What are you doing?" he demanded of her.

"Sam, it's okay," she assured him.

"No, that is anything but okay," he snapped back, sitting over on the edge of the couch now.

"What's wrong?"

"What's wrong?" Sam glared over at the demon. "Where do I start?" He leaned his elbow on his right knee.

Ruby moved over to him again. "Is it because of the body?" She removed her jacket, dropping it behind her on the floor before dropping to her knees in front of Sam. "Because I told you, it's all me inside of here. There's no one else in here. And it's nice inside this body, Sam." Ruby started trying to seduce Sam, who was trying hard not to give in. "Soft and warm." She held his hand to her bare flesh.

Sam demanded of her, "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it because you're really scared to go there with a demon? Because it's wrong and it's bad and we shouldn't?"

Sam eventually gave in and started kissing her in return, ending up throwing their clothes off onto the floor.

Present:

Sarah interrupted her uncle, sitting straight up, "Dude! That is so gross, on so many levels!"

Sam twisted around to look back at his niece. "Sorry, Peanut. I got carried away with my story."

"I'm with Sarah," Dean agreed.

Sam turned back around to face his brother. "I told you I was coming clean."

"Yeah, but now I feel dirty," he said. "Okay, well, brain-stabbing imagery aside, so far all you've told us about, is a manipulative bitch who screwed you, played mind games with you, and did everything in the book to get you to go bad."

"Yeah, well there's more to the story," Sam told his brother.

"Just keep it PG, please," Sarah told her uncle. "So I'm not more scarred than what you made me, so far."

Sam nodded back over his shoulder and continued. "Pretty soon after…that, uh…I put together some signs. Omens."

"Saying what?" Dean asked, holding his drink up to his mouth.

"Lilith was in town."

Both Dean and Sarah stared over at Sam.

"And I wanted to strike her first."

Five Months Earlier:

Sam was preparing to go after Lilith. "You're not ready yet," Ruby was telling him.

"It's now or never," he shrugged at her, zipping up his jacket.

"No, we've gotta wait until you get it right," she argued. "You haven't been too successful."

Sam gave in, "All right." He reached down for Ruby's knife. "I'll use this."

Ruby grabbed his hand, "Stop."

Sam stared at the demon.

"You can't just fly in there, reckless, Sam. We need you to take the bitch out."

"Oh, I'll take her out, all right," he nodded at her.

"You get one shot," Ruby said and let go of his hand, standing up straight, "and you're it." Sam slowly pulled the knife out. "You're the only one who can do it, Sam. So if she kills you first…."

Sam looked away for a second then stared back at Ruby, shaking his head. "What?"

Ruby realized, "You don't want to survive this."

Sam smiled, looking away. "Come on."

"It's a Kamikaze attack. You want to die fighting Lilith."

"That's stupid." Sam turned and walked away.

Ruby hurried after him, following Sam down the hall. "It's the truth," she told him, "If you kill her and you survive this, then you have to go on without your brother." Ruby moved faster and blocked his path in front of the door. "This isn't what Dean would have wanted. This isn't what he died for."

Sam huffed, "Get out of my way."

"No, Sam," Ruby shook her head. "This is suicide. Think about your niece who's still out. She still needs you, Sam."

Sam grabbed her and pinned Ruby against the wall next to them, holding the knife to her throat as he stared at her. The blade was against her skin. Finally, Sam let go and left the house, closing the door behind him.

Hurrying to where Lilith was supposed to be hiding, he found her inside a house, sitting at a dining room table, using another little girl as a meat suit. He snuck inside, picking the lock and made his way to the dining room, the knife raised in his hand. Sam tried to sneak up behind her but the girl had turned around, crying.

"Please, I wanna go home." It was apparent Lilith wasn't possessing her anymore.

Sam was then ambushed by two demons who pinned him against the wall, forcing Sam to drop the knife.

"Lilith sends regrets," one of the demons told Sam. "She couldn't make it."

Sam struggled against the demons, trying to break free. At that moment, Ruby came to his rescue and sliced one of the demons across his throat, freeing Sam.

"Take the girl and run," she ordered Sam.

Sam glanced over at the girl and hurried over to lift her up into his arms while Ruby fought with the other demon. Unfortunately, the demon eventually had her pinned.

"Ruby," he sneered, "you're in so much trouble. When we get you down into the basement, the things we're gonna do to you." Suddenly, the demon started coughing. Sam was standing behind him with his arm raised, trying to use his psychic powers again. Black smoke started pouring out of the demon's mouth as Sam tried to hang in there, struggling. The demon leaned forward, gagging on the smoke as it poured to the ground, eventually letting Ruby go and fell onto the floor. The smoke burned on the ground, disappearing.

Ruby huffed, out of breath as did Sam. "Sam," she said, relieved.

Blood was leaking from his nose as he tried to catch his breath. "I'm okay," he breathed, heavily. "Thanks."

Present:

Sam was staring at the floor. "Ruby came back for me," he finished. "Whatever you have to say, she saved me. More than that, she got through to me." Sam shook his head, "What she said to me…it's what you would've said." He gave a small smile towards his brother. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be here."

No one said anything. The room was silence for a long time before there was a knock on the door.

"Housekeeping."

"Not now," Dean called through the door.

"Sir, I got clean towels."

Dean glanced over at Sam before standing up and headed over to open the door. "Couldn't you just leave them at the door?" he asked of the maid.

The maid shoved the stack of towels in Dean's arms before shoving pass him. She closed the curtains and turned to hand a piece of paper to Sam. "I'm at this address," she told him.

Sam looked up at the maid, confused. "I'm sorry, what?"

She pointed behind him, "Go now. Go through the bathroom window. Don't stop, don't take your car, don't pass Go. There are demons in the hallway and in the parking lot."

Sam suddenly realized, "Ruby?"

"Okay, yeah, so I'm possessing this maid for one hot minute," she shrugged, taking a step backwards. "Sue me."

"What about…."

"Coma girl?" she finished, pointing over her right shoulder, "Slowly rotting on the floor at the cabin with Anna. So I gotta hurry back." Ruby pointed at Sam, "See you when you get there. Go." With that, Ruby left the room, closing the door behind her.

The Winchesters exchanged looks between them, trying to figure out if that really just happened. They quickly headed for the bathroom. Sam went through the window first before Sarah went, lifting her down when she climbed out. Dean climbed out last. Being as cautious they could without alerting any demons, the Winchesters made their way across the parking lot and across town, eventually coming to the woods.

The whole time, Sarah was silent. Even after her uncle's confession, she still couldn't shake this feeling she had how they couldn't trust Ruby. Possibly it could have been the fact she basically lived with the yellow-eyed demon for three years or maybe it was her trust issues she had from growing up with the Holdens. Whatever it was, nothing about Ruby felt right to her.

Eventually, they came upon a cabin where Ruby let them in. "Glad you can make it."

"Yeah, thanks," Sam thanked the demon. He walked straight over to where Anna was sitting. "Anna, you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," Anna replied. "Ruby's not like other demons." She smiled over at Ruby who was shutting the door.

"I wouldn't be too sure." Sarah hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped out. Sam looked over at his niece. Even after his confession, she still didn't believe Ruby was on their side. If Dean had been in Sam's place, Sam thought Sarah would probably believe him in a heartbeat.

"She saved my life," Anna added, towards Sarah.

Dean smirked, "I hear she does that."

Sarah stared over at her father, amazed he believed it, too. What she heard next made Sarah roll her eyes ad sigh. Dean had looked over at Ruby, "I guess I…." he shrugged his arms up. "You know."

Ruby crossed her arms, staring back at him. "What?" she asked.

Dean let out a breath of air, searching the ground, "Guess I owe ya…for Sam. And I just wanna…." He cleared his throat. "You know?"

"Don't strain yourself," Ruby shook her head at him.

"Don't worry, I won't," Sarah told the demon, bitterly. She wasn't sure why she was doing it, but the harsh words just seem to pour out every chance she had.

"Okay, then," Dean nodded, clearing the air. "That moment is over. Which is good because that was awkward."

Sam snickered at his brother until Anna grabbed his attention. "Hey, Sam," she said. "You think it'd be safe to make a quick call? Just to tell my parents I'm okay? They must be completely freaked."

Sam stole a quick glance at his brother. "Um…"

She asked, "What?"

Sam took a deep breath in, searching the floor as he tried to think of how to tell Anna about her parents. It was Sarah who stepped forward and sat next to her on the couch Anna was sitting on.

"Anna, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but your parents…."

Anna stared at the little girl, "What about them?"

"They were killed," Sarah told her, as gentle as she could.

"No, they're not…." Anna looked like she was about to lose it. Sarah stood up to wrap her arms around her, starting to shed a tear for Anna.

"I'm so sorry, Anna."

At that, Anna pushed the little girl away and rocked herself as she lost it. Sarah watched the young woman, sadly and confused. She made to take a step forward but felt a couple hands on her shoulders. She looked up to see it was Sam.

"Why is this happening to me?" Anna cried, not helping Sarah's emotions any.

"I don't know," Sam admitted, watching her, as well.

Suddenly, Anna stopped crying, lifting her head up. "They're coming," she breathed.

The lights started flickering at that point as they all looked around.

"Back room," Dean told Sam as he hurried over to his duffel bag of weapons. Sarah hurried after him as Sam rushed Anna into another room. Dean passed her a shotgun which she cocked immediately and prepared for whoever it was that was coming. He also passed one to Sam when he returned who did the same. Ruby dashed over to the duffel bag, searching around for her knife.

"Where's the knife?" she asked when she didn't find it.

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other.

Dean stuttered, "Uh, about that…"

Ruby stood up, "You're kidding," she said, in disbelief.

"Hey, don't look at me."

Sam looked back at his brother. "Thanks a lot," he told him, sarcastically, which Dean just smiled at him before turning back around to look out the window on the door.

"Great. Just peachy," she told them, sarcastically, as well. "Impeccable timing, guys, really." A sound at the front door made Dean join the rest of them. The Winchesters raised their shotguns at the ready, waiting.

The door suddenly flew open, bringing in a gust of air, along with two angels, catching them all by surprise.

Sarah lifted her head. "Please tell me you're here to help," she heard her father ask the angels. "We've been having demon issues all day."

Uriel was staring over at Ruby who's eyes were all black. "I can see that," he said, matter-of-factly. "You want to explain why you have that stain in the room?"

"Honestly, I'm still questioning that, myself," Sarah answered.

Dean looked from Sarah, to Ruby, looking down at Sarah again, touching the top of her head to hush her.

Castiel got down to business. "We're here for Anna."

Dean stared up and over at the angel, strangely, "Here for her like, "here for her?'"

"Stop talking," Uriel ordered of him.

That didn't sit too well with Sarah. "I don't care if you're an angel or not, no one bosses my dad around, you dick," she glared over at the angel.

"Better watch who you're talking to," he warned her. "I can smite you with a snap of my fingers."

Dean gripped his daughter's shoulder, protectively. "Over my dead body," he said.

"Enough. Give her to us."

"Are you gonna help her?" Sam asked.

Castiel replied, "No. She has to die."

The Winchesters stared over at Castiel at that, in disbelief.


	149. Chapter 149- Heaven and Hell (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 149

"You want Anna?" Sam asked of the angel, surprised.

Castiel stared back at him, blankly.

"Why?"

Uriel took a step towards them. "Out of my way," he ordered, coldly.

Dean stepped in. "Whoa, okay, I know she's wiretapping your angel chats or whatever. But it's no reason to gank her," he shook his head.

"Don't worry," Uriel assured him, mockingly, "I'll kill her gentle."

"You're some heartless, sons of bitches, you know that?"

Castiel stared at the floor, "As a matter of fact, we are." He looked up. "And?"

"And, Anna's an innocent girl," Sam told the angels.

"She is far from innocent," Castiel replied, shaking his head.

Sam angrily, looked from Castiel to Uriel while Dean looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" he turned back to Castiel.

Uriel was the one who answered, "It means, she's worse than this abomination you've been screwing. Now, give us the girl."

Sarah stared from the angels, up to her father, confused why the angels wanted Anna, so much. What exactly was Anna, anyway?

Dean caught a look with his daughter before looking up at the angels. "Sorry," he told them, with a smirk. "Get yourself another one. Try JDate."

"Who's gonna stop us?" Uriel asked, mockingly. "You three?" He moved forward some more and grabbed onto Ruby, "or this demon whore?" and tossed her aside where she smashed into a window.

Sarah couldn't help feel not one bit remorse for the demon, not even with her big heart.

Uriel grabbed Ruby up, pinning the demon against the wall. He raised his free hand towards her. Dean tried coming to her rescue, swinging at the angel while Castiel started walking towards the back room where Anna was hiding.

Sarah hurried after Castiel, pleading with the angel. "Castiel, please. Have mercy on that girl," she grasped the angel's hand in hers to pull him back but Castiel just reached back and used his other hand to touch two fingers to her forehead. Sarah suddenly felt sleepy and fell, slowly onto the floor. She came to, much later and realized she was lying in her bed, at Bobby's place.

Sarah lifted her head from her pillow, followed by her upper body. She peered around the dimly lit room. The midmorning sun was peeking in through the curtains. Her first thought was that the last couple months had been nothing but a very, vivid dream. Sarah hadn't woken up in her room, alone since before her father came back.

Throwing back the comforter, Sarah got up from the bed and made her way downstairs. Everything was quiet as she made her way over to the stairs. It felt like those four months she spent there, just her and Bobby.

When she walked into the study, she saw Sam sitting on the couch, looking over a folder of paperwork he researched. Sarah took a chance and asked, "Where's Dad?"

Sam looked up at the little girl. "Hey, Peanut," he greeted her. "Your dad went to pick up Pamela. You remember her, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. The friend of Bobby's who's a psychic." Sarah looked around the room. "What about Anna? She okay?"

"Yeah, she's down in the panic room with Ruby."

Sarah heard herself scoff.

"Is there something we need to talk about, Peanut?" Sam asked of his niece.

Sarah quickly looked back at her uncle. "Oh, no," she assured him. "No, everything's A-Okay." With that, Sarah made her way over to the kitchen and opened one of the upper cabinets where her favorite cereal was and pulled the box down to set on the counter so she could grab a bowl next.

Sam gave a silent sigh towards the paper in his hand. He looked over at his niece and knew she was holding something back. Sarah hadn't said a word the night before after he finished his story and on the way to the cabin. He knew his niece to be stubborn but not this stubborn.

"So you still don't trust Ruby, Peanut?" he finally spoke again. "Even after I told you the truth? How she saved me?"

Sarah poured the Fruity Pebbles into a bowl and went over to the fridge to see if Bobby had any milk. She found some but when Sarah removed the lid, she got a whiff of it and had to throw what was now cottage cheese into the sink before throwing the jug in the trash. So instead, Sarah carried the dry cereal over to the couch where Sam was sitting and turned on the TV to watch morning cartoons, paying no attention to her uncle.

"Sarah, I asked you a question," he reminded her.

Sarah tried to pretend she hadn't heard him. "You did?" She turned back to the cartoon.

Sam reached over and grabbed the remote from where Sarah had set it on the couch beside her and flipped the TV off.

"I was watching that," she protested.

"Not until we talk about this," he told her, shaking his head. "Why can't you understand Ruby is actually on our side? If it weren't for her, I wouldn't be sitting here, right now with you."

Sarah stared at the Fruity Pebbles.

"I know you probably still feel like it's your fault about the Devil's Gate opening, but…."

"It's not about the Devil's Gate, Uncle Sam," she assured him.

"Then what is it?" he asked.

"It's just…." Sarah reached over and set the bowl on the coffee table and folded her arms between her stomach and upturned knees. "I've lived with the yellow-eyed demon for three years. Three years, Uncle Sam. I know how manipulative demons can be. It was a demon who brought my dad and me to finally meet, after all, and got me into hunting."

"But Ruby's not like that, Peanut," Sam told her.

"Really? Because it sounded like she really wanted you to use your powers and let's not forget that she came to me, first, Uncle Sam. She's cooking something up, I know it. I can't help feel this hunch inside me and my hunches are never wrong," she explained.

Sam pointed out, "What about your hunches you have, every year during the Super Bowl? You always believe one team will win and…."

Sarah raised a finger towards her uncle, "Those games had been rigged and you know it. There was no way those teams should have lost."

Sam couldn't help smile. "Sure, but you've had other hunches you've been wrong about."

"But there's also hunches I've been right about and I feel I'm right about Ruby. I don't know why, I just do," she shrugged.

"Ruby came back for me, though. She got through to me the way your dad would," Sam said, softly.

"Exactly, she knew just how to lure you in, Uncle Sam. The yellow-eyed demon knew how to lure me in, too and look where that got us."

He shook his head, "That won't happen, Peanut. I promise."

"Well, I hope you're right," she shrugged again. "You see what I don't. I see a manipulative, whore demon who I hope to God you used protection, at least."

Sam stared at his niece, at that. "How do you know about protection?"

"Uncle Bobby," she plainly said. "Dad kind of left out a few things when he gave me the talk and Uncle Bobby didn't want me growing up to be like Dad in that department."

"Well, I'm not gonna share my private experiences with my ten-year-old niece."

"You did, last night," Sarah pointed out, reminding him.

"That I didn't mean to. I got carried away in the moment and you had been so quiet, I forgot you were in earshot," Sam explained.

The front door opened. "We're here," Dean called out.

Sarah jumped from the couch and ran over to hug her father, knocking the wind out of him.

"Whoa," he said, caught off guard. "I see you're finally awake."

Sarah smiled up at him which Dean returned the smile. She stepped back to look over at Pamela. "Hey, Pamela, it's me, Sarah," she greeted and gave the woman a quick hug, as well.

"Hey, kiddo," she greeted in return.

Sam had followed behind his niece. "Pamela, hey," he also greeted the woman.

"Sam. Sam?"

"Yeah, it's me, Sam," Sam moved closer to her when Sarah moved out of the way.

"Sam, is that you?"

"I'm right here," he assured her as Pamela felt for him.

"Oh," she said, relieved. "Know how I can tell?" Pamela felt lower and slapped Sam on the rear, "That perky, little ass of yours."

Sam flinched, looking over at his brother.

"You could bounce a nickel off that thing." Pamela laughed, "Of course I know it's you, Grumpy. And how you've been eyeing my rack."

"Uncle Sam," Sarah scolded her uncle.

She laughed some more. "Don't sweat it, kiddo," Pamela assured Sam, "I still got more senses than most."

The brothers helped Pamela downstairs to the panic room while Sarah got the door for them. They made it down the stairs where Anna and Ruby was waiting for them.

Sarah hurried over to Anna. "Hey, how you holding up?" she asked her.

"Okay, I guess," Anna replied.

Pamela walked over to the girls. "Hey, Anna, I'm Pamela." She took a hold of Anna's hands.

"Hi," Anna smiled in return.

"Dean told me what's been going on," Pamela explained. "I'm excited to help."

"Oh, that's nice of you."

"Well, not really," she admitted. "Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it."

Anna asked, "Why?"

"They stole something from me." Pamela reached up to remove her dark sunglasses. Sarah looked up in surprise, as well as Anna. In place of her eyes there were clear, milky white orbs where her eyes used to be. "Demony, I know. But they're just plastic. Good for business. Makes me look extra-psychic, don't you think?"

"Yeah, you bet," Sarah agreed.

Pamela laughed. "Now," she said, getting down to business, replacing her sunglasses back on, "how about you tell me what your deal is. Hmm?" Pamela wrapped an arm around Anna and the women walked inside the panic room.

Everyone else followed, except for Ruby who wasn't able to walk in, as Pamela had Anna lie down on the cot. Dean went over to sit on the edge of the desk, propping his foot on the edge of a chair. Sarah sat on the same chair, on her right leg to lean against her father's.

Pamela began. "Nice and relaxed," she was telling Anna, sitting beside her. "Now I'm gonna count down from five to zero. When we're at zero, you'll be in a deep state of hypnosis. As I count down, just go deeper and deeper, okay? Five, four, three, two, one." Pamela reached over to brush over her face, "Deep sleep," she muttered, softly before sitting back down. "Every muscle, calm and relaxed."

Sarah couldn't help feeling a little sleepy again as she watched and listened. It wasn't helping that Dean was rubbing her upper back either. So she lifted her head and stood up onto her feet, hanging her arms over his raised knee as Pamela continued.

"Can you hear me?" she asked Anna.

Anna muttered, "I can hear you," in her sleep.

"Now, Anna, tell me…how can you hear the angels? How did you work that spell?"

"I don't know," she continued to mutter. "I just did."

It was silent for a moment before Pamela changed the subject. "Your father, what's his name?"

"Rich Milton."

"All right," she nodded. "But I want you to look further back when you were very young. Just a couple of years old."

Sarah scrunched her eyebrows at that, confused, especially when Anna said she didn't want to.

"It'll be okay, Anna," Pamela assured her, rubbing her arm that was hanging over the edge of the cot. "Just one look, that's all we need."

Anna shook her head to the other side, "No."

"What's your dad's name?" she continued to probe. "Your real dad."

Sarah looked up at her father who was looking over at Anna, waiting to see what would happen as she started shaking in her sleep.

"Why is he angry at you?"

"No. No," she yelled out, shaking her head from side to side. "No. No!" Anna raised her chest towards the ceiling.

Pamela remained calm. "Calm down," she tried to tell Anna.

"No, he's gonna kill me!"

"Anna, you're safe," Pamela assured her.

"No!" The lights exploded above them as Anna's cries got louder. Dean pulled Sarah in, closer to him to shield her as Anna continued to yell out.

"Calm down. It's all right, Anna."

When the lights stopped, Dean tried to interfere but was knocked backwards. Sarah hurried to his side as Pamela finally got Anna calm and awake again.

"You all right?"

Anna looked up at the woman and slowly sat up. She sighed. "Thank you, Pamela."

Pamela shook her head, not understanding what she was being thanked for.

"That helped a lot. I remember now."

Sarah asked, "What?"

She looked over where the Winchesters were standing. "Who I am."

"I'll bite," Dean shrugged, "Who are you?"

"I'm an angel," she replied.

The room went silent once again.

"Don't be afraid," Anna told them when they were upstairs in Bobby's study as she paced around the room. "I'm not like the others."

"I don't find that very reassuring," Ruby shook her head, a little skeptical.

Pamela agreed, "Neither do I."

"You do look a little like Roma Downey," Sarah pointed out. Everyone gave her a strange look. "What? My grandmother was a fan, all right?"

Anna changed the subject. "So, Castiel, Uriel, they're the ones that came for me?"

"You know them?" Sam asked.

Anna looked over at him, "We were kind of in the same foxhole."

"So, what were they, your bosses or something?" Dean asked.

She smiled at the floor, "Try the other way around."

Sarah stared at the girl, at that and tried to whistle like her father, still messing up with spit flying out. "Wow, big-time boss angel with an office instead of a cubicle. Nice," she grinned.

Anna shrugged.

"But now they wanna kill you?" Pamela asked, this time.

"Orders are orders," she shrugged, at the floor, pacing away from the group. Anna folded her arms, "I'm sure I have a death sentence on my head."

"Why?"

Anna turned back around to face them. "I disobeyed…which, for us, is the worst thing you can do. I fell."

Sarah stared at that, surprised. "You fell? Like the devil, fell?" she asked.

"Sort of. She fell to earth. Became human," Pamela explained to the little girl.

"Wait a minute," Sam stepped in. "I don't understand. Angels can just…." He shook his head, slowly, "become human?"

Anna forced a smile at the floor, pacing forward, her arms still crossed, "Kind of hurts. Try cutting your kidney out with a butter knife. That kind of hurt."

Sarah looked down at her side and sucked in her bottom lip. "Ouch, no thanks," she stated, holding her hand over where her kidney was.

"Yeah," Anna muttered. Raising her voice to a normal tone, she said, "I ripped out my grace."

Dean stared at the woman. "Come again?"

"My grace," Anna explained. "It's energy. Hacked it out and fell." She shrugged and started pacing the other way. "My mother, Amy couldn't get pregnant. Always called me her little miracle. She had no idea how right she was."

"So you just forgot you were God's little Power Ranger?"

She gave a small shrug, "The older I got, the longer I was human, yeah."

"I don't think you guys appreciate how screwed we are," Ruby pointed out, interrupting the conversation, her arms also folded.

"Ruby's right, heaven wants me dead," Anna said in agreement.

"And hell just wants her," Ruby shrugged. "A flesh and blood angel that you can question, torture, that bleeds." She looked over at Anna, "Sister, you're the Stanley Cup. And sooner or later, heaven or hell, they're gonna find ya."

"I know." Anna paced some more. "And that's why I'm gonna get it back."

Sam questioned, "What?"

She stopped and looked at him, "My grace."

"You can do that?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, of course," Sarah replied. "Anyone can find their way back."

"No, it's not like that," Anna explained to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"If I can find my grace I can be an angel again. It takes more than a simple prayer. It's more complicated than that."

Dean asked, "So what? You're just gonna take some divine bong hit and shazam, you really are Roma Downey?"

Anna glanced away for a second with just her eyes. "Something like that," she answered.

Sarah gave the same look he gave her at her father.

"All right," he agreed after wrapping his arm around his daughter and rubbing his fist, gently into the top of her head as she tried to push away, and just held onto it, "I like this plan. So where's this grace of yours?"

"Lost track," she admitted. "I was falling about ten thousand miles at the time."

"Wait, you mean, literally falling?" Sarah asked, surprised. "I thought falling was symbolic. Angels just suddenly wind up on earth."

"No, it's literal," Anna told her.

"Like a way a human eye can see?" Sam asked, this time. "Like a comet, maybe? Or a meteor?"

"Why do you ask?" she asked him.

Sam got to work on research while Dean took Pamela home. Sarah wanted to tag along until Sam reminded her that she had homework she had to get done. While Dean was gone and Sam was busy researching meteorite crash sites, Sarah worked on the last of her schoolwork until after Thanksgiving break. When she finished that evening, Sarah wandered outside to get some fresh air, catching her father had returned and talking to Anna, arguing about human characteristics and Anna winning when she mentioned sex and Dean thought that was the best response.

Sarah wandered over and leaned against her father. Dean ran his fingers through her hair, smiling down at her.

"I mean it," Anna continued, "Every emotion, Dean. Even the bad ones. It's why I fell. It's why… Why I'd give anything not to have to go back. Anything."

"But what about being able to livein the house of the Lord?" Sarah asked, joining the adults' conversation. "And being able to see His face, and worship Him all the day long? Isn't that worth it?"

"Sarah, do you know how many angels have actually seen God? Seen his face?" Anna asked of her.

Sarah shrugged, "I thought all of you have?"

Anna stared at Sarah. "Four angels. Four," she nodded. "And I am not one of them."

"That's it?" Dean questioned and exchanged a quick look with Sarah who shrugged. "Then how do you even know if there is a God?"

"We have to take it on faith, which we're killed if we don't have," she explained.

Sarah searched the ground, thinking on what she just learned. "I was always taught every angel has seen God. Guess you learn something new every day." She shrugged.

"I was stationed on earth two thousand years," Anna said, "just…watching. .Out on the for home. Waiting on orders from an unknowable father I can't begin to understand. So don't tell me that…"

Dean started chuckling to himself.

Anna stared at him. "What is so funny? What?" she asked of him.

He looked at the ground. "Nothing, sorry," he shrugged. "It's just…." Dean took a deep breath, smiling, raising his eyebrows. He looked back over at Anna, "I can relate," he told her. Dean and Anna shared a long look between each other which Sarah was looking back and forth at them. It was Sam who finally interrupted, coming outside to tell them he found something.


	150. Chapter 150- Heaven and Hell (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 150

Sam had found where a meteorite had crashed in Kentucky back in 1985 and shortly after, an oak tree grew into one that looked a century old. Thinking that could be where Anna's grace had crash landed, the five of them piled into the Impala and headed there. Sarah sat up front with her father and uncle while Anna and Ruby sat in the backseat.

When they got there it was the most beautiful sight they had ever seen. So beautiful, Sarah snagged a picture of it on her phone before Anna walked over to the tree. As she got close, Anna put her hand out to touch the base of the tree only to realize her grace was gone. Someone had taken it already.

"How is that even possible? Can a human do that?" Sarah asked.

"No, only an angel can snatch up something like this," she explained.

"So now what?"

They hid out somewhere secluded while they tried to think of what to do, eventually getting at each other's throats. Sam had to break it up like a mother hen breaking up her little chicks.

"Anna's grace is gone, you understand?" Ruby pointed out. "She can't angel up, she can't protect us. We can't fight heaven _and_ hell. One side, maybe, but not both. Not at once."

Anna interrupted them who had been still, listening. "Um, guys. The angels are talking again."

"What are they saying?" Sarah asked.

"It's weird," she said, staring off into space, "like a recording. A loop. It says, Dean Winchester gives us Anna by midnight, or…." She hesitated.

Dean asked, "Or what?"

Anna looked over at him. "Or we hurl him back to damnation."

Dean stared in horror, at that. Sarah was even more taken aback. The thought of losing her father once again, slowly came back and right before Thanksgiving, too? It couldn't happen. Sarah didn't even want to think about it. She looked up at her father which her uncle got her attention.

"Anna, do you know of any weapon that works on an angel?" he asked her.

Dean and Sarah stared at Sam as Anna asked, "To what? To kill them?"

Sam nodded.

"Nothing we could get to," she admitted, shaking her head. "Not right now."

"Okay, wait," Dean objected. "I'd say we call Bobby, we get him back from Hedonism…."

Sam turned around on his heel to face his brother, "Dean, what's he gonna tell us that we don't already know?"

"I don't know but we gotta think of something," he exclaimed, frustrated. Dean and Sam stared at each other for a long time before parting ways to start researching and figuring out a plan.

Sarah sat outside on the ground, leaning up against the wall. She had her bible laid open in her lap, with two of her books open on either side of her on the ground. Setting the flashlight down on top of the page she was reading, Sarah opened her phone and stared at the picture of her and her father and closed her eyes. Out of everyone there, besides Anna, Sarah knew the truth. She knew from what she was taught growing up that, even without the damnation threat, they had to turn Anna in. Anna did what an angel should never have done. What the devil had done. But Sarah couldn't help feel guilty about it.

Sarah looked up at the night sky. Closing the phone, she stood up, letting her bible slide off of her lap and onto the ground. She gave a long look at the old barn they were hiding out in before taking off by herself, going into the nearby woods where she took out the hex bag Ruby had given her from her jacket pocket and a lighter. Lighting it on fire, Sarah dropped the hex bag on the ground at her feet and looked around, hoping it would just be Castiel who showed up but expected both of them anyway. To her surprise, only Castiel appeared.

"Sarah."

Sarah jumped, looking behind her. "Cas," she breathed and looked around for the other angel. "Where's your partner?"

"He's somewhere else," the angel admitted, stiffly. Castiel stared at the little girl. "You're giving in, aren't you?"

She closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Look, I'm not proud of it but I know it's wrong what she did and she should be punished for it."

"Correct…." Castiel started to say but Sarah stopped him.

"Let me finish," she told him, firmly. "I also know that there is forgiveness. You really don't need to kill her unless Anna doesn't repent for what she did."

"That is not up for discussion," he said.

"Why? Because she didn't want to be an angel anymore? At least Anna didn't try to rule over God like the devil did. She fell here to earth and lived among us. She grew up in church, she chose to be the child of a deacon, what's wrong with that? It's not like she turned her back completely on God. She just wanted to think for herself for a change, like the rest of us. I'm sure God understands that and has already forgiven her for it."

"You can't possibly begin to understand humans and angels. We both have our laws we each were given to live by," Castiel said. "Yes, as humans you have that option of repenting but angels were created with one sole purpose, to serve God and nothing else. And if we don't, we are destroyed. That is the law of angels."

Sarah looked down at the ground between them.

"Now, give us the girl. Or your father will be returned to perdition."

She stared back at the angel, sadly, knowing he was right. At that point, Sarah wished she could have been confused on what to say but knew in her heart the right decision.

The next day, the Winchesters and Anna sat and waited for their plan to start. Sarah sat beside her father, leaning against him, thinking about the night before. She looked up at her father as Sam paced the ground. Dean was already hitting the bottle.

"I don't know, man," Sam breathed in, heavily. "Where's Ruby?"

"Hey, she's your hell buddy," Dean told him.

Anna walked over to where Dean and Sarah were sitting. "A little early for that, isn't it?" she asked of Dean.

He shrugged, "It's two A.M. somewhere."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course," he lied.

Sarah looked up and caught Dean and Anna sharing a look with each other and couldn't help feel something had happened between the two of them.

Suddenly, the front barn doors burst open from a gust of wind and in came Castiel and Uriel. Dean and Sarah shot to their feet and joined Sam, staring back at the angels. The doors closed behind them.

Castiel stared over at Anna. "Hello, Anna," he greeted her, emotionless. "It's good to see you."

Sam huffed, angrily, "How? How did you find us?"

Castiel looked over at Sarah, who looked away at the ground, ashamed. Dean looked between the angel and his daughter in surprise.

Sam looked down at his niece. "Peanut?"

"I…." Sarah started to apologize.

"No," Dean stepped in and looked over at Sam. "I don't know why they're looking at her but…" he looked at Anna and murmured, "I'm sorry."

"Why?" Sam demanded of his brother.

"No, wait. Dad, don't try and protect me, right now. I'm the one who told Cas where to find Anna. I'm the one who's sorry," Sarah tried to confess.

Anna slowly looked from Dean, over to Castiel, then over at Sarah. "You didn't have to confess, Sarah. They had already given your father a choice," she explained.

Sarah looked up at her father.

"They either kill me or they kill you. I know how their minds work."

Sarah looked back at Anna, at that before turning on Castiel who looked at Uriel from the corner of his eye, diverting them to the ground. So she didn't have to have done that, after all. It was all for nothing, and what's worse, they put a heavy decision on her father when they knew who he would pick. Sarah couldn't help hear the two of them kissing behind her.

"You did the best you could," Anna softly told Dean. "I forgive you." She stepped away from him and towards the angels. Anna stopped to place an assuring hand on Sarah's shoulder.

Anna looked at the angels. The Winchesters did the same. "Okay. No more tricks," she told them. "No more running. I'm ready."

"I'm sorry," Castiel said, squinting his eyes.

"No," she shook her head, "you're not. Not really. You don't know the feeling."

"Still, we have a history. It's just…."

"Orders are orders," she finished for him. "I know. Just make it quick."

Sarah stepped back towards her father just as a new voice was heard, making them turn their heads. "Don't you touch a hair on that poor girl's head." It was the demon from the church. Ruby was behind him, held by a couple more demons, bloodied up.

The Winchesters and Anna moved out of the way as Uriel started towards the demons. "How dare you come into this room, you pussing sore," he snarled at it, bitterly.

"Name-calling?" the demon nodded. "That hurt my feelings. You sanctimonious, fanatical prick. "

Castiel had not moved from his spot. "Turn around and walk away now," he ordered.

"Sure," the demon shrugged. "Just give us the girl. We'll make sure she gets punished good and proper."

Castiel continued to stare at the demon. "You know who we are and what we will do." He stepped closer, stopping next to Uriel. "I won't say it again. Leave now or we lay you to waste."

"Think I'll take my chances," the demon sneered.

Ruby had crawled away into some nearby hay so it was just the demon and his two henchmen, staring across from the angels who stared back, not one moving an inch. Soon, Uriel looked over at one of the henchman who charged at him. The angels fought with the demon henchmen. All the Winchesters and Anna could do was watch.

Sarah couldn't help pay more attention to Castiel who looked like he was losing to the head demon. When the angel was thrown onto his back and the demon hovered over him, speaking in Latin, Sarah suddenly charged in and tried to knock the demon off but was knocked backwards herself as he continued. It was Dean who broke it up with a crowbar in his hands.

"Dean, Dean, Dean," the demon said, standing up now. "I am so disappointed. You had such promise."

Sarah had been struggling to a sitting position when the demon's words fell on her ears and grabbed her attention, quickly stealing a look at her father. It all started making sense, why the ghost sickness only affected Dean, the words the demon uttered. Sarah could only guess that demon was the one and only Alistair.

Suddenly, she felt a pain inside of her along with her father and uncle when the demon raised his hands. Sarah clutched her chest in her hand, as she gritted her teeth, tears flooding her eyes.

Anna stole a chance while Uriel was busy taking care of one of the demons, to grab her grace from around the angel's neck and threw it on the ground. White smoke appeared and floated up into her mouth as she was gasping, fast. When the smoke was all inside her, Anna dropped on the ground, panting as light was emitting inside of her.

Quickly she warned, "Shut your eyes." She slowly stood on her feet again. "Shut your eyes."

Sarah had fallen backwards onto her back. She quickly rolled over and hid her face in her right arm, shutting her eyes, tight.

"Shut your eyes!" Anna screamed out loudly towards the ceiling. Light started to fill the entire place, sending Alastair away. When the light cleared, Anna was also gone.

Sam and Dean got to their feet. Dean went over to kneel beside his daughter, making sure she was all right before helping her to her feet. He then walked back over to where Sam was and picked up Ruby's knife, looking between the angels.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked of them. "Aren't you gonna go get Anna? Unless, of course, you're scared."

Uriel stepped towards Dean, angrily, "This isn't over," he said but Castiel held a hand out, stopping him.

Dean stared at the angel. "Oh, it looks over to me, junk-less."

Suddenly, the angels were gone.

Ruby slowly limped over to the Winchesters.

Sam asked, "You okay?"

"Not so much," she replied.

"What took you so long to get here?" Dean asked of the demon.

Ruby stared up at him. "Sorry I'm late with the demon delivery. I was only being tortured," she said, sarcastically.

Dean nodded in understanding. "Well, I have to hand it to you, Sammy. Bringing them all together, all at once…angels and demons?" Dean smirked. "It's a damn good plan."

Sam let out a sigh, stealing a quick look from Ruby. "Yeah, well, when you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass best to get out of their way and let them fight."

"Ah, now you're just bragging," Dean teased his brother.

"So, I guess she's some big-time angel now, huh?"

Dean just nodded at the ground, not saying anything.

"She must be happy wherever she is."

Sarah caught a look with her father before he looked over at Ruby.

"I doubt it," Dean finally stated.

The Winchesters hopped in the Impala and took off. When Sarah slid into the backseat, she couldn't help comment how it smelled like sweat and shame back there and was now a little uncomfortable to sit there. So, Sam offered to switch seats for a while. They pulled off to the side of the road to celebrate they made it out another job alive.

"I can't believe we made it out of there," said Dean.

Sam scoffed, "Again."

The three of them clinked their drinks together before taking a swig.

Dean stared at the ground, thinking. Finally, he said, "I know you both heard him."

Sam and Sarah both asked, "Who?" at the same time, exchanging looks between each other.

"Alastair, what he said."

Sarah perked up when it was confirmed who that demon was.

"About how I had promise," Dean finished.

Sam chewed on his lip. "I heard him."

"Me, too," Sarah added.

"You're not curious?" he asked.

"Dean, I'm damn curious," Sam told his brother. "But," he shook his head, "you're not talking to me about hell and I'm not pushing."

Dean shrugged at that and took a swig of his beer, not saying anything else. Sarah watched her father for a moment, contemplating whether she should ask or not. She really wanted to know if Alastair made her father the same offer as her grandfather. To her surprise, Dean finally continued after a moment.

"It wasn't four months, you know," he finally spoke again.

Sam and Sarah looked at him. "What?" Sam asked.

"It was four months up here, but down there…." Dean paused for a moment, taking in a breath of air. "I don't know, time's different."

Sam shifted where he was sitting on the hood of the Impala.

"It was more like forty years."

Even though she had already heard that part, Sarah still couldn't believe the time difference between up here and down there. Forty years in four months? It was hard to tell time difference when you weren't actually there and just seeing it in one's dreams. That meant John had to have been there for over a thousand years.

Sam broke his niece's thoughts, "My God."

Dean continued, "They, uh….They sliced…and carved….and tore at me in ways that you…." He shook his head, licking his lips and closed his eyes for a second, staring ahead. "Until there was nothing left." Dean diverted his eyes towards the ground again. "And then suddenly…I would be…"

"Whole, again," Sarah finished for her father. "Like magic."

Sam looked over at his niece, remembering her nightmares from a couple years ago.

"Just so they can start in all over," Dean added. "And Alistair, at the end of every day…every one…" He arched his shoulders, trying his best to keep it together and not break down. Sarah watched him, carefully. This was what she had been hoping for. Now her mind could stop wondering. "He would come over…and he would make me an offer."

Sam looked at his brother, as well.

"To take me off the rack if I put souls on. If I started the torture."

Sarah swallowed a lump that formed in her throat. "And you told him to stick it where the sun shined," she forced a smirk at her father.

Dean didn't look up at his daughter. He couldn't. "For thirty years, I told him," he said, his voice lowering into a whisper.

Sarah's smirk vanished.

"But then I couldn't do it, anymore." Dean's voice had broken. "I couldn't."

Sarah slowly slid down from the hood and backed away. "No, Dad, you…you didn't." She eyed her father who still couldn't look her in the eye.

Tears were starting to fill his eyes, making Sarah stop. "And I got off that rack." Dean was finding it hard to breathe right. "God help me, I got right off it and I started ripping them apart." For a short moment, he didn't say anything. "I lost count how many souls."

Sarah caught sight of a tear floating down the right side of his face as he sniffed in. Finally, she moved towards her father and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Dean wrapped his free hand around her head, hugging it to him. "The things I did to them," he continued, still staring forward.

Sam was finding it hard to process all of it. "Dean," he cleared his throat, trying hard not to cry himself. He wiped at the corners of his eyes with one hand, "you held on for thirty years. That's longer than anyone would have."

Sarah looked up at her uncle and gave him a sorrowful look. She remembered every day, Alastair giving John the same offer. Every day like he gave Dean. But John never gave in. Not once. John endured his torture until the day Sarah opened the devil's gate and released him from his torturous prison.

She tightened her embrace on her father, just thinking about it as did Dean.

More tears fell as Dean held his arm around his daughter's head, trying to take a deep breath, looking down at her. He used his other arm to wipe his face dry. "How I feel…." Dean barely glanced up at the cloudy sky. "This…. Inside me. I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing." Another tear floated, gently down his right cheek.

Sarah glanced up at her father then looked away again, holding her head against his stomach. She started to sing _Baby of Mine_ to help her father feel better.


	151. Chapter 151- Thanksgiving

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 151

"I don't understand why we still have to go to this thing when we should be hunting down a job." Dean pulled at the collar of his button-up shirt as the Winchesters made their way down the sidewalk and up to Sarah's grandparents' house. There were a lot of cars lined up on both sides of the street and the closest he could find to park was three houses down.

"I rather be staring a werewolf in the face than have to be here," Sarah agreed, though for different reasons than her father.

"Look, we said we'd go and that's what we're doing," Sam reminded them, once again.

"No, _you_ said we would go," she pointed out. "I said, no."

"It'll be good for you, Peanut. For all of us." Sam was carrying a flimsy bakery box with a cherry pie inside.

Dean looked inside it. "I see you conveniently remembered the pie, this time," he told his brother, sarcastically.

Sam rolled his eyes.

They made their way closer to the large house in which Dean was not too thrilled to see the lawn gnomes still scattered everywhere. Over in the driveway, Mark was talking with an older man who was bent over, under the hood of a green car from the eighties.

"Uncle Don!" Sarah called out to the older man.

The man looked up from the hood where the voice had come from and smiled when he saw the little girl. "Well, I'll be. If it ain't the little troublemaker," he teased with a grin.

Sarah ran over and gave the man a welcoming hug who bent over to wrap her in an embrace.

He stood up, afterwards. "Look how much you've grown," he praised.

"Yeah, I know, isn't it great?" she replied.

The man, Don placed his hands on his sides. "So what you've been up to these past three years? I heard you came to the bar-ba-que but I couldn't get off work in time and got there after you left."

Sarah shrugged, "I've just been on a road trip with my dad and uncle." She smiled back over her shoulder at Sam and Dean. "This is my great-uncle, Don, Mark's dad." Sarah turned back to Don, "Uncle Don, my dad, Dean, and my uncle, Sam."

Don shook hands with both brothers. "Pleased to meet you both," he greeted them. "Now I see where Sarah gets her looks from."

Dean smiled as he accepted the handshake, catching Mark glaring at him from the corner of his eye.

"Glad you folks could make it, this year. Things haven't been the same without Sarah here, causing mischief and mayhem." Don gave a hearty laugh.

"I'm not like that, anymore," Sarah told him. "I've grown out of that."

"Yeah, but you're still a smartass," Dean pointed out.

She gave him a glare.

Dean just smiled at her before turning back to Don. "Hey, uh, I couldn't help notice you having car problems. Need any help?" he offered.

"You know anything about cars?" Don asked him.

He shrugged, "I know a thing or two."

"My dad and I rebuilt our own car from a major wreck once," Sarah told her great-uncle, excitedly. "My dad's the best when it comes to cars." She smiled up at her father.

Dean returned it and wrapped an arm around her.

"Never recall seeing you this happy before, Sarah," Don commented. "Glad to see you've been doing well."

Mark finally spoke. "Dad, knock it off. We all know what's been going on with her," he said, bitterly.

Sarah gave her second cousin a hard glare.

"Mark Isaac, that's enough. Remember what we all talked about," Don scolded his grown son. "Yes, we know, but it's Thanksgiving and we are not going to bring anyone down when they've been through a lot already. Let's just have a nice day, got it?"

Mark looked off to the side, not saying anything.

"You have my permission to punch him again," Don joked with Sarah, smiling.

Sarah brightened up at that. "Really?" she turned on her second cousin until Dean stopped her, holding onto her wrist.

"I don't think so," he told her. "Remember what I told you about that, even when the dick deserves it."

She moaned. "Come on, Dad. Please?"

Don laughed. "I was teasing, Sarah. Your dad's right, hitting is never the answer."

"Sometimes you don't have a choice, but that's only if someone's killing you. Right, Dad?"

Dean nodded, "Right, Baby Girl."

Sam cleared his throat before he said, "So, where can I put this?" He was still holding the pie in his hands.

Don looked inside. "Pie, huh? Guess we're gonna have plenty for dessert, tonight." He looked down at Sarah, "Sarah, why don't you show your uncle inside to the kitchen and introduce him to the family while your dad and I finish up out here."

"Okay," she replied. "Come on, Uncle Sam." Sarah motioned towards the house and led Sam inside, opening the door for him and closing it behind.

Sam looked around the foyer, amazed. The house was still huge and looked the same when Dean had first been there. "What does your grandparents do again?" he asked his niece.

"Gram and Papa are retired, but now and then Gram does those Tupperware parties where she sells containers and cookware. She's really into it. Come on, the kitchen's this way." Sarah led Sam into the living room where a dozen or so people were sitting and standing everywhere, talking.

Sam couldn't believe how big Sarah's other side of the family was and couldn't help feel a little envious of his niece, having large holidays like this, with a lot of family around, and Sarah wanting nothing to do with them. Sarah had access to something Sam yearned for as a kid.

Going through the dining room where they passed a long table already set for the dinner feast, Sam and Sarah went inside the perfectly decorated kitchen. Beth was standing at the large, rectangular island, talking to a woman in her thirties while Greg was kneeled beside the open oven, basking two turkeys.

Sarah pointed Sam over to the breakfast table that was being used for the dessert table and walked over to Beth. "Gram," she tried to get her grandmother's attention.

Beth looked from where she was talking to the woman, over to her granddaughter. "Sarah Lynn, you made it," she smiled, warmly and reached over to hug her. Sarah hugged her in return. "I'm so glad you did." Beth kissed Sarah on the cheek. "Where's your father and uncle?"

"I'm right here," Sam stepped up on the other of the island. "My brother's outside helping fix a car. I brought the dessert." He pointed back over his shoulder with his thumb. "Hope a pie is okay."

"Oh, that is just fine," she smiled at him. Beth looked between Sam and Sarah. "You two want anything to drink? There's beer in the blue cooler and soda and juice pouches in the green one."

Sam thanked Beth and walked over to the blue one, kneeling down to open it. Sarah walked over to grab a juice pouch from the other cooler. "Your family drinks?" he asked, surprised, in a whisper so only Sarah heard.

"It's okay to have a drink now and then, but they look down on overdrinking where you get drunk," she explained, also in a whisper.

Sam nodded in understanding and opened the lid to pull out a beer.

Sarah grabbed hers, glancing over at her grandfather. "I'm sticking beside you until Dad gets in here," she whispered.

Sam pulled her in, wrapping an arm around her waist. "It'll be all right, Peanut. I promise," he assured her and gave her a kiss on the side of the head. Sam stood up and followed Sarah back to the island.

Suddenly, Sarah was sabotaged to the ground and had her arm pinned to her back. She knew exactly who it was. "All right, Jacob. You finally got me, I surrender," she lied to the boy who was sitting on top of her.

"Say it then," Jacob smirked.

"Jacob, get off now," Greg scolded. "What have I said about horse-playing in the house?"

"But…" he tried to protest.

Greg gave the boy a warning look. Jacob let go of Sarah's arm and got off her, helping Sarah to her feet.

"They were just having fun," Sam tried to speak up for the kids.

"Well then, they can take it outside in the backyard, both of them know better," Greg said.

"Don't worry about it, Uncle Sam," Sarah assured her uncle.

Sam glanced at the man as he rubbed Sarah's upper back.

Sarah turned back to her cousin and pulled out her Nintendo DS. "Look what I got for my birthday, last summer."

Jacob's eyes lit up. "Do you have any Pokémon games?" he asked, hopeful, pulling a red one out of his own pocket.

"Does a Magikarp eventually become a badass? Heck ya, I do." The kids then ran out of the kitchen.

Sam smiled after his niece. "I think I've been ditched." He turned back to see Greg staring at him as if waiting for something. "What?"

"So you just let her get away with cursing?" the man asked of Sam.

"It's just ass, which technically is another word for a donkey," he shrugged. "Besides, she knows what cuss words she can say and the ones she can't."

"She shouldn't be saying any of them," the woman, Beth was talking to before, said.

"It's fine, really. Not a big deal." Sam was starting to get a little uncomfortable and wished his brother was there, or at least had his niece there. He was glad when Beth changed the subject.

"Well, we're glad you're all here and that Sarah is safe and sound. She hasn't really called or returned my calls."

Sam shrugged, "We've been really busy over the past few months. A friendly phone call isn't really on a hunter's to-do list." Even though the Holdens knew what they did for a living, it still felt weird saying it out loud like that.

"Sarah still in school?" she asked.

"Yeah, all online," he explained. "I keep up on how she's doing and check her grades as much as I can. All As." Sam smiled, proudly.

"That's good," Beth smiled at Sam.

Meanwhile, Dean was checking under the hood for the problem Don was having. His button-up shirt was off and draped over the car where it wouldn't be in the way, just wearing a white undershirt. When he found the problem, he explained it to Don and fixed it for him.

"So, you've been taking care of Sarah, all this time?" Don asked, making small talk.

"Yup, but you don't have to worry about her. I take very good care of my daughter," he assured the man.

"You call getting in a car accident and breaking Sarah's arm, taking care of her?" Mark demanded of Dean.

Dean scowled over at the young man his age, sitting there until finally he returned to focusing on the car.

"Car accidents can happen to anyone, son," Don assured Dean. "My brother told me Sarah was found, lying over you and her arm pulled from her socket. I'm sure if you hadn't of grabbed her, she would have been throw from the car and have had more than just a broken arm."

He didn't say anything as Dean continued.

"Yeah? And what about all those scars?" Mark pointed out. "Every time I see her, it seems like I see new ones on her, like the fresh one on the side of her face. What monster did that?" He said monster in a mockingly sort of way.

Dean didn't answer.

"Huh? Was it Bigfoot or maybe Jason with his chainsaw?"

Dean finally snapped. "If you must know, that new one on her face is from jumping through a window of a church. All right?" he spat at the guy. "And you want to know something? I've been holding back for Sarah's sake but I'm finally saying it. Even though I let her hunt and put her near harm's way, it's way more than what any of you have ever done for her. I love my little girl for who she is. I have never shamed her for being different or forced her to be something she's not. My brother and I, we both watch out for Sarah and do things we think are best for her. It may not always be the right decision but we are not perfect and neither is she. So you want to get on my case for the things I'm doing, maybe you should reevaluate yourselves." With that said, Dean returned to the car.

Mark didn't say anything. Not at first. Finally, he said, "I told you, we never took our anger for you out on her. We do love Sarah. You don't know how hard it was, seeing how much faith that girl had for you, growing up. We tried to tell her. We never expected you would ever return, or even bother showing your face after what you did to Emily. She tried to call you…"

"I never got a fucking phone call!" Dean had suddenly just blurted that out. Though he wasn't sure why but it seemed like the memories returned of what happened the year Sarah was conceived. Dean suddenly remembered. All this time he wanted to believe Emily had tried to call but if she had, he would have, at least, called her back if he missed it.

Mark and his father sat there, frozen as they stared at Dean, surprised. When Mark was able to find his voice again, he asked, "What do you mean, you never got a phone call? Emily said she called you and you never called her back."

Dean lowered his voice again, trying to remain calm. "I mean it. Emily never called me. I'm not sure if I hurt her that much or if she even still had my number. I just know that I never received any kind of word of Sarah until she was seven years old and it was from my own father."

Mark exchanged looks with his father. Don could see the look in Dean's eyes that he was telling the truth. He really didn't receive anything from Emily. "Why didn't you say anything before?" he asked of Dean.

"Because he's lying, that's why," Mark cut Dean off before he could answer.

"Mark Isaac, I told you that was enough." Don turned back to Dean. "Are you sure, son?"

Dean glanced from Mark to Don. "Yeah, I'm sure. I didn't remember before but seeing Emily's face a couple months ago, even if it was for a brief moment, made me realize just who Emily was and what happened," he explained. "I met Emily in a small town bar when my brother, father, and I were hunting a werewolf. I was eighteen, she was twenty-three. I saw Emily was a little down so I'd thought I would cheer her up by buying her a drink. All I thought we would do was talk for an hour but I noticed she kept watching me. She told me how she moved away from here to get away from her family smothering and telling her what to do, all the time. Next thing I knew, we were at her apartment and conceiving Sarah. I told her that first time we talked that I never stayed in one place for long but I guess she didn't get the message or thought I would stay for her, either way I'm sorry for what I did and if she was hurt, I'm sorry for that, too. Really, I am." Dean raised his eyebrows over at Mark, "I am, Mark. I'm sorry for what I did as a kid, and if I could, I would take it all back and maybe Emily and even her sister would still be alive, but I can't. The least I can do is take care of and love our little girl we had. 'Cause like it or not, she's here and there's nothing I can fix. So you want to hate on me and say all this stuff, be my guest. I don't give a rat's ass. I have my own full plate to deal with. I don't need to worry about what you think." He turned back and finished what he was working on before grabbing his shirt where he left it and headed inside, throwing it back on.

When he walked in the front door, Sarah was sitting at the bottom of the stairs, facing her cousin, Jacob. Both kids had their Nintendo DS on, battling each other. Dean closed the door and wandered over to the kids, curious as he buttoned up his shirt and tucked it in. "Hey, Baby Girl, who's your friend?"

Sarah barely glanced up at her father who walked over to lean on the other side of the banister, crossing his arms over it. "This is my cousin, Jacob." She turned back to the boy, "Jacob, this is my dad, Dean."

"Hello, sir," Jacob greeted, politely. "I'm sorry but I'm kicking your daughter's butt. Or yours, I'm not sure. It's you, but I'm battling her. It's all confusing."

Sarah laughed. "I'll come back, don't worry," she assured her cousin.

"Yeah, right," he teased her.

At that moment, a little girl around seven wandered to the top of the stairs and made her way down.

"Jacob, will you play with me?" the little girl asked. "The other kids won't play with me."

"Not right now, Kelly, I'm playing with Sarah, right now," Jacob told her without lifting his eyes from the game.

"Sarah?" the little girl Jacob called, Kelly asked as if it was familiar to her.

Sarah looked up from her game when she heard Jacob call her, Kelly. "Hey, Kelly," she greeted, politely but hoped Kelly wouldn't remember. Unfortunately, she did.

"Sarah!" the little girl hurried down the stairs and hugged Sarah's neck. "I missed you, Sarah."

Sarah moaned as she was bombarded by a seven-year-old.

"Be nice, Baby Girl," Dean reminded his daughter with a grin, figuring this must have been the famous little girl Sarah had talked about so much over the last three years.

She did give in and hugged the girl in return. "I guess I missed you, too, Kelly. But I have to finish this battle with Jacob."

Kelly let go and sat down on the step, a couple higher from the older kids. "Can I play?" she asked.

"No," both kids responded.

The little girl immediately started crying.

"Sarah Lynn, didn't I just say to be nice?" Dean scolded of his daughter.

"She's not even crying for real, Dad. Kelly just does that to get her way because she knows she can, that way. I told you, her parents treat her like a little princess," Sarah explained.

Jacob looked up at Dean and shook his head. "Sarah's right. Those are fake tears. You would know when she's really crying."

"You guys are mean," Kelly told the older kids, suddenly not crying anymore. She stood up at once. "I'm telling on you." Kelly stormed around them and into the living room, yelling for Jacob's parents.

"See what I mean?" Sarah asked her father.

"I see your point," he replied. "But next time, say it a little nicer than just a blunt no response."

She let out a small sigh. "Yeah, okay, Dad," Sarah assured him.

"Where's Sam?"

Sarah looked in the direction of the living room then looked back at her father. "Last I seen him, he was in the kitchen. I don't know if he's still in there or not. I ran into Jacob here, and forgot all about him. Are you going to join us for the after-dinner football game?"

"No, we're leaving now," Dean replied.

Sarah was surprised to hear they were leaving. "Why? What happened?" She remembered Mark was still outside. "Did Mark say anything to you?"

"No," he shook his head. "I just don't feel comfortable here. I'm gonna go find Sam so we can leave. Hurry up and finish your game." Dean headed into the living room, looking around at everyone, bumping into someone who had some serious body odor issues.

"Hi, you must be…Sam?" he asked Dean. "Or Dean?"

"Dean. Excuse me." Dean walked around and headed through the dining room and into the kitchen where Sam was sitting on a stool, talking with everyone in there. Dean walked over to his brother. "Come on, we're leaving," he whispered.

"But, Dean, we just got here and dinner isn't even ready yet," Sam told him. "Pull up a stool, grab a beer from over there." He pointed over his left shoulder, over at the ice chest.

"I told you we should be out looking for another job, Sam. We don't belong here and we never will, now come on, let's go," Dean ordered.

"Is there a problem?" Greg asked.

Dean turned his head over to the older man and shook it, forcing a smile. "No, nothing's wrong. I just got a phone call from a friend. Something came up and we have to leave, that's all," he lied.

"Dean, I wish you would stay," Beth spoke up. "There's something I want to show you after dinner when everyone leaves."

"I'll have to take a rain check, I'm sorry," he told her, sincerely as possible.

"I really think you'll want to see this. It's about Sarah and I know how much you enjoyed the DVDs we sent you, last spring."

What Beth said sparked Dean's interest and curiosity, especially when he heard it was about his daughter. "What is it?" he asked.

"You'll see if you stay," she shrugged, giving the man a warm smile. Beth gave him a wink, "I think you will really like this. But if you need to leave, we understand."

Dean looked from Beth to the floor. He had so much on his mind at the moment that all he wanted to do was hunt and kill monsters. Hell was still the main part but not even Dean could ignore anything when it had to do with his little girl.

Sarah wandered in, with Jacob following behind. "Are we still leaving, Dad?" she asked. "Jacob beat me. I kind of want a rematch."

Dean looked over at Sarah for a moment before looking back over at Beth. Finally, he answered, "Okay, we'll stay," quietly. He really did not want to be there and hoped whatever it was Beth wanted to show him was worth the whole thing.

Everyone sat down to eat around four-thirty. Sarah sat between her father and Jacob. Until dinner, she hung out with her cousin, catching up each other on everything, except Sarah left out the hunting part. She didn't want to ruin it for Jacob. Back when they were younger, Sarah wasn't really close with Jacob except for the occasional sprawling match they would have together, but now that they were older, things felt different, though it was Jacob who originally introduced Sarah to Pokémon in the first place, and other anime shows while Mark introduced her to video games.

When everyone was seated, Greg was about to start praying until he looked over at his granddaughter. "Sar Bear, why don't you say the prayer," he suggested.

Sarah looked from her grandfather, around the long table. "Sure, I guess." She folded her hands on the table, above her empty plate and closed her eyes. Everyone followed suit. Sam had to nudge Dean in the arm to do the same just to be polite. "Dear God, thank you for this food you have provided for us, and for bringing all of us together to celebrate Thanksgiving, a day to remember to be thankful for the things you have. I thank you for providing us with family who care and thank you for sending Castiel to rescue Dad from perdition as he calls it and I'm thankful Anna got her grace back but know I am kicking her butt for….Ow!" Sarah reached under the table to rub her leg where her father meant to only nudge her before alerting everyone he was "touched" by an angel. "We are also thankful for what you have done for us on the cross, and we pray these things in your name, amen."

"Amen," everyone else repeated while Dean barely muttered it and the plates started to be passed around the table as Greg served the turkey.

"What's perdition?" Jacob whispered to Sarah.

Sarah leaned over to whisper in return, "it's hell. Dad died and an angel rescued him from hell."

"Really," he asked, "how? In church, they say once you're in darkness, you can't get out."

Sarah was about to answer when Dean scolded, "Sarah." She looked over at her father who shook his head. "Don't say anything else. It's bad enough they know as much as they do. They don't need the whole story."

Sarah wanted to say something but decided not to. She just replied with, "Yes, sir."

"Tell me later," Jacob tried to whisper but somehow Dean still caught it.

"She does and the two of us will be having a chat later," he warned, looking at his daughter. "Want mashed potatoes?"

"Yes, please," she replied. "I can do….it."

Dean scooped some onto her plate before scooping some on his and passed it down to his brother. He then reached over Sarah who tried to take the stuffing from Jacob once he had some.

"Dad, can I get my own food, please? I'm not a little kid, anymore. I can serve myself."

Dean scooped the stuffing onto both of their plates and passed it on. "Everyone's waiting on the food, Baby Girl," he plainly told his daughter.

"So? It would take the same amount of time for me to serve myself as it would for you to do it." Sarah took the cranberry sauce from her cousin and took a slice, placing it on her plate before passing it to her father. "Here, Dad," she told him, politely.

Dean took it. "I said I would do it," he told her.

"And I said I am capable of doing it, myself," Sarah was trying not to argue with her father but ever since the dinner they had with the Campbells, and even before that, Dean had been acting that way towards his daughter since he returned from hell.

Greg interrupted the disagreement once he passed Jacob back his plate. "Sarah, can you pass me your plate?"

Sarah passed her cousin her plate before it was passed down to Greg.

Sam watched his brother for a moment before he asked, "What's gotten into you, Dean?"

"Nothing," he told him. Dean watched Sarah reach over to the center of the table and grab a roll while she waited for her plate to be returned. "I can butter that for you, Baby Girl."

"No, thank you. I like eating it without butter," Sarah replied which wasn't a lie. She really did prefer bread or rolls plain without butter. "I really don't," she added when her father stared at her. "Ask Papa or Gram."

Greg had passed Sarah's plate back down and backed Sarah up on the statement.

Dean then tried cutting up the turkey slice Sarah was just given but Sarah pulled her plate away from him.

"Dad, I agree with Uncle Sam, what has gotten into you? This isn't like you at all," she shook her head.

Dean tried to look his daughter in the eye to answer but couldn't and stared at the table where his plate used to be.

"Dad, what is it? Is it about what you told us, the other day?"

He still did not answer.

"I think I understand," the woman from the kitchen answered for Dean, sitting across from Sarah.

Sarah turned her head towards her. "You do, Aunt Catherine?"

She nodded. "Every parent goes through it at some point. You're realizing your child's growing up and you don't want them to, am I right, Dean?"

Dean's plate was passed back down which Sarah sat in front of her father. He didn't look up but muttered a thank-you to his daughter.

Sarah reached up and wrapped an arm around his. "I'm always gonna need you in some way, shape, or form, Dad. But you have to let me do the things I can do, on my own. I'm a woman now, remember?"

He finally looked at his daughter and forced a smile for her. "I know," Dean muttered. "It's just isn't easy to do." He wrapped his arm around Sarah and kissed the top of her head.

After dinner, the men went outside for their yearly, traditional after-dinner football match. With some persuasion, Sam and Dean joined in, too, along with Sarah. Both brothers were surprised how much Sarah could hold her own against several men, maneuvering out of the way before getting smashed or seriously injured. Unfortunately, the game got called off when it started pouring rain. Sarah tried to object that football never got called off in the NFL but this wasn't the NFL, this was HFL, Holden Football League, and in that league, it did.

Everyone piled into the living room while the dessert was being served. When the Winchesters each had their own dessert, they chose a seat on the small couch, making sure to stick together. Sarah sat in between her father and uncle, excited for the next Thanksgiving tradition the Holdens had, hoping they still did it. Sure enough, Greg got out the karaoke music and hooked it to the TV.

"No one here seems drunk," Dean whispered to his brother and daughter. "Why are they busting out the karaoke?"

"You don't have to be drunk to sing karaoke, Dad," Sarah told her father.

"Then what's the fun in that if you're not drunk?" he shrugged.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

Everyone took a turn, including the kids, trying to get Sam and Dean to join in the fun. Neither brother seemed like they were giving in until Sarah managed to persuade her father to take a turn with her puppy-dog look.

Dean stood up from the couch and took the microphone from the last person who took their turn and Greg pressed the random button like he did for everyone else. If fate would have it, Dean got a song he wasn't expecting to sing. It was bad enough it was country but the words started melting his heart as he sang the words on the screen. The song was a karaoke version of Tim McGraw's _My Little Girl_.

At first, Dean barely muttered the words, letting out a groan when he realized it was a country song but once he understood who the song was centered towards he raised his voice just a little and really started to mean the words, thinking only about his daughter for three and a half minutes. Even though it wasn't Dean who didn't bust down crying, Sam couldn't help shed a tear and wrapped an arm around his niece.

"You okay, Uncle Sam?" Sarah asked her uncle where only he could hear.

Sam smiled for his niece. "Yeah, Peanut, I'm fine. I just can't believe how much you have grown since we first met."

"But I will always be your little peanut." Sarah smiled back at that.

"Yes, you will be, Peanut." Sam kissed the side of his niece's forehead. "And I will always love you, too."

After Dean finished his turn, he told Sam he had to do it, too and to get his ass up there. Sam stood up and grabbed the microphone from his brother. His song wasn't as meaningful as Dean's, in fact, poor Sam ended up with a Hannah Montana song which he let Sarah's little cousin, Kelly sing with him when she heard who it was. It helped a little and wasn't as humiliating for him.

The festivities eventually died down and everyone was scattered once again, talking amongst themselves. Sarah was with Jacob again, playing one of his own games on her DS. Dean sat on the end of the couch with his head tilted back, rubbing his eyes.

"It feels like we just finished a hunt or something," he groaned from exhaustion.

Sam was sitting on the other side, holding a beer in his hand. "Yeah, that usually how it is after a gathering like this," he chuckled at his older brother.

"Shut up, dude," Dean told him, not looking over at Sam.

Kelly wandered over and climbed into Sam's lap without warning. Sam was taken by surprise, unsure what he should do.

"Uh, Kelly, is it?"

"Yeah?" she replied, looking up at him with light brown eyes.

"Shouldn't you go find your mom and dad instead? You don't really know me." Sam tried to sound as nice as possible without hurting her feelings.

"Mommy and Daddy isn't here, and I want to sit with you," she said and rested her head against Sam's chest.

At that point, Greg came in to Sam's rescue. "Kelly, get off, you know better to climb on someone without their permission," he scolded the little girl.

"But…" she tried to make a puppy-dog look towards the man.

"That look never worked for Sarah and it won't work for you, Kelly Sue. You need to start listening."

Kelly climbed off of Sam, looking like she wanted to cry until Greg offered his own lap. Afterwards, she forgot all about Sam and cuddled in his arms.

"Sorry about that, Kelly, here, lost her father, last year and it's really taken its toll on her," Greg explained to the brothers.

"We're sorry to hear that," Sam told him, sincerely, looking between Dean and Greg.

"They were close, Kelly and her parents, used to spoil Kelly rotten, and even called her a princess. Now, she expects everyone to treat her that way."

"What about her mother?" Dean asked.

Greg looked down at the little girl in his lap who was starting to doze off as he rubbed her back. "Psych ward." He let out a deep breath. "I don't know what's going on with our family. Or this town, to be honest."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other. "Why, what happened?"

"People in this town, people I've known my whole life." He looked at the brothers, sadness now in his eyes. "They just…just went crazy, killing their loved ones. Then telling the police they had nothing to do with it, that they don't even remember doing it."

Now they were on the edge of their seats. "When did all of this start?" Sam asked.

"About a year ago," Greg replied. "Kelly's mother was the first. Why? You don't think this could be something you guys handle for a living, do you?"

Sam looked over at Dean. "Shapeshifter, maybe?" he shrugged.

"Maybe," Dean replied and looked back over at Greg. "Can you tell us where Kelly's mother is staying?"

"I don't remember which one but Jacob's parents might. Kelly's been staying with them since it happened."

"Which ones are they?" Sam asked.

Greg pointed them out and Sam jumped to his feet to hurry over, introducing himself first.

Dean followed his eyes after his brother, watching before turning his head back to Greg. "We'll get to the bottom of this, I promise." He was surprised when Greg actually thanked him.

Once everyone except Mark and his father had gone home, Beth came into the living room where the Winchesters and the rest of the Holdens were waiting. She was carrying a DVD disc in her hands. Walking over to the TV, Beth opened the player and placed the disc inside, playing it.

"When I sent you those DVDs I forgot to have Mark burn the rest onto a blank disc that we wanted to keep so I had him make a collaboration of the major milestones of Sarah's childhood," she explained to Dean, walking over to sit in one of the arm chairs while Mark pressed play.

Dean looked from Beth to the TV screen where a title slide read, _June 2_ _nd_ _, 1998_. Sarah was behind him on the couch, leaning against his back. She looked up from her DS when she heard screaming coming from the TV and saw Emily lying in a hospital bed, yelling for someone to get the camera out.

"Oh, God!" The Winchesters jumped back in surprised, not expecting the video to start out that way. The brothers settled down once they saw Sarah was born and saw her tiny form in the doctor's hands, crying.

Dean couldn't believe the most amazing sight he had ever seen in his life. He moved to the very edge of his seat and watched as the doctors cleaned the baby off and did the whole routine before wrapping up her up in a pink blanket and passed her to her mother.

Emily was smiling until she held her daughter in her arms and got a good look at her and asked her mother if she wanted to hold her. Beth took the baby in her arms and cradled the baby, rocking her, gently.

"What's her name, Em?" Dean heard Beth ask.

"Sarah Lynn Winchester," Emily replied.

"Winchester?"

"She looks more like her father," she just shrugged.

Beth looked from her granddaughter to her daughter. "Sarah's a beautiful name for a beautiful girl. Why did you choose Sarah?" she asked, curious.

"I always liked that name. It means, princess, and I was hoping she would be my little princess but…" Emily smiled when she said that until the clip cut off.

"Sorry, the battery died at that point," Greg explained. "That was when Emily confessed what a friend of yours later told us a couple years ago, and what Sarah cleared up to me that night when we learned what you do for a living."

"We thought Emily was always talking nonsense," Beth shrugged.

"Or seen way too many horror movies," Mark added.

"Sar Bear, we're sorry about the therapy and making you take meds when we thought there was something wrong with you," Greg apologized. "We should have just listened to you and your mother."

Sarah was taken aback by the apology. She stared back at her other half of a family she wanted nothing to do with. Finally, she replied, "Thanks. That means a lot to hear. I forgave you a long time ago, including Mom."

The room was silent until Mark decided to press play again and the screen read _, Sarah's First Steps_ and it switched to a one-year-old Sarah walking while Beth held her hands, helping her. Beth let go and let her walk by herself. Emily sat on the couch, cheering for Sarah to walk towards her. Sarah started to then divert over to where a younger Mark was sitting on the floor, cross-legged, and walked all the way over to the young man who caught the little girl in his hands before she fell. Mark lifted Sarah up into the air, cheering happily as everyone but Emily clapped.

Dean couldn't help smile and felt a tear roll down his cheek which he quickly wiped away. Sarah's first birthday popped up, showing a happy baby girl with her cake lit and later with her presents before the next transition said, _Dedication_ and switched to Emily holding a one-year-old Sarah on her hip while a pastor spoke to the congregation of their family's church, with a couple other parents and their little ones.

"What is this?" Dean asked, confused.

"Our church does child dedications for the parents to announce to the church that they promise to raise the child in a godly home and the way God wants the child to be," Beth explained.

"Well, seems to me that promise was broken," Dean said, thinking about the other home movies he seen with Emily in them.

"It was Greg and my idea, and Emily had some rocky bumps along the way."

"Well, it did pay off, sort of," Sam pointed out with a shrug. "I've seen her, faithfully praying to God, every night and sometimes with her nose in a bible if the motel we're staying in has one."

"I am so glad to hear that," Beth said, relieved and smiled over at her granddaughter.

There was more of Sarah's first solid food, Christmas, and park visit. Sarah ran around the park as a three-year-old as Mark filmed every moment per orders. Sarah mostly played in the grass, rolling around and laughing. Sarah somersaulted, landing on her back before sitting up to find a butterfly sitting on a flower.

"Mark, look," she pointed out at the butterfly.

Mark moved closer so he could get a better shot of the little critter. "Wow, what is that, Sar Bear?" he asked of the little girl.

"A butterfly," she replied and tried to reach out for it. She carefully held her hand next to the flower and waited to see if it would move to it. To their surprise, it did. "Do you think Daddy would like this if he was here?"

"Maybe," Mark said.

Off in the background, they heard another little girl call out, daddy as she ran to him. Sarah watched, sadly before looking back at the butterfly.

"Sar Bear, what's wrong?"

But even at that age, Sarah was close up like her father and just sat there crying, softly to herself. The video skipped to another transition that read, _Sarah's First Day of School_ and skipped to a five-year-old Sarah standing outside an apartment with a _Spongebob Squarepants_ backpack on her back and a matching lunchbox, smiling at the camera.

"It's Sarah's big day!" they heard Mark say from behind the camera.

Dean had dropped his head when he saw his three-year-old little girl cry.

"I told you not to include that clip, Mark," Beth hissed at him.

Mark just shrugged, "The guy deserves to see every moment, including the heart-breaking and hurtful moments he put on Sarah and Emily.

Sarah glared over at her second-cousin. "So you're the reason why those other DVDs included Mom saying those hurtful things about Dad," she spat at him.

"Yup, you bet I am," he said as if he was proud of it.

Sarah jumped to her feet at once. "Do you realize how badly that affected Dad when we watched them that day? Some things are better left unsaid, Mark, especially if it's something that can make a person feel bad. Mom had no right to say any of those things about Dad and you certainly shouldn't show them to him."

Dean reached out and pulled his daughter back. "Sarah, that's enough. He's not worth getting hyped up over."

"No, Dad, I saw how hurt you were from Mom's words." She turned back to Mark, "Just because I forgave you all, doesn't mean I forgot. I didn't want to come here and for good reason. That's why I spent most of the time with Jacob, because he's the only Holden I truly still think as my family, and maybe Gram, too. How can you even call yourselves Christians anyway? You're judgmental, bitter people who truly can't accept someone when they don't have your same views. Lord, forgive me, but….I hate this family!" Sarah then ran from the room and outside, running down the street to where the Impala was parked, getting into the front seat and hugged her wolf to her.

Soon after, Dean came out to check on her. He opened the passenger door and slid inside on the other side of his daughter, sitting on the driver's side, pulling his daughter in to comfort her. Sarah cried against her father, holding onto his shirt.

"Shh, shh, I've got you, Baby Girl. Settle down." Dean remembered what Sarah had said before and thought of other comforting words other than "it's okay." He rubbed her upper arm as he held his daughter in his arms. Dean kissed her on the top of the head, holding it for a few seconds.

There was a knock on the car window. Thinking it was Sam, Dean reached over and opened the passenger door. It wasn't Sam, it was Greg.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked.

Dean looked down at his daughter then back at Greg. "That's up to Sarah," he told him.

"May I, Sar Bear? I just want to clear some stuff up, that's all. Can you let me have a couple minutes?" Greg asked his granddaughter.

Sarah sat there in silence just sniffling into her father's shirt. Finally, she said, "Sure, why not?" and held onto her father, tighter.

Greg slid into the front seat, sitting halfway in the Impala. "Sar Bear, please don't continue to cut us out of your life," he began. "We do love you and I can promise you we have come to accept your father. We don't approve of his decisions he makes as a father but after talking with your uncle today, he doesn't either but assured us about how protective your father is with you and how strict he is of you while you're…hunting. Mark is the only one still stuck in his ways, not us. He's always been stubborn, you know that. You were buddies at one point, remember? We've told him about that night at that police station and everything else we found out that's been happening. We told him about what your friend, Gordon said about you."

Sarah sniffed in. "He was no friend of ours. He tried to kill us."

Greg looked at Dean who nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad he didn't succeed," he said, sympathetically.

Sarah didn't respond, that time.

"Look, man, with all due respect, we don't really care if you accept me or not. Like I told her great-uncle and Mark, earlier, I have a lot on my plate to deal with, stuff we try to keep in what little family we have left. And don't try with the whole _you're her family, too_ crap. I think Sarah's heard enough of that. We just came because my brother said we would. The way I see it, I'm just glad we got word of a job because I wasn't finding one, and I got to see my little girl being born and take her first steps and first day of school. The minute Sam comes out, in fact I'm about to call him to get out here so we can leave," Dean laid it out for him.

"Listen, Dean," Greg replied, "Sarah is your daughter and I'm very glad you stepped up and accepted your role as her father, but she is also my wife and I's granddaughter and having her out of our lives the past three years hasn't been easy. I've heard Beth cry, wondering if Sarah is safe or not, and things didn't get easier when we learned what it is you do for a living."

"Well, your wife doesn't have to worry because I won't ever let anything happen to her," Dean assured him.

"You're not making things easy, son. I understand you do what you can to protect her but there's been close calls and I'm sure those aren't the only ones. Now, unless this Castiel guy is your guardian angel or something, we're gonna continue to worry about our granddaughter."

Dean stared off into space, holding his daughter close to him.

"We pray for Sarah, and we pray for you and your brother, we really do," Greg continued. "Ever since Sarah told us an angel rescued you from hell, it actually was a wake-up call for us. It reminded us that God loves all of us no matter what and forgives us for what we've done. God doesn't tell his angels to do that for just anyone, in fact, I've never heard him doing that but there has to be a reason he did it for you and that's why we decided to give you a chance."

"I'm not asking you to give me a chance," Dean snapped, angrily at him. "I just want my daughter and me to be left alone. The more you try and pull her back to you, the farther you will just push her away. Her heart's been broken enough already, including by me, I don't want her heart broken again."

Greg shrugged, "That's life, son. Life is full of people who constantly break your heart. It doesn't mean you shouldn't keep loving others. No one's perfect, only the Lord is. Grief comes in the night, but joy comes in the morning." He stepped out of the Impala, holding onto the door. "I'll let your brother know you're ready to leave but I really want Sarah to come in to, at least say good-bye to her grandmother. Please, Sarah?"

Dean looked down at his daughter. To his surprise, Sarah sat up and slid over to step out and walk back to the house.

Greg followed. "Can we expect you at Christmas, this year?" he asked.

Sarah shook her head but since it was dark out her grandfather couldn't see. "No, my godmom already requested Christmas with me, this year," she told him.

"Well then, I'm glad we got to have Thanksgiving with you," he said, saddened to hear she had other plans. "Jacob and Kelly seemed excited to see you today."

She agreed, looking down the street at a house that was already decorated for Christmas. "I'm glad I saw them, too." Sarah crossed the grassy lawn as Greg walked around, taking the sidewalk path.

"Next time, can you use the sidewalk, Sarah?" he asked of her, trying to sound as gentle as he could.

Sarah said she would try and remember. She stepped up onto the porch and went inside, heading for the living room and over to her grandmother. "Dad says we're leaving. I wanted to say thank you for dinner and tell you good-bye."

"It's my pleasure, my angel," Beth replied with a warm smile, wrapping her arms around the little girl. "Thank you for coming. It was so nice seeing you. I was just asking your uncle if you guys can make it for Christmas. Mark and his wife are flying to Houston to spend the holidays with her family, this year. Please don't let what he said keep you from coming back. We all love you and want to see you."

"I know, but I promised my godmom, last summer I would spend Christmas with her, this year," Sarah repeated what she told her grandfather.

"Oh, okay." Beth sounded disappointed but left it at that. "Can you least find some time to call? I'll even take a two-second call, just as long as I can hear your voice."

Sarah nodded. "For you, I will." Sarah then hugged her grandmother around the neck. Beth held her granddaughter for a moment, eventually singing the song. "I sing that for my dad, now," Sarah whispered to her.

Beth smiled, "Yeah?"

She nodded again.

Beth kissed her head. She stood up afterwards to remove the disc from the DVD player and placed it back in the case to hand to Sarah. "Make sure your father gets this,there's still two more milestones," she told her.

"I will," Sarah assured her.

Sam stood up, holding his niece's DS in his hand, at his side. Beth thanked him for coming, giving Sam a warm hug and Greg shook his hand, giving him a quick hug.

"You're all welcome, any time," Greg told both Sam and Sarah. "Even Dean. I wish the best for you all, and best of luck on your next job. Maybe it'll help clear Kelly's mother's name."

Sarah perked up at that. "Wait, what?" Jacob filled Sarah in on why Kelly was living with him and his family but being a young kid, Jacob didn't have the whole story.

"I'll explain later, Peanut," Sam assured her and headed for the door, thanking the Holdens for dinner and that it was nice meeting everyone. The Holdens walked Sam and Sarah out to the front lawn and waved good-bye as they made their way towards the Impala where Dean had, already running.


	152. Chapter 152- The Road so Far

_**Hopefully, I didn't forget any important details. If I did, I will add them throughout the rest of the story when they are important. Note: Only this chapter will be in first person. The story will return to third person, next chapter. Also, the fourth wall is, basically, destroyed in this recap chapter. Kind of got the idea from Deadpool.**_

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 152

Hi! Sarah, here. I am here to recap the rest of season four and the beginning of season five, on the count of, the original chapters were lost due to the author's laptop breaking and everything getting lost. A friend tried to salvage it, but it was no use. Even the other stories she was writing are gone for good. The author regrets deleting everything from Fanfiction, but, hey, its in the past and nothing can be done. Also, the author doesn't want to rewrite the lost chapters. She rather pick up where she left off. So, so sorry to the newcomers who has stumbled upon this story since reuploading. She just wants to get right back to it, especially when _Family is Where the Heart is_ keeps coming back to mind, every now and then. And, that is enough fourth wall breaking.

Let's get started, shall we?

So, if you read the first one hundred and one chapters, you know that the previous chapter, we celebrated Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family and had learned of a job in the process. My cousin's dad was killed and my aunt was blamed for the murder, because who else could have done it, right? Wrong. Turns out it was a shapeshifter just as Uncle Sam had guessed. Which was why my aunt was framed.

We tracked it down and I was the one who killed it. My aunt was released from a psych ward, requited of all charges and my cousin got to return to her care. Honestly, it also helped me to not be so annoyed with Kelly. I even let her be the princess she thinks she is. At least my cousins can have their childhood innocence.

Once that case was done and over with, Dad piled more and more cases, for, like, a whole month. Uncle Sam and I, barely, convinced him to join us for Christmas, at Miss Ellen's house. It was a great holiday, which I presented everyone with some kind of duct tape present. Dad still uses his duct tape wallet, to this day, and I had to fix Uncle Sam's laptop case. Dad carved me this cross here, that I wear around my neck. He tried to carve me, Pikachu, but he couldn't get it right, he said. So, since it was only a lower case T, I got a cross, instead.

We started this year off with more cases. After helping an old magician that I knew of, because my grandfather used to be a fan, a long time ago, Uncle Sam started disappearing. It was usually while Dad and I were sleeping, so for the most part, we really didn't know. My family and I also took a job at one of their old high schools, they used to go to. I went in as a student, while Uncle Sam was a janitor, and Dad was the substitute physical education teacher. Never thought Dad could ever embarrass me as he did, that day. Boy, was I wrong.

While we were there, I met an English teacher that also had Uncle Sam, in class and had even gave him some advice. Apparently, Mr. Wyatt is the reason for my uncle ditching the family business for college. Man, do I wish Uncle Sam could still be in that life. He deserves it. They both do.

Mr. Wyatt also sees the potential he had seen in my uncle, in me. He ended up, learning my true age and was even more impressed with the Edgar Allan Poe essay I had written about. The essay was supposed to be the most depressing moment we had had in our lives. All I could think about was the night my dad died and went to hell, literally. So, I wrote about that, only, leaving out the supernatural parts. Mr. Wyatt thinks my dad was killed by a vicious dog he got too close to. Uncle Sam had spoken the truth with his own essay, so Mr. Wyatt just thought he had written a fictional story about a werewolf. Why the heck did I not think of that?!

Anyway, after we destroyed Dirk's ghost, we hit the road for the next job. Some time later, we were in Iowa, taking care of another nasty creature. A siren, this time. Uncle Sam got lucky with the doctor, while Dad became buddies with the FBI agent, we learn is actually the siren. He makes my dad and uncle turn on each other, while I get knocked out. Thankfully, Uncle Bobby comes to the rescue and nabs the sucker in the bud. Dad also finds out Uncle Sam has been making phone calls to Ruby without him knowing, but we still don't know what's going on.

The next job takes place in a town, where no one is dying. We call our new friend, Pamela, in, and she helps Dad and Uncle Sam get into the spirit world, to talk to the last person who had died in that town. While the kid shows them how to be a ghost, a demon attacks me and Pamela. Yeah, of course I have to stay behind. At least I could protect Pamela, because the demon came after me. While I fought it off, Pamela immediately tried to bring Uncle Sam, back. He wakes up, right as the demon stabs me and I die. Uncle Sam rushes me to the hospital while Pamela uses her spell to bring Dad, back, as well.

While in the hospital, we learn that all of my close calls has been because of Cas healing me. Not sure why, but Cas says he's under orders to not let me, die, so I guess that's good?

Not long after I was released from the hospital, Cas and Uriel kidnap Dad, demanding he use his newfound torture skills, he learned in hell, on none other than the teacher, Alistair, who got Dad into that stuff, in the first place. Just thinking about it, makes me want to rip into that demon, so much. Alistair toils with Dad, in the process, telling him that it was Dad that had broken the first seal, when he started to torture. Cas confirmed Alistair was telling the truth, later, in the hospital, Dad was sent to, due to Alistair getting away and going after him. Since Dad started it, Dad has to finish it. It's in the prophecy. Dad doesn't think he's not the man for the job, but I say different and gave him a pep talk. I told Dad that he did have what it takes, that I know he could and God knows he can, too.

A few weeks later, while checking out, what we thought was a case, in a comic book store, we learn that our lives are out there, being told through means of several graphic novels. Though, as much of a nerd I am, I don't know how this had escaped my knowledge. The books started with Dad and I picking up Uncle Sam from school, and ending with Dad going to hell. We bought as many copies as the comic book shop had, reading through them, as Uncle Sam looked them up, online. Apparently, there are people who think Dad and Uncle Sam have a sexual connection between each other? We don't really know why, but it grossed us out.

Tracking down the author, Chuck, who is a sad, little man, living alone. Turns out, he's still writing, even after the publishing company went bankrupt. Actually, Chuck was in the middle of writing one and had known we would be coming. When Cas shows up, he tells us, that Chuck is actually a prophet of the Lord and that these books will, one day, be known as the Winchester bible. I hate everything about them. I am a freaking nerd, complete with glasses. I have never worn glasses in my entire life. I have great vision, thank you very much. But, whoever drew our characters, drew us, to appeal to the audience. Really hope Jacob doesn't find these books, since he's in graphic novels, as well.

So, Chuck tells us about Lilith showing up, this time, grown up, and tries to seduce Uncle Sam. Since Chuck has an archangel tethered to him, we drag him over, to get rid of her, before anything can happen.

A few weeks after that happened, we end up running into Cas, but it wasn't actually Cas. It was just his vessel, Jimmy Novak. Because Cas was growing fond of Dad and I, he gets sent back to heaven, which is bad news, leaving Jimmy, confused and disoriented. All he wants is to see his family. But, even though Jimmy doesn't know anything, he was still an easy target for demons to get a hold of. So, him going back to his family, wasn't such a great idea. Of course, Jimmy doesn't listen, because, yeah, family is important. He goes back to see them. Demons are there, waiting for him, but we get there, just in the nick of time. We grab him and his family and get the heck out of there.

Sam doesn't sugarcoat that he needs to get as far away from his family, as he, possibly, can. Though, I don't agree, unfortunately, Uncle Sam is right. Jimmy's wife gets possessed and takes their daughter, hostage. With Jimmy in tow, we go after them. We let Jimmy go in the front door, while the three of us sneak in, the back. However, that doesn't exactly work, and the three of us get captured.

Cas does return, but inside Jimmy's daughter, freeing herself. Jimmy, who is, literally, bleeding to death, wager with Cas, to take him instead of his daughter. Cas eventually accepts, and returns inside of Jimmy, but not before we learn what Uncle Sam has been doing with Ruby, the past year.

Once Jimmy's family is taken care of, and I know they're probably gonna need some therapy after that charade, Dad calls Uncle Bobby, who calls Uncle Sam, we're needed for a demon problem. So, we head back to his place, locking Uncle Sam up, inside Uncle Bobby's panic room, to try and detox him of his demon blood "addiction." I told them, going on that show, _Intervention_ , seemed like a better idea, but no one else thought so. … I'm kidding. But, that is an interesting show, though. Hey, it's a guilty pleasure, all right.

Anyway, for, like, a day, Uncle Sam is locked up, screaming out, as if he was in extreme pain. I don't know exactly what he had to go through, but it didn't sound pleasant, that was for sure. Uncle Bobby didn't think it was a good idea, to put Uncle Sam through that.

Uncle Sam ends up, somehow escaping and he goes off with Ruby, again. When Dad and I find him, he's back to his "junkie" self. He informs us that he knows of how to stop Lilith and tries to convince us to come with him. Dad only agrees if it's just the three of us, not Ruby. Uncle Sam refuses and the two of them get into a huge, physical fight, basically destroying the motel room, in the process. I feel sorry for that motel manager who had to get his room repaired, actually.

The fight ends with Dad lying on the floor, with Uncle Sam turning to leave. Dad gives him the same damn ultimatum Grandpa gave when he left for college. I wasn't about to let Uncle Sam just walk away, though. I called Dad and Grandpa, cowards, for even placing that on the table. No, I'm not proud of it, but it had to be said. I ran after Uncle Sam, and tried to plead with him. I never trusted Ruby from the first day I met her. Not after letting ol' Yellow Eyes trick me into trusting him. Nothing ever good comes from trusting a demon, not even when they are acting nice. Even after the sentimental, poetic monologue I gave with tears in my eyes, Uncle Sam still walked away. At least I can say I tried, but it still, really hurt.

Dad and I, ended up in a huge argument, on the way back to Uncle Bobby's house. I said things that I regretted afterwards, basically, destroying my dad's, already, broken heart, which I ended up, punished for, later. I felt I deserved it, for saying those things, to him, and accepted it.

Not long after we got back to Bobby's, which we continued fighting as we walked in the door, and Uncle Bobby had to break us up. Dad wanted to tear into me, right then and there, until Uncle Bobby told him to wait until he was calmed down and not pissed off. After Uncle Bobby's speech of how Dad was a better man than his own father was, Dad disappeared. Turns out, Zachariah called Dad to what Dad volunteered to do, keeping him locked up in a room, with no door or windows. I tried to call out to Cas, to come help us. At first, I got Zachariah, who told me, we all had a part to play in this apocalypse.

I did some more praying, trying to get some kind of answer. That was when Cas showed up and took me to Dad, then to the church, where my uncle was. We charged in there, finding Uncle Sam already taking on Lilith. Ruby locked us out. We tried to the pound on the door, trying to persuade Uncle Sam not to do it. I, ended up, punching the door and breaking my wrist, in the process. Dad got something to plow into the door with, to break it open. While he was doing that, I tried to yell for Uncle Sam. I could hear him, taking down Lilith. After Lilith was destroyed, what I had been trying to tell everyone, finally came out. Ruby was, secretly, undercover, the whole time. Not even Lilith knew. She told Uncle Sam that it was always supposed to be him, even when everyone thought it was me.

Dad finally busted the doors, open. I dashed in there and plunged her own knife into her flesh, killing the bitch, once and for all. I was so full of rage, I stabbed Ruby, over and over, again, until Uncle Sam got me to stop. I held onto him, as he apologized to me, holding me in his arms. Yeah, I was still pissed off at him, for a while, actually, but he's still family.

With Lilith dead, the door to Lucifer's cage, was opened. We thought we were goners, until we, suddenly, appeared on a plane, flying overhead. My wrist was healed, too. None of us knew who or how we had gotten on that plane, but it was a good thing we did.

We stopped by Chuck's place, to find it destroyed. Zachariah showed up, which we figured they might. They wanted my dad to go with them. Dad refused and did that sigil thing he learned from Cas and sent the angels far away.

While Sam made up some hex bags, Dad and I had our "talk" and Dad informed me, just how bad he was hurt, and said some things, I know he regretted later. He couldn't even call me, his baby girl, anymore. In fact, this was how we stopped sleeping in the same bed. I am eleven, after all. Him and Uncle Sam made up, sort of. In their own way, anyway.

Chuck sent us his number one fan, Becky, since he couldn't contact us, himself, to warn us of the sword of Michael. We got Uncle Bobby here, bringing his books and read up on it. Uncle Sam confessed to Uncle Bobby that it was him, who had freed Lucifer. Uncle Bobby got upset and said things he didn't mean. Uncle Sam left to do some research. Turns out, it wasn't actually Uncle Bobby. The guy had gotten himself possessed and who of all demons to show up, the one and only Meg.

Meg had the demon inside him kill Dad, but Uncle Bobby fought back, and stabbed himself, instead, killing the demon. Uncle Sam and I got back, by then, and drove Meg off. We made sure to get Uncle Bobby to the hospital before heading to Grandpa's lockup, in New York, where we learned where Michal's sword was. Demons had beaten us there, but had been taken care of. Zachariah was already there, as well, waiting for us. He then informed us that Dad was actually the Michael sword, or, in other words, his vessel. His true vessel.

Zachariah tried once more to convince Dad to come with them, but Dad refused. Apparently, Michael needed my dad's say-so before he could walk around, inside Dad's meat suit. Just when Zachariah had us all, basically dead, Cas showed up, killing the other two angels, before convincing Zachariah to leave.

Cas carved sigils onto our rib cages, to hide us from all angels, including Lucifer.

We headed back to the hospital, to learn that Uncle Bobby will suffer the same fate as Mark: stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Uncle Bobby was pissed and scared off the doctor who gave him, the news. Dad gave a valiant speech about icing, not only the devil, but Michael, if we had to. I didn't like the idea since I had always had a thing for the guy since I was six and reading up on him and his buddy, Gabriel. Not a sexual thing. I just really liked reading about the archangels, so I know a thing or two about them. Never knew Dad would be his true vessel, though. I also didn't know we already knew one, but I'm getting a head of myself.

As we were leaving, Uncle Bobby told Uncle Sam that it was the demon talking and that he wouldn't cut my uncle out of his life. That's what family does, we stick together.

When we got outside, after Uncle Sam suggested we might try and go after the Colt, Dad admitted that he was just full of it, for Uncle Bobby's sake. He thought we didn't stand a chance against Lucifer. He also admitted that he was still pissed off at Uncle Sam and that he couldn't trust him. Things continued to be rocky since then.

We did end up, meeting up with Ellen and Jo, who were split up. Supposedly, there were demons in town. Turns out, there wasn't. It was just War. Yeah, you heard right. One of the four horsemen from the book of Revelations. We went because Rufus had called Bobby, asking for help while Cas was telling us about searching for God. Jo and Rufus was held up on the other side of town while Ellen and the townsfolk was held up inside somewhere, safe. When we tried to go after them, I got captured.

I woke up to Jo and Rufus thinking I was the one possessed, when I thought they were. The same guy I had seen with the others, were there, and when they left me alone, he came clean who he really was. He informed me that I was a vessel of Lucifer and that I could be really useful for hell. Like, powerful useful. I kept it to myself, when Dad and I went after him, and cut the ring off.

Uncle Sam split from us, to take a break from hunting. He admitted that he couldn't even trust himself, not with the craving for demon blood. So, he took off. Dad and I tried to keep it, together, but there was tension between us, so we split, too. Gram had wanted some quality time, and what with the end of the world and me needing to clear my head, headed back to South Dakota, to stay with them. While I was gone, Dad hooked up with Cas and went after Rafael, another archangel, who was supposed to know God's location. At least, Dad had fun in the process when Cas thought it was his last night on Earth.

Dad and I met back up, Father's Day weekend, to go fishing. We also had a father/daughter heartfelt discussion, and we were able to move pass our tension. I still continued to sleep separately, since I really was growing up. Uncle Sam tried to ask Dad to rejoin us, but Dad refused.

Zachariah ended up, finding out where we were and sent us into the future, where the world had gone to hell. Future Dad was the leader to a group of survivors. Chuck was there, too, helping out and Cas was busy having orgies, smoking the peace pipe, but still joined when we went after Lucifer.

Future Dad ended up knocking Dad out and tied me up, when we learned of his actual plan of sacrificing his friends, including Cas. I managed to get free and wake Dad, before we hurried around back. We came, face to face with Uncle Sam, dressed in all white. Only, it wasn't my uncle. Lucifer was wearing him. When Dad and Uncle Sam had split up, Sam ended up, saying yes to Lucifer, who was his true vessel like Dad was, to Michael. Lucifer tried to make us feel sorry for him, but I called him out, because Lucifer was nothing but full of shit. I stood up to the guy, even though I was scared, senseless. Unfortunately, Dad learned what I had learned from War. I tried so hard, to keep that from him and Uncle Sam, so they wouldn't worry.

When Lucifer had me, cornered, Dad took over and informed him, he was just like any other cockroach he had been squishing his entire life and that he was gonna kill him, just the same. Not sure if Dad really did believe that, but I know he will. I know the devil could never win.

Zachariah brought us back to the present time and tried, once again, to persuade Dad to say yes to Michael. Of course, Dad stood his ground. The angel tried to threaten to send us back until he agreed, until Cas got us out of there, just in the nick of time. Man, I love that angel!

Dad did learn something. He immediately called my uncle back in, telling him, we needed him. We met up with Uncle Sam, near a train track, stating we were gonna make our own future, together, as a family.

After a rumble with Uncle Sam's hero, Gandhi, and Dad getting his ass kicked by Paris Hilton, we cross paths with this Irish fella, who played cards with people. Doesn't sound like one of our usual gigs, huh? Well, the catch was, instead of money, people betted with their years, including Dad and Uncle Bobby. It was like _Grumpy Old Men_ , watching the two of them, argue. We also learned, Uncle Bobby felt useless and that there wasn't any point to keep going. It was heartbreaking, to say the least.

We tried to steal some chips, but the guy, Patrick, caught us in the act. It wasn't in the chips, anyway. It was the magic he was using. Since Dad was already old, Patrick felt Uncle Sam and I needed to learn a lesson. I still don't understand Uncle Sam's predicament, but I had been given the chicken pox, and had to sit the rest of the job, out, in bed. Uncle Sam took on Patrick, in a card game (thank God, it wasn't a Pokemon card game, 'cause Uncle Sam still sucks at it, unlike me and Dad), while Dad and Uncle Bobby tried to do the spell Patrick's girlfriend gave me, to reverse all of the magic. Uncle Sam had gotten the wrong toothpick, so he had to win the card game, instead. Thankfully, just as Dad's end was nigh, Sam beat the guy and got Dad back his years. I, on the other hand, was stuck in bed for the next week or so. At least, Dad had a talk with Uncle Bobby about how he was still a valuable asset to our team.

The minute Miss Ellen found out I was sick, she came right over, becoming strict as ever. I had to stay in bed, and rest as much as possible. It was boring! Her, Dad, and I did get to chat, and ask about puberty, which Dad didn't want to hear, much less come to terms with.

Once I was better, us, Winchesters, were back on the road and fighting monsters. We ended up running into the Trickster, again, only, this time, through TV. We learned about Dad's guilty pleasure and went through a dozen shows, including a commercial that put Uncle Sam in the spotlight. On the bright side, I got to see Dad as a Pikachu. Not sure why Uncle Sam was Ash Ketchum, though. I see him, more as Brock. Unfortunately, I was Misty. I guess that fits, since we're both tomboys, but I prefer fire and fighting types, over water types. I do like some water type Pokemon, though.

Cas tried to get us out, but the Trickster sent him, away. Remember when I said, we actually knew an archangel, already? Well, turns out, the Trickster is actually Gabriel, the archangel, who ran away when he couldn't stand to see his brothers fighting among each other. Turns out, he wants Dad and Uncle Sam to say yes, so it can be over. He doesn't care who wins, just as long that it ended. I could see where he was coming from. I hate when Dad and Uncle Sam fought, too.

Gabriel also told us that it was their destiny to be a part of this battle, between Michael and Lucifer. They were born for this. The reason why Dad is Michael's vessel, was because they were both loyal to an absent father. For Uncle Sam, it was because they were both rebellious of Dad's plan. I don't get it, though. I'm both loyal and rebellious, and I'm sure there are others out there, too, also. So, why did that make them so special? And, yes, I know, saying I'm both, is an oxymoron, but you should know by now, how strange I am.

For that matter, how does that make me a powerful back-up vessel for Lucifer? Gabriel didn't even know about me and my part. He only liked me, because I reminded him, of himself. I have so many unanswered questions, that I had to take another break, while Dad and Uncle Sam answer Chuck's call, or text, rather. So, while they take care of that, I'm doing some research and praying, while also getting ahead on my schooling before I get myself grounded from hunting, for when I'm ready to return. Hopefully, all these questions will be answered soon.


	153. Chapter 153- Abandon All Hope (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 153

"So, there were people pretending to be us?" Sarah leaned on the back of the front seat, listening as the brothers explained what it was Chuck needed help with.

Dean glanced out his window, at the scenery. "Yup," he replied, and looked ahead. The Winchesters were waiting on the side of the road, to hear from Castiel, who was stalking a demon named, Crowley, whom they learned had possession of the Colt since they lost it, over a year ago. "Sprouting off things I care to forget."

"Well, sounds like it was good, I didn't go," she said.

"It was something, all right," Sam added in. "I'm just glad it's over and Becky found someone else, too."

Dean's phone rang. "You can say that one, again," he agreed with his brother, quickly, fishing out his phone. The screen read, Cas. Dean answered it and put the phone to his ear. "Give me the scoop, Cas."

"Got him," Castiel replied, from the other end. "The demon, Crowley is making a deal. Even as we speak, it's… Going down."

Dean had gotten out of his car. "Going down?" he repeated. "Right. Okay, Huggy Bear. Just don't lose him."

"I won't lose him." Both of them hung up.

"Well?" Sarah asked, leaning on the door, with the window rolled down.

"Cas found him," Dean told her and Sam, turned around to face them. "He's going after the guy, now. And, also, Cas has been hanging around you, too long."

Sarah looked up at her father, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

"He's picking up on your lingo."

"Hey," she shrugged, innocently. "I can't help being such a good role model to others."

Dean just rolled his eyes. His phone rang a second time. It was Castiel, again. He answered it, putting the phone up to his ear.

"I followed him," Castiel told him. "It's not far, but… It's layered in Enochian warding magic. I can't get in."

"That's okay. You did great. We'll take it from here." Dean assured the angel and hung up. Him and Sam slid back into the car and took off, down the road, meeting up with Jo. They discussed a plan to get inside Crowley's house.

That evening, Jo was the one to go up to the front gate, while the Winchesters stayed close, on guard. They watched as Jo spoke into the intercom, about her "car" being broken down. The demon guards agreed to come out.

The gates were opened and Jo walked over, to meet them. One of the demons tried to seduce her. Jo refused and tried to leave when the demon grabbed her. That's when she knocked him, flat on his face. The Winchesters popped out of hiding, stabbing both demons with Ruby's knife.

"Nice work, Jo," Dean praised her.

Jo thanked him. She took her bag from him. "Shall we?"

The Winchesters headed up to the house, now inside the property. They cut the electricity, first, luring Crowley to them.

"It's Crowley, right?" Sam asked when the demon entered the room.

"So," he said, "Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys finally found me. Took you long enough."

The Winchesters stood there, in front of the demon, armed at the ready.

Crowley just smirked. He moved closer, to them, the rug at his feet, catching his eye. He stopped in his tracks when Crowley saw part of the rug bunched up. Squatting down, Crowley lifted the rug, to find a demon sigil drawn on the bottom of it.

"Do you have any idea how much this rug cost?" He stood back up. Three demons came up behind the Winchesters and grabbed each of them, holding them, in place. Crowley had picked up the Colt, from a nearby table. "This is it, right? This is what it's all about." He looked over at the Winchesters.

Suddenly, Crowley raised the Colt towards Dean. But, he didn't shoot him. Instead, Crowley moved it to the left and shot the demon behind Dean, followed by the ones behind Sam and Sarah. "We need to talk. Privately."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks of confusion. Sarah looked up at them, both. All three of them followed after Crowley, cautiously. They followed the demon down a hall, and into another room. The room looked like an old study.

Dean was in the lead. "What the hell is this?" he asked.

Crowley looked behind him. "Do you know how deep I could have buried this thing?" He stopped in front the desk, turning around to face them. With a wave of his hand, he shut the door behind Sam. "There's no reason for you or anyone should know this even exists, at all. Except that I told you."

Sam nodded at the demon, at that, defensively, " _You_ told us?"

"Rumors, innuendo…sent out on the grapevine."

"Why?" he asked. "Why tell us anything?"

Crowley raised the Colt in the air, listening. He then pointed it at Dean, once again, catching him, off guard. Sarah tensed up, raising her shotgun, ready to shoot when Crowley did. "I want you, to take this thing to Lucifer and empty it into his face."

Sarah lowered her gun and raised her head, in surprise to that statement.

Dean nodded, "Uh huh. Okay, and why, exactly, would _yo_ uwant the devil dead?"

Crowley lowered the gun, moving around the desk. "It's called," he explained, setting the Colt down, "survival." He looked between the three of them. "But, I forgot. You three, at best, are functional morons."

"Hey," Sarah objected, defensively.

"Yeah, you're functional…morons," Dean tried to come back with. Sarah twisted back, to look at her father, as if that was his best comeback he could come up with.

Crowley moved along. "Lucifer isn't a demon, remember? He's an angel, famous for his hatred of humankind. To him, you're just… Filthy bags of pus." He reached for a wineglass sitting there, on the desk. "If that's the way he feels about you," Crowley took a drink, "what can he think about us?"

Sam stared over at Crowley. "But, he created you."

"To him, we're just servants. Cannon fodder. If Lucifer manages to exterminate humankind," he walked over to sit down. "We're next."

"So, help me. Huh? Let's all go back to simpler, better times. Back to…when we could all follow our natures. I'm in sales, damn it. So," Crowley stood up, again and moved farther away, "what do you say? What if," he turned back around to face the Winchesters, holding the Colt with the handle pointed towards them, this time, "I give you this thing, and you go kill the devil."

Sarah eyed him, carefully. "Why should we even trust you, for?" she asked of him as Sam took the Colt from him.

"You don't have to trust me," he shrugged at her. "You have what you want, don't ya?"

"Okay," Sam spoke. "You don't happen to know where the devil is, by chance, would you?"

Crowley thought on it. "Thursday." He turned around to grab his glass, again. "Birdies tell me, he has an appointment in Carthage, Missouri."

Sam nodded, in agreement, "Great. Thanks." He then raised the Colt to Crowley's forehead and pulled the trigger. Nothing happened.

Crowley just smiled back at the tall giant, not even flinching.

Sam, slowly removed the Colt.

"Oh, yeah, right," said Crowley, as if in realization. "You probably need some more ammunition." He went around his desk and started checking through drawers.

Dean finally spoke up. "Uh, excuse me for asking. But, aren't you, kind of, signing your own death warrant?"

Crowley looked up at him, from the search.

"I mean, what happens to you if we go up against the devil and lose?"

"Number one," said Crowley, "he's gonna wipe us out, anyway. Two, after you leave here, I go on a extended vacation, to all points nowhere. And three, how about you don't miss?! Okay?!" He yelled the third part at them, angrily. "Morons!" Crowley then tossed them the ammo and disappeared, leaving the Winchesters alone.

The Winchesters left Crowley's pad, meeting up where they left Jo. Together, they headed to Bobby's house to construct a game plan. Afterwards, everyone pretty much just hung around, enjoying themselves. Ellen and Castiel took some shots while the Winchesters talked amongst themselves, sitting at Bobby's desk. Sam and Dean were each having a beer while Sarah had her DS out, playing _Mario 64 DS_.

Sam sighed, sitting beside where Sarah was half laying on the desk. "It's got to be a trap, right?"

Dean chuckled. "Sam Winchester. Having trust issues with a demon." He looked down, "Well, better late than ever."

Sam thought on that and smiled. "Yeah, and thank you, again, for your continued support. Both of you." He looked between his brother and niece. Though, Sam wasn't sure if he had his niece's attention or not.

"You're welcome." Dean lifted his beer, holding it out to him. Sam did the same and clinked the necks of the bottles, together. Sam laughed and took a drink of his, which Dean did the same. Dean set his back down on the desk. "You know, trap or no trap," he leaned forward, folding his hands on the desk, "we got a snowball's chance, we got to take it, right?"

"We have to try whatever chances come our way," Sarah added, speaking up, not taking her eyes from her game.

Sam shrugged, "Yeah, I supposed."

"Besides, I'm not sure if it is a trap." Dean moved the research they've been working on, facing towards Sam, "check this out. Carthage is lit up like a Christmas tree with Revelation omens." He stared at Sam, before showing his brother some more. "And, look at this." Dean looked over at his daughter, who was still playing. He snapped his fingers in her direction, to get Sarah's attention. "Dude, are you listening?"

Sarah snapped her head, upright. "What?" she asked.

"Have you even heard anything that I said?"

"Uh… about this being a trap or not?"

Dean sighed. "I said, this may not be a trap, on the count of, Carthage being lit up like a Christmas tree. And," he switched back over to his brother, "there's been six missing persons reported, in town, since Sunday." He picked up his beer, again, putting it to his mouth, "I think the devil's there."

"Okay," Sam shook his head, staring down, at the research.

"Look," he looked away, "if you think about it." Dean looked up at Sam. "You can't come with."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Dean," he tried to object.

"Look," he said, "I go against Satan and screw the pooch," Dean shrugged, "okay. We've lost a game piece. That, we can take. But, if you're there," he pointed at Sam. "Then we are handing the devil's vessel right over to him. In fact, I don't think either one of you should go."

Sarah shot up, straight, at that. "Wait, why shouldn't I go?"

"Well, for one, you're the devil's back up. And, two, you're my kid. Do I need to give a reason for that one? None of that is smart."

"Since when have we ever done anything smart?" Sam pointed out.

Sarah agreed, crossing her arms, "Yeah, what he said."

"I'm serious, you two," Dean told them.

"So am I," Sam nodded. "Haven't we learned a damn thing? If we're gonna do this, we're gonna do this, _together_." He then stared at Dean with puppy dog eyes.

"That includes me, as well, Dad," Sarah told her father.

Dean looked between the two sets of puppy dog eyes and, eventually, sighed. He grabbed his beer, once again, and pointed at them, "Okay," he gave in. "That's a stupid, friggin' idea."

Sam nodded, in agreement. He was surprised there wasn't a fight about it. Sarah was also caught, in surprise. No fight, this time? Really?

An interest caught Dean's attention, looking passed Sam.

Sam twisted around, in his seat. "Boy, talk about stupid ideas."

Sarah looked over at the other three and their little game.

"Good God," Dean just mumbled, not really paying his brother any mind. "True, that." He stood up, following after Jo, who had headed into the kitchen. Dean came up behind her, while Jo was grabbing another beer from the fridge.

When Jo stood up and closed the fridge, she turned around. She jumped, not expecting him to be behind her. They exchanged heys, as they smiled at each other.

"So," Dean turned around, moving over to lean against the kitchen counter. "Dangerous mission, tomorrow." He nodded at the floor, away from Jo. "Guess it's time to… eat, drink, and you know. Make merry."

She stared up at him. "Are you giving me the 'last night of earth' speech?"

"What?" he asked, quickly, which Jo, also, responded back with. "No." Dean chuckled, looking forward. "No."

Dean looked back at Jo. "If I was, uh, w-would that work?"

Jo smiled at him. She then set her beer, down, on the counter and stared up him, for a moment. Slowly, Jo moved her head, closer, taking the side of Dean's, in her hand. The tension built up, as it looked like she would kiss him. That is, until they heard Sarah's voice call out, "Kiss him, already!"

Jo stopped. She and Dean looked over, in time, to see a flash of a kid dash behind the wall. Jo looked back at him. "No," she told him. "Sweetheart, if this is our last night, on earth, then I am gonna spend it with a little thing I call, _self respect_." With that said, Jo left the kitchen, walking pass Sarah's hiding place.

Sarah tried to play it off, as if she was standing there, playing her DS. It didn't fool Jo. She looked up, to see the young woman standing there. "Hey, Jo," Sarah told her, as if nothing happened. "Getting in some Mario before the end of the world. You know, normal stuff."

"Cut the crap, squirt. I know you were spying on us," said Jo.

Sarah continued to play dumb. "I have no idea what you are talking about. I didn't see anything, but my game."

"Uh huh." She shook her head, "I'm not buying it. I was your age, once. I know you were eavesdropping."

Sarah gave in. "I just hoped you and my dad would kiss, that's all. I don't have his mind, I swear."

Jo moved, closer to the little girl, wrapping an arm around her neck, "Sarah, let me give you some more sisterly wisdom. Woman to woman." She gave her a small smile, "When you have your first kiss, make sure it's with someone special. Not some random guy. You have to respect yourself so guys will respect you."

"But," Sarah looked up at Jo. "Don't you like my dad?"

Jo suddenly looked at the floor, not answering. Finally, she looked up to say, "It's complicated, Sarah."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it. Okay?" She gave the kid a squeeze. "Focus on our big day, tomorrow."

Sarah continued to look up at the young woman until she heard Bobby yell, "Everyone, get in here," from the other room. "It's time for the lineup!" Jo headed in there, first, encouraging Sarah, to follow. Sarah just stayed behind.

Dean walked from the kitchen, to join the others. He motioned to Sarah, with his head, "Come on, Baby Girl," as he walked passed her.

"Dad."

He stopped to twist, halfway around, to face her. "Don't worry about it. It's okay," he assured her.

"Dad, if things go south and something happens to me-"

"Sarah," he interrupted her. "Don't do this. It's bad enough I'm letting you come with us. Don't do the whole, goodbye speech."

Sarah just ignored her father, staring up at him, intently. "Dad, even if we survive this. Somewhere down the line, something will bite me in the ass. Eventually, Cas can't revive me. My time will come. When that happens, I want you to go find someone. Not a one-night stand. Even if it isn't Jo. Find someone. Shoot, go find Lisa and her son, if you want. Be happy. Okay?"

"Sarah-"

"I mean it, Dad."

He stared at her. Sometimes, it was hard to say no to that face. Every ounce of his body wanted to argue and say, no, but found his voice escape with the word, okay.

"You promise?"

Dean groaned. "Sarah, don't make me-"

"Dad, you have to swear on it. I'd prefer Jo, but either her or Lisa, or whoever else you fall in love with, settle down with someone. Please?"

"What about you? I've been telling you stop, too. Why should I settle down when you won't?" he pointed out.

Sarah looked up at her father. She, calmly, told him, "Because I know you. And, you know what you would do if you ever lost me."

Not another word was said, between them.

"Dean! Sarah! We're waiting on you two!" Bobby called to them. It broke the moment. Sarah moved, first, heading into the other room while Dean still stood there, staring at the floor.

"I promise," he muttered.

Sarah still heard it. It stopped her. She looked back over her shoulder. "Thanks."

He turned around, locking their matching eyes, together. Finally, Dean broke the silence. "But, if it's the other way around…"

"Dad," she tried to protest.

"I mean it, too. If something happens to me, like it did before. I want you right back here, going to an actual school, done with this job."

"But…"

Dean gave her a look that told her, it was a two-way street.

"Deal."

"DEAN! SARAH! GET YOUR ASSES IN HERE!"

The two of them finally headed into the other room, joining the rest of the family, who was posing for a photo, in front of an old camera.

"I'm gonna need something to remember your sorry asses by," Bobby told them, in front of the camera.

"Can I have a copy, Uncle Bobby?" Sarah asked, standing on his right side, between him and Ellen. "You know, in case we do somehow make it out, alive?"

"Sure, kiddo," he told her, with a half smile.

Ellen scoffed. "Always good to have an optimist around." She stared forward at the camera.

Castiel shrugged, "Bobby's right. Tomorrow, we hunt the devil. This is our last night on earth." Everyone grew quiet, as his words sunk in. The timer on the camera ended and it flashed the picture.

Could this really be their last night on earth?


	154. Chapter 154- Abandon all Hope (Part 2)

Chapter 154

Everyone hit the road, early the next morning. Everyone, except Bobby, of course. Dean took the lead in the Impala, with Sam and Sarah, while Ellen followed behind, with Jo and Castiel. They made no haste, making sure both tanks were full as they possibly could be.

On the way, Sarah called her grandparents, to say goodbye, just in case. Greg and Beth still couldn't believe their granddaughter and her family was going up against the devil, himself, but after everything else she does, it wasn't much different. They told her they'll be praying for them, and that they loved her, before Sarah let them go.

Things were quiet as she stared at the phone.

Dean noticed in the rearview mirror. "There's still time to change your mind."

She looked up at her father. "About?"

"Stepping out of this," he replied.

"How?" Sarah shrugged. "We're already nearing Carthage."

Dean stared ahead, at the road. "You can wait in the car."

Sarah stared at her father's reflection, then switched over, looking out the left car door window. "Nah, I'm good," was all she said.

Sam had been looking back, over his shoulder, at his niece. He and Dean exchanged glances among each other.

The time had finally come when Dean pulled into Carthage, Missouri. He held his phone out, trying to call Bobby, to let him know they had arrived, but there wasn't a signal. As they neared the heart of the city, there still wasn't one.

Dean motioned for Ellen to pull up, beside them.

Ellen nodded over at the Winchesters, "Place seem a little empty to you?"

"We're gonna go check out the P.D.," he told them, looking around the town. "You guys stay here, see if you can find anybody."

"Okay."

Dean continued forward, driving to the police station. They searched the whole place, finding it, empty. So, they left, looking around the rest of the town until Ellen and Jo caught up to them.

"So's everything else," Jo said when Dean gave them the update.

Ellen asked, "Have you seen Cass?"

"What?" Sam replied, confused. "He was with you."

"Nope," she shook her head, once. "He went after the reapers."

Dean stared at Ellen, intently, "Reapers?" He was baffled there were reapers, in town, and more than one, at that.

Sam asked, "He saw reapers? Where?"

"Well, kind of…" Jo paused for a second. "Everywhere."

"That's not good," said Sarah.

Grabbing their weapons from the trunk of the Impala, the group decided to stake out the rest of the town, on foot, looking for Castiel.

"Well, this is great," Dean complained, after a while. "We've been in town for twenty minutes and we've already lost the angel up our sleeve."

Sarah tried to remain positive. "We'll find him," she said, while Sam had a complete opposite thought.

"I don't know what to think," Dean told them, both, as the group continued walking. They walked until a familiar voice called out to them, making the group turn around and raise their shotguns.

Sam was the one to speak. "Meg!"

"Shouldn't have come here, Winchesters," she shook her head at them.

"Yeah?" Dean stormed closer to the demon, taking out the Colt and cocking it, pointing it at her. "Well, I can say the same thing about you."

Meg was unfazed by the gesture. She stood there with her hands hanging out of her pockets. "Didn't come here alone, Dean-o." She looked to her right. The group heard a deep growling, snarling sound and paws splashing in a puddle.

Dean looked back at Sam and Sarah, who stared from the sounds, to him. They knew exactly what that was. "Hellhounds!"

"Yeah, Dean," Meg responded, excitedly. "Your favorite." The hellhounds growled and snarled some more, itching to tear into someone. "Come on, guys," she told the Winchesters. "My father wants to see you."

"I think we'll pass, thanks," Sam told her.

She shrugged, "Your call. You can make this easy, or you can make it, really, really hard." The growls continued.

Dean looked back at Ellen, to see what they wanted to do. Ellen nodded, so Dean turned back, forward, at Meg, the Colt still raised. "When have you known us to ever make anything easy?"

Meg just shook her head, smirking at him.

Dean pointed the Colt over at one of the hellhounds. Since Dean could see them, he was able to shoot one, sending out a yelping sound. "Run!" he ordered, before the group took off at a run. The rest of hellhounds chased after them, as they ran down the street.

One of the hellhounds closed in on Dean, paws slamming him to the ground. Jo happened to look over her shoulder about that time.

"Dean!"

Ellen, Sam, and Sarah looked back as Jo went back for him. Sarah tried to join her, to help her father until Ellen pulled her back.

"Jo, stay back!" they heard Dean yell.

Jo did not listen. She shot at the hellhound that had knocked into Dean, bashing it against a trash receptacle. Unfortunately, it left her open for another one to attack. It tore into her side, through her clothes and into her flesh.

"NO!" Ellen cried out.

Sarah broke loose, dashing along beside her uncle, raising her shotgun. Both of them and Ellen fended off the hellhounds while Dean scooped Jo up, in his arms and carried her inside a nearby hardware store.

Ellen ran in, after Dean. Sam had to grab his niece's attention. Sarah was, currently, in a blind rage, shooting everywhere she, possibly, could, hoping it connected with an ugly mutt.

"Sarah, let's go!" he ordered, holding onto her arm. When she didn't move, Sam yanked her, back, getting her focus, and the two of them hurried inside. While Sam wrapped a heavy chain around the door handles, Sarah grabbed a sack of salt from a nearby shelf. Sam grabbed it and cut into it, before pouring salt along the base of the door while the other two tended to Jo. Sarah grabbed another sack and did the same to the window. Once the door was set, Sam tended to the window on the other side. With that covered, Sarah hurried over in time to see blood gushing out of Jo's side, as Jo gasped, heavily. She was unable to remove her eyes from the affects of those hellhounds, her heart rate increasing at the possibility they may lose Jo.

Sam and Ellen did the best they could, patching Jo up. Dean worked on, trying to get a ham radio to work, so they could contact Bobby, since the cell phones still weren't working. Sarah tried to hold it, together, but it was difficult. She stood near where her father was, watching Jo grow weaker and weaker. Sarah would have hoped there was a chance to save her, but sometimes one has to face reality.

Sam walked over to his brother and niece.

"How's she holding up?" Dean asked him.

He let out a sigh that said it all. Sam leaned his hand on the shelf. "The salt lines are holding up," he decided to say, instead.

"Safe for now," Dean added.

"Yeah, safe or trapped like rats," Sam scoffed, sarcastically.

Dean looked up at his brother and turned to face him. "You heard Meg. Her father's here. This is our one shot, Sammy. We got to take it, no matter what." Dean returned his attention to the radio. Ellen called Sam over, to help her, finish.

Sarah finally wandered over, kneeling beside Jo, opposite from Ellen. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked.

"I think we have everything covered, Peanut." Sam rubbed his niece's back. He knew Sarah wasn't doing too well. She had dealt with so much, this far and he knew how close the two was. Sam wanted Sarah to feel like she could do something, though. "Why don't you tell Jo what those twins, you like to watch, have been up to, lately?" He thought up the first thing to come to mind.

"How will that help?" she asked.

Jo understood where Sam was going with that suggestion. "I would love to know what Zack and Cody are up to," she told Sarah, weakly.

Sarah switched back to Jo. "You would?"

She forced a smirk. "Sure would."

"Um, okay." Sarah thought about the last episode she had seen. She had caught the new one, last week, by a strip of luck. Usually that never happens, and Sarah catches reruns, once in a while. "Well, Cody, the smart one, has been trying to ask a girl he likes, out."

"What's her name?" Jo asked.

"Bailey. She's from a small farm town, called, Kettlecorn. Cody really likes her, but has trouble asking her out. Shy, I guess," While Sarah was telling Jo about one of her favorite shows, Dean finally got the radio to work, connecting to Bobby.

"Bobby, it's Dean. We got problems."

Bobby let out a quiet sigh before he responded. "That's okay, boy. That's why I'm here. Is everyone alright? How's Sarah?"

Dean hesitated, at first. "No," he managed to mutter out. "Uh…it's… It's Jo." His voice stuttered on the words as Dean tried to hold himself, together. "Bobby, it's pretty bad."

Sarah overheard, hearing the choked up words. Jo tried to keep her mind focused on Zack and Cody. "So, what does Cody do, to muster up the courage to ask Bailey out?"

"Huh?" she looked back at Jo. "Oh, um… Well…" Sarah's attention kept reverting back to her father.

"Bobby, I don't think she's…" Dean paused, holding a finger up, towards his mouth. He was finding it hard to speak.

Jo reached over, grabbing Sarah's left arm. Sarah looked down at it. "Come on, kiddo. I'm really interested how Cody wins Bailey over." Jo tried her best to keep her own spirits up, for Sarah. Even if it means discussing Disney shows centered towards kids/teenagers.

Sarah stared Jo in the eye. Both of her eyes were starting to fill up.

Ellen reached over, grabbing Sarah's right shoulder. "Everything's gonna be just fine," she assured the little girl. "Let's here about those kids."

Sarah knew what the women were trying to do. She wasn't stupid. "The ship was…" she tried to continue. "The ship was getting ready to pass through the Bermuda Triangle, which you know, there's an urban legend that says, ships have vanished off the face of the earth, sailing through there. Except, instead of vanishing, Cody was just reliving the same day, over and over, again, kind of like what happened to me and Uncle Sam, only no one died."

Meanwhile, Dean and Bobby were still talking. "I said, what do we do next, Dean?"

Dean rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand and squeezed his eyes, shut. "Right," he finally said. "Okay. Right."

"Right," Bobby replied. "Now. Tell me what you got." Dean brought him up to speed on what had happened since getting into town, as Jo kept Sarah's mind off reality, for the time being. It was easy when Dean was able to speak, straight. "Before he went missing, did Cas say how many reapers?"

"I-I don't know. He said a lot of things, I guess. I mean, does the numbers matter?"

"Devil's in the details, Dean," he told him.

Ellen had walked up, behind where Dean was standing. She, gently, punched his arm, nodding towards the speaker in his hand. Dean held it out to her, holding the button down, so Ellen could speak.

"Bobby, it's Ellen. The way he was looking, the number of places Castiel's eyes went, I'd say we're talking about over a dozen reapers. Probably more." Bobby closed his eyes for a moment. He rubbed over the front of his trucker's cap, pushing it up. "I do not like the sound of that," he said as Ellen returned by her daughter's side.

"Nobody likes the sound of that, Bobby," Dean told him, in a frustrated tone. He flashed a look behind him before continuing. "But, what… what does that sound like?"

"It sounds like death, son. I think Satan's in town to work a ritual. I think he's planning to unleash death."

Sarah had gotten distracted, once again, looking over towards her father.

"You mean, this dude and taxes are the only sure thing?" Dean asked.

"As in Death, the horseman," Bobby told him. "The pale rider in the flesh." That turned on a light bulb in Sarah's memory. Of course, why didn't she think of that from Revelations.

"Unleash?" he questioned. "I mean, hasn't death been tromping all over the place? I mean," Dean shrugged, "hell, I've died several times, myself."

"Not this guy," Bobby told him. "This is… This is the _angel_ of death, big daddy reaper. They keep this guy, chained in a box, six feet under. Last time they hauled him up, Noah was building a boat." He paused for a moment, as realization struck. "That's why the place is crawling with reapers. They're waiting on the big boss to show."

Sarah watched the shock wash over her father before he shook it off. "Any other good news?" he asked, sarcastically.

"Well, in a manner of speaking," Bobby shut the huge, thick bible he had open on his desk, to switch over to one of his many other lore books, "I've been researching Carthage since you've been gone, trying to suss out what the devil might want there. What you just said drops the last piece of the puzzle, in place. The angel of death must be brought into this world, at midnight, through a place of awful carnage. Now, back during the Civil War, there was a battle in Carthage. A battle so intense, the soldiers called it, _The Battle of Hellhole_."

Dean stared at the floor. He held the speaker up to his mouth without moving his gaze, "Where'd the massacre go down?"

"On the land of William Jasper's farm," he answered.

After everyone had time to process what Bobby had researched, they started discussing a plan on what to do. Except, they were avoiding what they all knew and not just for Sarah's sake, either.

"Stop," Jo finally spoke up. "Guys, stop." All eyes darted over in her direction. "Look, I know I've been avoiding it, too, for Sarah, but can we, now be realistic about this, please?" The Winchesters moved closer to Jo. She inhaled, sharply. "I can't move my legs. I can't be moved. My guts are being held in by an ace bandage."

"We'll find a way to help you," Sarah assured Jo, but deep down, she was trying to reassure herself.

"Sarah, I know you, definitely know it. You're a smart girl." Jo looked up at the kid, with just her eyes. She was trying to look sincere, but came out firm. "We got to… We got to get our priorities, straight, here."

The guys exchanged looks between them, before glancing down at Sarah. Sarah stared down at Jo, trying not to shed a tear. She didn't want to believe it, but it was true and she knew it.

"Number one, I'm not going anywhere."

Ellen jumped in, firmly, at that point. "Joanna Beth, you stop talking like this…"

Jo rolled her head, to face her mother. "Mom. I can't fight. I can't walk. But, I can do something. " Her mother looked away. Sarah started chewing on her lower lip. "We've got propane, wiring, rock salt, iron nails. Everything we need." She was looking up at the Winchesters. Dean held his eyes closed.

Sam shook his head, confused. "Everything we need?"

"To build a bomb, Sam," Jo told him. Ellen and Sarah's heads darted up in her direction. Sarah, then, darted her head, up at her father, hoping he would say something against the idea. She was relieved when he said, no to it.

Jo shrugged at him. "You got another plan?" He didn't answer. He couldn't. Nothing else came to mind. "You got _any_ other plan? Those are hellhounds out there, Dean."

Dean exchanged a look with her.

Sarah, slowly, looked from her father, to the floor, then slowly, over at Jo.

"They've got all of our scents. Those bitches will never stop coming after you." Jo swallowed, and searched around, at the floor. "We let the dogs in, you guys hit the roof, make a break for the next building over, and I can wait here, with my finger on the button." She grinned up at them, especially for Sarah, "Rip those mutts a new one." Jo shook her head, the grin vanishing. "Or, at least, get you a few minutes' head start, anyway."

Ellen's voice broke. "No," she shook her head. "I won't let you."

"This is why we're here, right?" she reminded her mother. "If I can get us a shot on the devil…" Jo looked up at Dean, "Dean, we have to take it."

Dean looked away.

"No," Ellen tried to continue, to protest, shaking her head up at Dean. "That's not…"

"Mom." She looked back at her daughter. "This might _literally_ be your last chance to treat me like an adult. You might want to take it." A tear finally escaped from Sarah's cheek, watching the two women, followed by another. It got worse when Ellen ordered them to get to work. She lost it.

"No!" Sarah screamed and dropped to her knees, beside the young woman, grabbing Jo in a tight hug. "We'll figure out another way. I know we will. There's got to be something. There _has_ to be another way."

"Sarah, look at me," Jo ordered of her.

Sarah shook her head, holding onto her, still.

"Sarah," she said, holding, firmly, as she could.

Dean stepped in when Sarah still refused. "Listen to her, Sarah Lynn." He knew how much this was taking a toll on his daughter, and did not want to be tough. None of them wanted to.

Slowly, Sarah looked up. Her green eyes glistened from the tears that filled her eyes.

"We all knew something like this would happen. We all knew it. So, stop crying and help your dad and Sam put together those bombs while we still have a chance." With that said, Sarah looked over at Ellen, who shared a sympathetic look before she nodded. Sarah looked back at Jo.

"Okay," she agreed, her voice, cracking, as well. Sarah stood up, walking over to her father and uncle. When she was close enough, Sam hugged her head to him.

"Come on, Peanut. You can help me."

The adults worked, diligent and fast, on putting together, several makeshift bombs, using metal buckets, nails, rock salt, and even a doorbell for the button. Even at the fast pace, Sam was able to teach Sarah, so she could help them, grabbing what he told her to. Everything moved so quickly, before they knew it, Dean was bringing the button over to Jo, as Sam was saying his goodbye. He moved so his brother could kneel beside her. Sam moved over to stand behind his niece, placing both hands on her shoulders, rubbing her right one, up and down as more tears were falling.

"Okay, this is it," said Dean. "I'll see ya on the other side."

Jo smiled up at him.

"Probably sooner than later," he added.

Taking in a heavy breath, Jo handed Dean, her shotgun. "Make it later," she told him, softly. Dean took it from her and placed the detonator into her hand. He continued to hold it, in both hands, trying to think of something to say. No words came to mind. Dean just looked at her. Jo stared back at him. Finally, he leaned forward, to kiss Jo on the forehead, holding it for a moment until he moved back. Their eyes locked together, before Dean leaned forward, once again, this time, kissing her on the lips. Jo did not refuge, this time.

Watching it, made things harder on Sarah. She got what she wanted…sort of. It didn't make her happy, though. In fact, Sarah twisted around and held onto Sam. Sam wrapped an arm around her.

Eventually, Dean pushed away, standing to his feet. He walked away, continuing to try and hold it, together. Jo gasped, heavily. Her breath was shortening, as her last minutes drifted away.

Ellen took Dean's spot, kneeling beside her daughter. She smiled for her, which Jo forced one for her, as Jo cried, softly. Not a word was said until Ellen shook her head.

"Mom, no," Jo told her mother.

"Somebody's gotta let them in," Ellen said, catching on Sarah's ears, "and like you said, you're not moving." Jo had looked away. She rolled her head back, to look at her mother, again. "You got me, Jo."

"What about Sarah?" she nodded up, towards the kid, who was facing them, now.

Ellen looked down. If she looked back, she might break down, again. So, Ellen looked back up at her daughter. "Sarah will be okay. She's a strong kid. Stronger than most adults I've met."

"Miss Ellen, please don't…"

"Sarah," Ellen, partially, looked back at her, but did not look, directly at Sarah. She looked forward at Jo. "You're right. This _is_ important." Jo nodded at her. She couldn't help shed another tear when she glanced over at Sarah. "But, I will not leave you here, alone."

Sam tried to get Dean to say something.

Ellen interfered. "Get goin' now, you three," she ordered of the Winchesters.

"But, Miss Ellen," Sarah tried once more.

"I said go." She couldn't look behind her.

The brothers started to move. Sarah found her feet frozen to the floor.

"Come on, Baby Girl," Dean tried to nudge Sarah, to move. Sarah did, but not to leave. Instead, she threw herself onto Ellen.

"Sarah Lynn…" Ellen tried to scold her.

"I never got to say goodbye to my mom. I won't let this pass with my god mom, too. You, at least, owe me that." Sarah sounded firm as the adults had been with her as she held onto the woman. No way was she taking no for an answer.

"Mom, go with them," Jo tried to fight her mother, once more.

Ellen looked at her daughter as she held onto Sarah. She might have considered changing her mind, but knew Sarah would be okay. She, truly, was a strong kid. Besides, Sarah was the one to react.

"No, you're both right."

"About what?" Jo asked.

"About everything you said." Sarah sniffed in. "I just want… I just wanted to say thanks. For all you've both done for me." She lifted her head and looked Ellen, straight in the eye. "I prayed for my mom and me to get along. That never happened. I thought that was long gone when Mom died. Then…He sent me you. Not only did I get another chance to have some kind of a mother figure," she looked over her shoulder, and twisted around, "I got the chance to experience having a big sister, too. How cool is that?" Sarah forced a smirk.

Jo couldn't help smile, either.

"God may take something away from us, or not answer our prayers the way we want Him to, He always can give us something better." Sarah looked back at Ellen. "Even though I hated when you got strict on me, I still appreciate being that mom my mom never was." Sarah choked out a sob. "You didn't even have to, and I wish I could remember that year I was two and Mom and me stayed at the Roadhouse with you guys." At that, tears poured down both sides of her face. She threw herself at the woman, again. "I love you so much."

The waterworks were turned up for Ellen, as well as she held Sarah in her arms. "I love you, too, sweetheart," she sniffed. Things were quiet until Ellen pushed Sarah up, off her shoulder, to nudge her to her feet. The longer they prolonged this, the more of a chance their plan would backfire. "Get goin, now." She tried to remain firm.

Sarah shared one last glance before dashing out the back. Sam followed after her, as well as Dean.

Ellen stopped Dean, "Kick it in the ass. Don't miss." He and Sam hurried after Sarah.

Sarah ran, nonstop, without looking back. She hurried upstairs, to the roof and crawled through a window, ramming her body into the wall so Ellen and Jo knew where she was, before climbing down the escape ladder. When her feet hit the ground, Sarah made a dash for it, stopping when she knew she was out of the blast radiance. As she caught her breath, Sarah broke down, again. Her eyes were shut, tight as she balled her eyes out.

Footsteps sounded behind her, coming closer. Sarah spun around, raising her shotgun up.

"It's just us, Peanut," Sam assured her, in the lead. "Come on. Let's go." They were about to start running, again, when the building they were just in, exploded. Sarah stared at it, the fire illuminating her face that will, forever, be etched in her mind, along with the death of her grandfather, and even her own father.

Dean tried to get her attention. He touched her shoulder, but Sarah wouldn't move. She just continued to watch the blazing fire, as smoke filled the night sky. "Sarah, we've got to go!" he yelled for her, to move. Finally, he leaned in and pulled her around by the shoulders. "Let's go, Baby Girl," he told her, gently.

Sarah nodded and they took off at a run.


	155. Chapter 155- Abandon all Hope (Part 3)

Chapter 155

The Winchesters headed to where William Jasper's farm used to be, staking out in the bushes. They spotted the devil, busy digging, along with the missing persons.

"Guess we know what happened to some of the townspeople," Dean noted, in a whisper.

They exchanged a look between them before facing forward.

Sam said, "Okay."

"Okay," Dean also said.

"Okay," Sarah repeated the adults.

Last words?" Sam asked.

Dean looked over at his brother, then looked forward, again. "Think I'm good."

"Same here," agreed Sarah.

Sam nodded at the ground. "Yeah, me, too."

Dean shared one last look with his brother and daughter. "Here goes nothin'." With the Colt, in hand, the Winchesters headed into battle. They headed around, splitting up. Dean and Sarah stayed back, in the shadows while Sam continued forward, yelling out to Lucifer.

"Hey! You wanted to see me?!"

Lucifer stood up, straight. Tossing the shovel aside, he moved a little closer, brushing his hands, together. "Oh, Sam, you don't need that gun, here," he assured him. "You know I'd never hurt you. Not really."

While Lucifer stood there, smiling at Sam, Dean came up, beside the devil, pointing the Colt at the side of his head. "Oh yeah?" he said and placed his thumb on the hammer. "Well, I'd hurt you." Dean pulled the hammer back as the devil, slowly, looked over at him. "So, suck it." With that said, Dean pulled the trigger and shot him. Lucifer dropped to the ground, quick.

Sarah dashed around the townspeople, trying to get a better look. When she seen the devil lying there, at her father's feet, a huge smile finally lit up her face. Ellen and Jo's sacrifice did not go in vain. "Whoo hoo!" she cheered as Sam and Dean exchanged looks between them. Even they couldn't help let out a hopeful smile. "We did it! Dad did it! We all did it!" However, the celebration was short-lived and Sarah quit cheering, the huge smile quickly vanishing.

Lucifer woke up and got back to his feet, as he groaned in pain, and looked over at Dean as he held his forehead. "Where did you get that?" He then slapped him, sending him, flying, against a tree. Sarah made a beeline for her father, kneeling beside where Dean had landed.

Sam looked from his brother, over to Lucifer. The bullet wound healed itself.

"Now," Lucifer smirked. "Where were we?"

Sam stared over at Lucifer as Sarah checked Dean over, making sure he was still breathing.

"Don't feel too bad, Sam," she heard Lucifer tell her uncle. "There's only five things in all creation that gun can't kill, and…," he shrugged his hands out, "I just happen to be one of them. But, if you give me a minute, I'm almost done." Lucifer picked up his shovel and continued digging.

With his back turned, Sam took this time to run over to his family, kneeling beside them.

"He's okay," Sarah informed him. Before Sam could respond, Lucifer beat him to it, grabbing their attention.

"You know," he had stopped digging, clearing his throat as Lucifer leaned on his shovel, "I don't suppose you'd just say, yes, right here and now? End this whole tiresome discussion?"

Slowly, Sam rose to his feet, again, staring at Lucifer.

He shrugged, "That's crazy, right?"

"It's never gonna happen!" Sam told him, angrily.

Lucifer returned to his digging. "Oh, I don't know, Sam. I think it will. I think it will happen soon. Within six months. And, I think it'll happen…" He stopped digging, to look up, pausing in his words as if he was thinking. Lucifer looked back over, at Sam. "In Detroit."

"You listen to me, you son of a bitch." Lucifer resumed his digging as Sam spoke. "I'm gonna kill you, myself. You understand me? I'm gonna rip your heart out!"

"That's good, Sam," Lucifer replied, unfazed. "You keep fanning that fire in your belly. All that pent-up rage. I'm gonna need it."

Sam remained quiet, that time. Instead, he looked around at the townspeople just standing there, staring at nothing. "What did you do?" he finally asked Lucifer. "What did you do to this town?"

"Oh, I was very generous with this town. One demon for every able-body man."

"And, what did you do with the rest of them? The women and children, the non-able men?" Sarah finally spoke up, now standing.

Lucifer stopped digging, to point, "In there," at where he was digging. Sam had to, quickly, hold Sarah back when she lunged at him. "I know, it's awful. But…" he looked around at the soft, loose earth, before looking back at them. "These horsemen are so demanding." Lucifer continued digging, for a brief moment. "So it was… Women and children, first." He paused, to lean on his shovel, once more. "I know what you must think of me."

"You have no idea how I'm thinking of you, right now," Sarah snarled from her uncle's arms.

"Sarah, right?" he pointed at her.

Sarah said, nothing. She just glared at him, wanting to rip the guy to pieces.

"I was just in formed of you. Apparently, everyone thought you were the one?"

"Yeah, so? There's no way I'm saying, yes, to you, either," Sarah told him off.

"Why would I ask you, some snot-nose, little kid?" Lucifer asked of her. "Sam's my vessel, not you."

Sam and Sarah stared at him, lost.

"Well, yeah, he's the true vessel. I'm just the back-up." Sarah rolled her eyes, "the sure-fire win for hell. In fact, I learned that from you."

"Really." Lucifer smirked. "You're a sure win. Wait… Are you a vessel of Michael's, too?"

"What?" Sarah looked up at her uncle. She looked back at the devil. "No. That's my dad," she nodded her head towards where Dean was still laying. "War told me, first, then you said something when we were sent…to…the…future." Realization had set in by that point. "I'm the reason you tell me that."

"Way to go, Peanut," Sam told her, staring up at Lucifer.

"You don't know, do you?" Lucifer asked Sarah, looking at her, sideways.

She asked, "Know what?"

"Oh, nothing," he smirked. "Man, I never figured that would actually happen. That is amazing." Lucifer switched his attention back to Sam. "Well, I guess you have to say, yes, Sam."

"Why's that?" Sam asked.

"If you don't, then it falls on the kid." Lucifer made a sour face, like a kid staring at a plate of green vegetables, "Not that I would be thrilled to look like a kid. But, alas, you won't let that happen, will you? It has to be you. You of all people should understand why I have to do this."

Sam stared at him, tilting his head to the side. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucifer tossed his shovel away, staring back at Sam. "I was a son," he told him. "A brother, like you," he pointed at Sam. "A younger brother. And, I had an older brother who I loved. Idolized, in fact. And, one day, I went to him and I begged him to stand with me, and Michael… Michael turned on me. Called me a freak. A monster. And, then he beat me down. All because I was different. Because I had a mind of my own."

Sam couldn't help think of the past. He tried to shake off memories he cared to forget. Lucifer's words hit a nerve and that was exactly what the devil was trying to do.

"Tell me, something, Sam," he continued. "Any of this sound, familiar."

Sam wasn't the only one, Lucifer's story sounded like. It may not have been a brother, but Sarah couldn't help think of her mother's words she'd overhear, while talking to Mark. Neither one answered, though. Sarah would have, but was still recovering from the loss her family they just experienced, her mind couldn't really think straight.

Lucifer shrugged one shoulder, "Anyway… You have to excuse me. Midnight is calling," he held up his hands, towards the night sky, "and, I have a ritual to finish. Don't go anywhere," he pointed at them. "Not that you could if you would." Lucifer turned around, his back to Sam and Sarah, and started chanting a spell.

Sarah stared at the ground. Sam patted the right side of her collarbone, comforting her, before they kneeled back, beside Dean. They turned their heads just as Lucifer was finished.

Lucifer turned around, again, when he was finished, facing the possessed townsfolk. "Now, repeat after me," he told them. We offer up our lives, blood, souls…" The demons inside the bodies repeated what he had said. Lucifer closed his eyes, opening up his hands he had, together. "To complete this tribute." As soon as the demons repeated the last part, they started dropping like flies.

Sam and Sarah stared around, at them. They couldn't believe it. That Crowley guy was right.

Lucifer looked over at them, catching their expressions. "What?" he shrugged. "They're just demons."

Suddenly, they felt the earth move underneath their feet. Sam was the first to notice Dean had awaken by that point. Sam got Sarah's attention, nodding over at him. She looked behind her.

"Nice of you to join the party," Sarah told him, sarcastically. She turned to Sam, "Any ideas?"

At that point, Castiel finally showed up. He had them keep quiet, and got them out of there. Back to where they had parked the Impala. It was difficult, spotting Ellen's car, parked nearby. Sarah paused to stare at it, before sliding into the backseat, where Dean took off, headed back to Bobby's place.

Later, Dean headed upstairs, where Sarah was sitting on the edge of her bed, sideways. He stopped in the doorway, to knock, first, but usually when her door was open, it was okay for anyone to come in. So, Dean walked over and threw himself onto the bed, on the wall's side. He folded his arms against his chest.

"How you holding up?" he asked her, though Dean could probably guess the answer to that question.

Sarah had her scrapbook she had made, the summer she lived with Bobby, open, on the bed. In her hands was the photo Bobby made them take, a few nights ago. She stared at Ellen and Jo, the most.

"I'm sorry, Baby Girl. I wish there was something we could have done."

"It feels like I lost my mom, all over again, Dad. Only, ten times, worse." A tear drifted down her left cheek. Dean noticed it and reached up, to wipe it away with his thumb. He took his hand back, folding it back under his other arm. He looked up at the rest of the photos, Sarah had taped or tacked to her wall, around her bed. Some of them were photos from the Roadhouse, Ellen had taken and had in her collection. Sarah had asked if she could have them since they were of people she knew and loved. There was even one of John, sitting at the bar, taken when he had stopped in, once. His eyes scanned over the many people they had known and met. There was also a few Sarah took, of people the Winchesters had helped out on a case.

"You should become a photographer, kiddo." Dean tried to lighten the moment.

"Not all of those I took," she reminded her father.

"I know," he said, "I'm talking about the ones you did take."

Sarah knew what her father was trying to do.

His eyes stopped on the one Jo took when Sarah was two, and her and Emily were staying at the Roadhouse, that year. It was the one around the pool table Ash liked to nap on. "At least we know why you're so good at pool." Dean's eyes had stopped on the photo.

Sarah scoffed, forcing a smile out. She finally looked up, looking over at a few photos above the pool table one, of Ash, letting a two-year-old Sarah sit on his shoulders. Sarah had been trying to copy Ash's tough-looking pose. "I wouldn't be surprised if Ash is the reason I've always been good at computers. Miss Ellen and Jo said I would be following after him, a lot."

"Who knew Ash would let a kid hang any where around him," Dean couldn't help snicker at the thought.

"Everyone falls in love with me, when they meet me, I guess," she shrugged. "Everyone, except…" Sarah caught another photo in her peripheral vision, several photos away from the one of her and Ash. It was on the next wall, at the head of the bed. Sarah stood with her mother, with her arm around the five-year-old. Sarah had her hands shoved into her jeans pockets.

Dean looked where Sarah was looking at, having to tilt his head back. Even upside down, he could see who was in the photo. "If she couldn't see what the rest of us can, then she's blind, Baby Girl. Don't worry about her," he assured her.

Sarah looked down at her father. "She's my biological mom, Dad," she told him. "Of course I'm gonna worry about it. The two people who should be the ones who love a kid, the most, are the parents. And, it felt like Mom never did. I spent most of the time, trying to earn it. Miss Ellen didn't have to take me under her wing and she did. She had a daughter of her own, and Miss Ellen took care of me the way Mom should have been doing. I didn't even have to try." More tears were now coming.

Dean, immediately sat up. "I understand how much you wanted your own mom to love you. I get it. Hell, I basically did the same, growing up with my dad."

Sarah interrupted him. "At least, Grandpa told you he was proud of you, before he died," she pointed out. "Before her second to last surgery, Mom couldn't even say I was beautiful. I don't even recall her, saying she loved me, before the doctors took her in."

"Look at me, Sarah Lynn," Dean took hold of her upper arms, "Let it go. Screw her. She may have said and did things she shouldn't have, and I'm just as pissed as you are. But, you need to move on or it's gonna kill you."

Sarah stared up at her father. "You have a hard time, letting things go."

"Yeah, I know that. Don't be like me. I know you look up to me, but you don't have to do everything I do."

Her expression softened. "I know, and I do try and move on. I've forgiven her, several times, but the thoughts keep coming back. And, now that we lost Jo and Miss Ellen, it's stronger than ever." The last of her words got choked out as a veil of tears filled Sarah's eyes.

Dean pulled his daughter close to him and held her in his arms.

"I miss them, so much, Dad," she cried from his shoulder.

"I know, Baby Girl, I know." He squeezed her, tight, but gentle. A tear snuck out from the corner of his own eye. "I know." Dean held her for a moment. After a few minutes, he started singing the old song of Sarah's. When he finished, things grew quiet before he asked, "Are we going to your grandparents, for Thanksgiving, again?"

Sarah wiped her nose with the back of her hand, staying on his shoulder. "No. I think I just want to do our KFC Thanksgiving dinner, here, with Uncle Bobby. If that's okay with him."

Dean smiled. He kissed behind her left ear. "I'm sure that'll be okay with Bobby. Hopefully, Sam didn't already make plans with them."

"I'm sure Gram called me, back in October, but she'll understand if I called her and said I want to just spend the holiday, at home, with some of my family."

"Well, might want to call and make sure." Sarah released her grip on her father, letting her sit back, on the bed. "Besides, I wasn't looking forward to dressing up for dinner, again."

Sarah couldn't help smile, a little.

At that moment, Sarah's phone rang. Sarah took it out of her pocket, to look at the caller ID. "Speaking of Gram," she said, when she seen it was her grandmother calling. Sarah composed herself, before answering. "Hey, Gram."

"Sarah, thank heavens, you're alright," Beth replied, relieved. "Are you hurt? How's your temperature?"

"It's normal, and I'm not hurt. Not physically, anyways."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

Sarah looked over at her father. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. When Sarah opened them, she managed to get out, "We lost a couple people during the battle."

"Who?"

Sarah could feel tears fill her eyes, once more.

"Sarah? Are you there?" Beth asked. "Is it your father, or one of your uncles? Who, angel?"

Dean watched as his daughter, slowly, started to break down. Wanting to make things easier for her, he held his hand out, for the phone. Sarah lowered it from her ear and handed it to him. Dean placed the phone to his own ear. "Beth, it's Dean."

"Dean, I'm glad you're safe, as well. Are you hurt? How's your temperature?" she fired off the same questions to him.

He forced a snicker. "I'm fine, Beth. My brother is, too."

"Then, who else did you lose?" she asked, confused.

Dean paused before he finally answered. "Our friends, Ellen and Jo."

Beth gasped. "Sarah's godmother and her daughter?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid so," he told her.

"But, you guys, at least won, though. Right?"

"No, the devil's still walking around. Only, this time, he's got Death up and running."

"Death?"

Big boss of the reapers," Dean explained. "Bobby says, the last time he was up here, was during the flood."

"You mean, the story of Noah?" she asked.

"Yup, that's the one."

"So, what happened? Did the devil kill them?"

Dean explained what had happened, in Carthage. All except what happened while he was unconscious. Neither Sam or Sarah mentioned anything about it. Not yet, anyway. They were still recovering, after all from their loss.

"I think it's worse on Sarah," Dean said, after he finished. "She was the only mom the kid had."

"No, she wasn't, Dean. Sarah had her mother," Beth tried to remind him, sincerely.

"Again, the only mom Sarah had." Dean sounded agitated, that time.

"I understand my daughter didn't have a close relationship with Sarah, but she took care of her, at least. Emily may have made some mistakes. We all did. You can't say, Ellen was the only mother Sarah had."

Sarah was starting to feel agitated, as well. She asked for the phone, back, returning it to her ear. "Gram, Mom was never there and you know it. Shoot, you and Papa babysat me, the most."

"She had to work, angel, you know that," said Beth.

"She provided money. That's the only thing she did. I've been taking care of myself for as long as I can remember, Gram. Providing an income is not the only thing that makes you a mom. It takes time, attention, and love. Which she gave very little to. But, whatever. I was gonna call to let you know, my family will not be coming over, for Thanksgiving. We are busy with a bunch of crap, and having a huge family dinner does not fit into that."

"But, if it is the end of the world, that is the best time to spend with family," she pointed out.

"There won't be an end of the world. Not if my dad and uncle has anything to do with it."

"Sarah, I see I have upset you, but you don't have to cancel coming over, for Thanksgiving. And, what about Christmas? We didn't get to have you, the last few years, for Christmas, at all," Beth said.

"I'm not cancelling because you upset me. I was telling Dad, before you called, that I wanted to stay home and have our KFC feast. We're not gonna come over, eat turkey and pie, play football, and pretend everything's all sunshine and unicorns while Lucifer is running amuck. Maybe next year, if we survive that long and all of this is over. _Maybe_."

Beth gave in. She didn't want to, but her granddaughter made a valid point. "Alright, fine. You don't have to come over. I just wish we can see you, but that is your decision. My condolences to you and everyone, with your loss, Sarah. I love you."

"I love you, too, Gram," Sarah told her. "I'm sorry about all this. Saving the world, kind of, takes front seat."

"It shouldn't." Before Beth ended the call, she added, "You really are your mother's daughter." Beth then said, good-bye.

Sarah returned the good-bye, and the call ended. She lowered the phone from her ear, to stare at it.

"You alright, Baby Girl?" Dean asked.

Sarah just stared at her phone, not saying a word. Everyone always said, she was her father's daughter. No one ever referred Sarah, as her mother's daughter. Not till now.


	156. Chapter 156- Holidays and Feelings

Chapter 156

For Thanksgiving, the Winchesters did end up, staying with Bobby, and having their KFC feast, and mostly watched football. Dean was relieved he didn't have to dress up like the year before, and mingle with random strangers he cared not to meet. The feast was spread out on the coffee table, like a usual Thanksgiving dinner, except there was a bucket of extra crispy chicken instead of a platter of a whole turkey.

Don't get them wrong, each one of them, including Bobby, were still recovering from the loss of losing Ellen and Jo. But, it was important to all of them, to give Sarah childhood memories when they could. That included their own holiday traditions.

Along with the chicken meal, they had a bowl of popcorn and chips sitting on the table, as well. There was beer for the men, and soda for Sarah. They even convinced Castiel to join in the festivities.

During halftime, Sam, Dean, and Sarah went outside to play their own game of football. At first, they split into teams. Sam and Dean were on one team, and Sarah and Castiel on the other. Sarah tried to teach the angel, the rules of the game, though Castiel didn't really pick up on the sport.

"I'll throw it and you go out for it," Sarah was explaining.

"Out for what?" the angel asked.

"The ball," she said. "I'll throw it and you go catch, and get it over to where that truck is."

"Um, okay."

Sarah nodded. "Okay, ready?"

"Yes."

She winded her right arm back. "Go long!" Sarah pushed the football into the air, throwing it towards their marked end zone. She had to, quickly, add, "Run, Cas!" before he ran for it. Thankfully, he did manage to catch the ball, barely. However, when Sam and Dean came after him, Dean stole it from the angel, making his way down the other end, to their marked end zone.

Sarah hurried after her father, trying to, at least, stop him. Dean ended up, throwing it to Sam before she tackled him. Sam caught it, just before he made it to the end zone, scoring a touchdown.

"Whoo!" Dean cheered, after getting back to his feet. He met his brother, halfway and exchanged high fives.

Sarah got back to her feet, and wandered over to Castiel. "Cas, you were supposed to protect the ball from being stolen," she told the angel.

"Dean really looked like he wanted the ball," he said.

"Yes, of course he does, that's the whole point of football. Everyone wants the ball so they can score. You have to keep them from doing that. Throw an elbow if you have to."

"That sounds like a violent sport."

"People has torn and broken ligaments, playing football," said Sarah.

"Why would they still play?"

"Cause it's fun," Dean said, as he and Sam joined them.

"I think our definitions of fun are different," Castiel told him.

"Hey, Peanut, go long," Sam nodded forward.

Sarah sped in the direction her uncle was pointing to, looking back over her shoulder. Sam then threw the football, making it, spiral through the air. Sarah turned on her heel, at a hundred and eighty degree angle and caught it in her arms.

She held it up into the air, in one hand, to show them she had caught it, before spiking it on the ground. Dean whistled while Sam cheered. Sarah picked the football up, again, and threw it back to Sam. The Winchesters ended up just tossing it between each other, until halftime was over.

After the game was over, everyone sat around Bobby's kitchen table, playing cards and a couple board games.

Once Thanksgiving was over, the Winchesters picked up a few hunts, getting back to work, while they figured out how else to beat the devil, without saying yes, to either him or Michael. Sarah did end up telling her father about what Lucifer had said. Neither one knew what the fallen archangel had been referring to. Regardless, Dean and Sarah just wanted to hunt. Whenever Sarah slept, she had nightmares about Ellen and Jo, tossing and turning. It got to the point she wasn't getting a full night's rest.

Christmas rolled around. Greg called, asking Sarah if they would be joining them. Sarah declined, again, stating she didn't want to celebrate Christmas, that year. That is, until Sam intervened. He had walked in on Sarah talking to her grandfather. He took the phone from his niece, and told Greg they would be there, including Bobby, before hanging up.

"Are you nuts?" Sarah asked of her uncle. "I don't want to go celebrate Christmas with them. I don't want to, at all."

"This would be good for you, Sarah," Sam told her. "I've seen you having a hard time, the past month, and I think spending time with family would help."

"But," she tried to protest. But, Sam wasn't hearing it. Truth was, he didn't want to, either. Sam figured whatever would help his niece, he would do it. Even if that meant, spending a day with his niece's family. "You suck, Uncle Sam."

"I know," he replied. Sarah was surely becoming a teenager, with her attitude. To think, in six months, she was going to be twelve years old. Just yesterday, Sarah was only seven. Now, she was practically in high school. Almost, anyway.

Dean wasn't too thrilled, either, when he heard was Sam had done. Bobby, on the other hand, sided with Sam. It was a surprise to the Winchesters, but Sam was glad someone was backing him up. Plus, Bobby understood what he was trying to do, and agreed, even if he didn't want to do it, either.

"You both realize, we either have to spend the night there, or be there by six AM, right," Sarah told Sam and Bobby, her arms folded across her chest.

"What?" Sam and Bobby both stared at the preteen.

She nodded. "Yeah, we have to be there so Papa can dress up like Santa and pass out the gifts to everyone. They do it, every year."

Sam caught his brother giving him, a death glare. "You got to be kidding me," he looked from his brother, cautiously, back over at Sarah.

"Nope," she shook her head. "Since Mom worked, Christmas eve, we usually had to wake up around four, to head over there."

"Why didn't ya just spend the night with your grandparents?" Bobby asked.

"I have no idea, you would have to ask my mom." Sarah looked around at the men. "So, what's it gonna be?"

The men exchanged looks between themselves. It looked like no other choice. So, on Christmas eve, the Winchesters and Bobby headed up to Milbank. Thankfully, there wasn't a mob of cars parked up and down the street, this time. Dean parked in front of the house, on the street.

"I still can't believe Sarah's family is rich," Bobby said, from the front seat of the Impala, staring over at the big house.

"I know, tell me about it," Dean agreed.

"Bet you wouldn't believe Papa was poor, growing up. He had worked hard, since he was fourteen, to live the way he's living now," explained Sarah, "and, even before that, he was working, for free, on chores his dad would make him do, around the house. So, forewarning, don't look bored around Papa. He'll put to work."

"Note taken," Dean replied. He was sure Sarah's grandfather wouldn't actually put them to work, but just in case, he wasn't about to take that chance."

Sam and Dean helped Bobby out, before grabbing the bags from the trunk. Sarah helped carry things in. They walked up the walkway, passed the eyes of lawn gnomes. Greg had come out, standing there on the front porch.

Sarah walked ahead of the group, towards him. "Hey, Papa," she greeted him, giving an one-handed hug.

Greg hugged his granddaughter, in return. "I'm so glad you decided to come over, this year. Christmas hasn't been the same without you," he said, with a smile. Greg let go.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Sarah forced a smile. It was a small, white lie. All of them would rather be facing a werewolf, right about now.

Greg brushed a hand along her hair. "You are getting so big, Sarah. You stayed small for so long, I thought you would be a little person for the rest of your life."

"Sam, here, went through the same thing," Dean nodded over at his brother, teasingly. "We all thought the same thing." Both of them laughed while Sam and Sarah plotted in their heads, what they would do, if they could. Nothing too serious, of course.

"Well, come on in. I'll show you where you will be sleeping." Greg motioned for the group to follow him, inside, closing the door once they were all in. Beth was coming from upstairs, carrying a basket of laundry.

"Hey, Gram," Sarah greeted her.

"Sarah, so glad you made it," she replied and set the basket down, to go over and hug her granddaughter. Beth also hugged the men, as well. "Why don't you go set your stuff, up in your room, and I can go put on a pot of coffee, so we can all catch up."

Greg showed them all, down a hallway, leading them each to a separate room since Bobby couldn't go, upstairs.

"Good God, how many rooms does your grandparents have?" Dean muttered so only Sarah could hear.

"ten."

Dean stared down at his daughter. "You're kidding," he said, in disbelief.

She shook her head.

"What did your grandfather do for a living?"

"He owned a successful contractor business," Sarah explained. "He started as a entry level builder when he was younger, than, worked his way to the top, in forty years. Even retired, he still goes and works, every now and then, with the company. The guy doesn't know retirement means, to rest the rest of his life."

Dean whistled, as he looked around the hallway. "He must have done it, very well." His gaze stopped on a particular framed photo, sitting on an end table, with a couple of others. He wandered, closer. It was an old photo of Emily, on her high school graduation day. It was a few years prior than when he had known her, but Dean could recognize who it was.

Sarah wandered next to him. "That's Mom's high school graduation picture," she said. Emily was smiling, with dark brown hair, growing past her shoulders. Her eyes shined with excitement. "Dad."

"Hm?" he responded.

"Did you and Mom actually have a thing other than a fling in the sheets?"

Dean didn't respond.

Sarah stared up at him, waiting for an answer.

He finally glanced over at her. "No."

"Really? Then what was that thing about irises, back during that game show the Trickster put us, though? Or, Gabriel, rather." She still couldn't believe the Trickster was actually the archangel, Gabriel.

Dean found he couldn't look his daughter in the eye. Instead, he stared back at the photo.

"Is that why Mom was pissed at you?" she continued to probe. "Because you two actually had a thing."

"It's none of your business, Sarah. Just drop it," he told her and wandered over to the rest of the group. Sarah watched her father, just standing there. She turned back to the photo of her mother, eventually looking at the rest. There was a graduation photo of her aunt Kyra, as well, as Greg and Beth's wedding photo. That one looked way older than the other two. In fact, the photo wasn't even in color, and the couple was a lot younger. Both girls looked a lot like Beth did, when she was their age.

Greg eventually wandered over his granddaughter. "Are you okay, Sarah?" he asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Sarah looked up at the man. "Yeah, I'm fine." She looked back at the photos. Out of nowhere, Sarah asked, "Why couldn't you and Mom leave me there, at the Roadhouse?"

Greg was taken aback. He wasn't expecting a question like that. "Well, because you were ours, not their's," he replied. "We couldn't just leave you there. Then you would grow up, thinking we abandoned you. There isn't a win, here, Sarah. Either way, you would act like we hate you."

"Maybe, but at least I could have grown up, without the drama you all put me through." Sarah stared at her mother, again. She wanted to smash the thing, so badly.

"Sarah, why can't you put the past behind us? Why must you keep bringing this up?" Greg asked of her. "Yes, we messed up. Yes, your mother and us made some mistakes with you. We're trying to make things right, now. Why can't you accept that? We accepted you and your dad. Plus, I thought you forgave us?"

"I did."

"Then, what's the problem? Why continue treating us like we're terrible people? We don't deserve this, Sarah," he said.

Sarah said, nothing.

"What else can we do to make things right?"

"That's the problem. I don't know. I did forgive you, but I'm having trouble forgetting," she admitted. "All I want, right now, is my god mom." Sarah could feel her eyes fill up with tears.

Greg took in a deep breath, through his nose, letting it out, through his mouth. "I'm sorry you had to suffer that loss, again. You guys made this choice to be involved in all this."

Sarah, quickly, glared up at her grandfather. "We were trying to save the world. Clean up the mess we made. Yeah, there's sacrifices that has to be made, but at least your sorry ass is safe."

"Excuse me, young lady?" Greg scolded her, placing his hands on his sides. He then folded his arms. "Maybe my belt will knock some sense into you. Maybe that's all you need since I'm sure you haven't gotten one since that time you and your family were arrested, that time, a few years ago."

"Yeah, it's always straight to discipline with you people, isn't it?" she asked of him. "I don't mean disrespect, I really don't. I just wish you would listen and stop pointing out the decisions I make. They may not be the ones you would make, or even sensible ones, but they are my decisions."

"Same goes around, Sarah. We made decisions we thought were best for you, but you can't seem to let it go, either. Maybe you should take the log out of your own eye before you try and take it out of ours?"

"Uh, maybe because the decisions I make, benefits others. You were only doing it for yourselves," she snapped back.

"Correction, we also thought we were benefiting you," Greg corrected. "We did the best we could, for you and your mother. But, neither of you wanted to have anything to do with us. The moment she could, your mother left for college and never returned until she was in deep trouble. The moment we got your dad here, you ran off and never returned. Just like your mother. Both of you feel the need to just run from your problems instead of facing them, head on. You just push people away, especially those who love and care about you."

Sarah remained silent. Tears leaked from her eyes as she stared at the floor.

"Like it or not, you are your mother's daughter, Sarah Lynn. Not your god mother's."

"You don't have to be blunt," she told him, bitterly.

Greg just shrugged. "Sometimes, being blunt is necessary. Maybe your dad's family is babying you too much, trying to spare your feelings. But, that can actually hurt a lot more than being blunt. At least, we're being honest."

"There's nicer ways of being honest, and that's what _my family_ does."

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not softer around the edges like they are, and I'm sorry if my words hurt. Wouldn't you rather I were honest, or would you rather I lie to you?"

He was right about the being honest part, but Sarah didn't want to admit it. She tired to walk around her grandfather, until he held his arm out, blocking her path.

"We're not finished here, Sarah," he told her. "I think we need to talk these things through."

"It won't do a bit of good," she said, trying to break around his arm.

"And, why is that?"

Sarah didn't respond.

"Sarah, you're not being fair in giving us a chance," Greg told her.

She looked up at him. "I gave you plenty of chances. But, every time I do, we end up, fighting and then I leave for several months."

"Exactly, _you_ leave. You never talk through why we fight. Maybe if you would, we can end this feud we seem to have."

"I'm sorry, I thought kids had to shut up and just obey adults?" Sarah spat at her grandfather. "Isn't that what you always said?"

"You twisted my words and you know it, Sarah Lynn."

"I didn't twist your words, I translated them to a kid's lingo. Just because we should respect adults, doesn't mean adults need to rear them with an iron fist! I show adults respect, in fact, Dad makes sure of that. Shoot, I called my god mom, Miss Ellen, because you raised me that way. I'm not saying you're wrong, just let me have a say every now and then."

"You're breaking a lot of rules, right now, Sarah," Greg said, calmly.

"And, you're still not getting it," she added.

Sam came out, at that moment, curious of the commotion. "What's going on?" he asked, looking between Greg and Sarah.

"Nothing, Sarah and I were having a private discussion," Greg tried to assure him.

"Private? We could hear from down the hall," Sam pointed out. "Maybe, if you want to make things right with Sarah, try not pushing her. My brother told me, that, and Sarah has come to me when she was ready just like he said she would."

"I think she has prolonged this, long enough," he told Sam.

He shrugged, "Took a couple years for me."

"So, in the meantime, let her talk to us, with disrespect. Is that what you're saying?" Greg crossed his arms across his chest.

"No, that's not what I'm saying, at all. My brother and I know Sarah better than anyone."

"Excuse me?" He interrupted Sam, unfolding his arms, slowly. "We raised Sarah from the time she was born, until she was seven. We know her just as much as you and your brother does, if not more."

Sarah stared up at her grandfather, her eyebrows raised. " _You know_ _me_?" she questioned and shook her head. "Papa, I love you, but no one here knows me, not even Mark or Jacob. You see, in order to know a person, well, you need to listen to them, and take an interest in them. Just being around someone, even for seven years, will not get you to know them. Even if I see the same person in the grocery store, every single day, buying a bag of chips. All you will know about the guy is that he likes chips. You don't know me, not like they do," Sarah nodded up at her uncle.

"Because you won't give us that chance, Sarah. Every time we try to show you, we're trying, you start fighting with us and bring up the past, throwing things in our faces, like your dad treating you better. I understand he understands you more than we did, and do, but can't you forgive us, and let us, continue to make things better? Your grandmother and I can't erase the past, but we can change for the future. Let us get to know you."

Sarah lowered her gaze, from her grandfather, to stare at the floor. She felt Sam wrap a hand around her.

"He's right, Peanut. I can see your grandparents are trying, at least. You have to let go what's bothering you."

She finally looked up at him. "You don't think I have tried? Like I told Dad, I have forgiven them," Sarah looked over at Greg. She looked back at her uncle. "A million times I've forgiven them, but the thoughts and the memories keep coming back. Especially, after the other night."

Sam shook his head as he shrugged. "What other night?" he asked.

Sarah looked away, again.

"What other night, Sarah?" Sam urged his niece to continue, hoping she would so they wouldn't have to drop it, until later when she was ready. "That night we lost…" He couldn't finish the thought. Even Sam was still recovering from their loss.

"The next night I finally got to sleep, after Carthage," Sarah replied, relieving Sam, "I remembered a moment when I was two. I don't know how because I hardly remember anything before I was three, but I remembered the day Papa," she nodded up at Greg, "found Mom and I at the Roadhouse."

Both men stared at the girl.

"You were so young," Greg pointed out. "How could you remember something like that?"

She looked up at him. "All I saw was you ripping me out of Miss Ellen's arms as I was crying. That's all I remembered."

"How do you know that was how it happened, Peanut?" Sam asked. "Sometimes, we remember things, differently than what actually happened. Our feelings, depending on how we feel towards others, can alternate that."

Greg let out a sigh. "She was crying when I picked her and my daughter up, and I think I did take Sarah from your friend. I didn't think I ripped her out of her arms, but it was a long drive, back here and I want to get back on the road as soon as possible. Maybe I did." He looked down at Sarah, "If so, Sarah, I'm very sorry. Really, I am. Can you forgive me?"

Sarah, slowly, looked up at her grandfather and nodded. "Like I said, I'm trying, every day."

"Let us sit down and talk about all this, then. If you want, your uncle can join us. Please, your grandmother and I do want to get to know you. Please?"

Sarah could see the pleading in her grandfather's eyes. She looked over at Sam, who gave her a nod. She looked back at him, and nodded. "Okay. If you really mean it, we can talk." Sarah looked up at her uncle, "Will you be there, with us, Uncle Sam?"

Sam gave her a smile. "Of course, Peanut."


	157. Chapter 157- Mending Things Over

Chapter 157

Sam, Sarah, and Greg headed to the living room, where Beth was reading a book. She looked up as they entered the room. "All settled in?"

"Just about," said Sam, with a smile.

"That's good," she replied. "Let me know if you need any extra blankets or towels. We even have spare toothbrushes for guests."

Sam thanked her before Greg spoke up.

"Sarah is ready to share with us, her feelings."

"Feelings about what?" asked Beth, placing a bookmark inside of her book.

"We just need to sit and chat so she could get some things off her chest," he explained.

Beth looked confused. "I thought everything was fine? She let us back into her life."

Sarah was sitting on the couch with Sam. "I forgave you, guys, but things keep coming up, that I keep bottling back down," she explained.

"Such as?"

Sarah told her grandmother about the dream she had, that could have been a memory.

"I see," Beth nodded, afterwards. "But, you might be remembering wrong, to make your grandfather look like the bad guy."

"I told Sarah, I remember that day, vaguely and I did apology."

"He did, Gram. But, it isn't just that." Sarah had removed her shoes and crossed her legs on the couch. "You guys have shown me, you're trying, this past couple of years, and I feel really glad. But, the past keeps trying to creep up on me, in my sleep, even more so than those dreams I'd get from my visions I used to get, of my other grandfather. I want you a part of my life, I do."

Greg was sitting in a recliner, across from the love seat Beth was sitting on. "That's what our past can do to us, Sarah. Sometimes, it doesn't want us to be able to move forward, in life. It's in our human nature to hold grudges. We feel we have that right, right?"

Sarah nodded, "Yeah."

"Gram and I have made some mistakes that have affected you, greatly, and I am starting to see that. We put you on medication that you shouldn't have been on. I think it had even changed your personality, for a brief period."

"That's why we took you off it," Beth added in. "Your mother preferred the change, she said it was an improvement. But, your grandfather and I saw what it was doing to you. It was a relief the doctor listened to him, instead."

"Mom was happy I wasn't pestering her, all the time," Sarah replied, remembering that period of her younger years.

"May I ask what the medication was for?" asked Sam, curious.

"It was around the time, Sarah had starting reading books on monsters," Greg explained, "and getting really into it. It got to where, she would sleep with a knife under her pillow, she had taken from the kitchen. She really believed monsters could attack us. We were worried about this, because, frankly, it sounds crazy."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," he said.

"So, we got Sarah in to see a child psychologist, who suggested trying meds to help make the monsters go away. But, once Sarah was on them, she reacted, differently than what he expected her to, and took her off of them."

"Different, like how?"

"Sarah was withdrawn, hardly said a word. She wasn't eating. She didn't have any interest in anything. Even her teacher took notice in her school work, and her interaction in class."

"And her mom liked that?"

"Honestly, our daughter had some problems of her own," Greg admitted. "We thought she should be the one on meds. It seemed like we were losing her to what Sarah's psychologist guessed as depression. But, Emily refused help."

Sam noticed a picture of Emily, on the coffee table. He reached over and picked it up, getting a better look. "I can see Sarah's nose, but other than that, I don't see any resemblance."

"Ever since the day Sarah was born, Emily showed no attachment to her," said Beth.

"It's not that I never tried," Sarah spoke up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if that's why you had so much hope for your father," Greg said. "Not that we didn't help any, we were so focused on helping your mother, we paid very attention to you, I guess."

"How was Emily before Sarah was born?" Sam asked, curious.

Greg and Beth exchanged quick glances before Greg responded. "Emily was a happy child in her early years. Her and her sister were always playing, together. Then, when she got around Sarah's age, now, that's when we started to see a change in her behavior."

"What kind of change?"

"Emily has always tried to do her best, but, I guess, her best wasn't good enough. She had to be better than that," Beth explained. "She started focusing more on school than any other activity. She started arguing with us, and have even gone as far as declaring her hatred for us." The older woman was starting to tear up, a little.

Greg took over for his wife. "When Emily showed she wanted nothing to do with us, we were heartbroken and wondered what was it we could have done to make her, resent us, especially when I told her, her mother and I wasn't paying for college, for her, that she needed to earn it, either by saving the money, herself, or receiving a scholarship."

Sam remembered what Sarah had said, once, about Greg and Beth not being one of those parents who saves for their children's college fund.

"Of course, Emily didn't like it, and we fought over it, until she won that essay contest when she was fourteen, I think."

"Yeah, about that," Sarah raised a finger.

"What's that, Sarah?" Beth looked over at her granddaughter.

"Sarah has a theory about how her mom got into college," explained Sam.

"What kind of theory?" she asked.

Sam looked over at his niece, urging her to be the one to tell them.

"Last year, when we helped clear Aunt Katherine's name, she mentioned about it, too and how it wasn't easy to win for anyone, plus, Mom received it, ten years prior the night the yellow-eyed demon came and visited me, at Aunt Kyra's place."

"What does that have to do with your mother winning the scholarship?" Greg questioned.

"The demon needed permission from Emily, to enter wherever Sarah was, to feed her demon blood," said Sam.

"So," Sarah continued, "because Mom wanted to get into college, more than anything, according to Aunt Katherine, too, I think the demon granted her, her wish, in exchange for making an appointment in ten years."

"Now, hold on there, Sarah," Greg stopped his daughter, getting upset. "Your mother may have had some problems, but she wouldn't go as far as making a deal with a demon."

Sam added, "People can get pretty desperate when they really want something."

"And, besides, he probably never said what he needed to do. Demons can manipulate, especially on weak-minded people, and sorry to say this, but Mom was, kind of weak-minded. She probably would have sold her own soul if it meant getting out of here."

Beth looked over at her husband. "Sarah is right, honey. Emily was staying up, late, writing that essay, on top of her homework. We need to stop trying to make excuses for Emily's behavior. She made her own choices and there was nothing we could do about it."

Greg stared off into space. That was the same thing Sarah had said, earlier. Finally, after a moment of thought, he said, "Isn't it supposed to be your soul a demon bargains with?"

"Not this demon. He was more interested in finding the right person to release Lucifer from his cage," said Sarah. "It's supposed to be Uncle Sam, here, but when Cas sent me and Dad back in time, when he caught my other grandmother's scent, he caught whiff of me, and planned on making sure to keep an eye out for me, thus seeking out Mom."

"I still don't understand why Cas sent you along, with your dad," Sam pointed out.

"Possibly, because the angels wanted me apart of it, too. I do have my own part to play, as Zachariah says I do," she shrugged at him.

Greg questioned, "Zachariah?"

"Another angel, that keeps giving us, trouble and wanting Dad to say, yes, to Michael." Sarah then brought her grandparents up to speed, including what Lucifer had mentioned, during their last encounter. Right as Sarah finished, Dean entered the room, shortly followed by Bobby.

"I see you two decided to join us," Beth smiled over at the men, politely.

"I'm not staying," Dean told her. He turned his attention over to his brother and niece. "Sam, Sarah. I can't do this. I found us a case. Let's go." 

"Go? Dean, we can't go, we just got here," Sam told his brother.

"We can't sit around, singing carols and drinking eggnog while people are being murdered that we could have saved. Now, come on, let's go."

Sarah made to put her shoes back on when Sam stopped her. "Dean, it'll be okay if we don't hunt for a couple days. Besides, we could use this break."

"People will die if we stay here," he hissed, frustrated.

"People die every day," Beth pointed out. "It's sad, but a fact of life."

Dean ignored his daughter's grandmother, looking over at Sarah and Sam. "Are you coming or not?"

"No, Dean, I'm staying. We were invited and it'll be rude if we just got up and left," Sam told him.

"Fine, stay," he replied and looked at Sarah. "Sarah?"

"We were, kind of, in the middle of talking things out. I think I will stay, too," Sarah answered. "You should stay, too, Dad. Please?" She tried to give her father a puppy dog look. Dean started to feel weak. Nothing could resist that look. But, Dean forced himself to look away. He had to get back out there and save everyone. He had to.

Instead, Dean looked over at Bobby. "You want in?" he asked the old man.

"Does it look like I can get in?" Bobby asked, sarcastically.

"Fine. I'll go alone." With that said, Dean left the room and headed out the front door, towards the Impala. Sarah tried to call out to him, but Dean didn't look back. He just up and left.

"Let him go, Peanut," Sam told her. "Your dad's dealing with things in his own way."

Sarah stared back, over her shoulder, at the closed front door.

"So," Greg changed the subject back to the topic, at hand, "you two are Lucifer's vessels?"

"Well, I'm the true vessel, because I guess I'm the little brother," Sam explained. "But, we're not sure why Sarah is also his vessel or why she's a powerful one."

Sarah turned back around. "It has to do my psychic abilities starting early, it must have."

"But, why?"

She thought on it. She remembered what Lucifer had asked her. "Lucifer had asked if I was Michael's vessel. Why would he think that after telling him I was a sure-win, back-up vessel?"

"Michael is the head angel who God had Lucifer cast into hell," Greg said.

Sam nodded, "Yeah, but what does all this have to do with Sarah?"

"Gabriel didn't know anything. He looked confused when I asked him about me," Sarah shrugged.

Sam asked Sarah's grandparents, "Did Emily know anything about Sarah?"

"You mean, about all this?" asked Beth, waving her hand out. "No. All Emily said, was something about a man telling her, Sarah was special, and always called her a demon child. Greg and I never thought it was true."

"It's not true, Gram. I just have demon blood flowing through my veins. It doesn't make me a demon child," Sarah told her.

"Sarah-," Greg stopped his wife, shaking his head. He turned to his granddaughter. "Sarah, I want to return to what we were originally talking about, because there's something I need to tell you. I _want_ to tell you." Something had come to mind, as the others were talking.

"What's that, Papa?"

Greg stood up and moved closer, sitting across from Sarah, on the edge of the coffee table. "The other day, I was listening to the radio, while I was driving. They were talking about just what you wanted me to do. To listen to you."

"Then didn't you do that, then?" she asked.

"Because it didn't hit me until now," he replied. "Since your mother was born, I fathered the way my father raised me. That was okay, back then. I thought I turned out, just fine. But, after having a daughter and a granddaughter resent me, I realized I wasn't fine."

"Papa, I don't resent you. I just wish you were more supportive of me," she shrugged.

"I know, and like the guy on the radio said, I should have been encouraging you, instead of trying to fix what I thought were weaknesses. Your mother, too." Greg leaned forward, placing a gentle hand on her should, "I want you to know I am so proud of the young woman you're becoming."

Sarah's eyes widened. Her grandfather had never said a thing like that, to her.

"If I had said that to your mother, maybe things could have been different between us," he said, sadly.

Sarah thought her grandfather might cry, any minute now and Greg wasn't one to shed a tear. She unfolded her legs, placing them on the floor, to stand up, wrapping him in a hug. "It's okay, Papa. I forgive you."

Greg held his arms around her, a smile appearing on his face. "Thank you, Sar Bear. I love you."

"Love you, too."

Sam, Bobby, and Beth watched, each smiling at the scene.

"Your grandmother and I will try, better, to encourage you more than we have."

"Thank you, Papa."

They hugged for a moment, before letting go.

"There's a gift we got you, I want you to open, now," he told her. Greg stood up, heading over to the tree. He looked around the mound of Christmas presents.

"But, no one is ever allowed to open anything before Christmas. Not even Christmas eve," Sarah reminded her grandfather.

"I know, but I'm making an exception, just this one time." He stopped to look over at her, "So, don't get used to it." Greg, then gave her a playful smile, and continued searching until he found it, grabbing a good-sized rectangular, wrapped box.

Greg brought it back and handed it to Sarah, before sitting back down, on the coffee table.

Sarah stared at the wrapped present that had cartoon-styled reindeer all over it. She looked back at her uncle, who encouraged her to open it, as well as Bobby. Sarah tipped it, on its side, so she could rip into the paper, better, pulling off some of it. When she saw what it was, she looked up at her grandfather, in surprise.

"No way."

Greg nodded.

"But, you and Gram never give gifts like this, unless we work hard, like do extra chores or something, over the last year."

"Well, I think you did earn something like this," he told her. "You work, hard, every single day, being brave, and helping others. Plus, Sam told us you have been keeping up with your schoolwork, even."

Sarah shrugged, "Need some way to keep my mind off how bad things, seem."

"We're really proud of you, angel," Beth said.

Sarah looked over at her grandmother, then back at her grandfather. "Thanks, you guys." She set the gift down, to give Greg another hug, before walking over to hug Beth, as well.

While she headed over there, Bobby leaned over the back of the couch, to whisper to Sam, "What is it, they gave her?"

Sam whispered back, "A Nintendo Wii."

Bobby stared at the young man, confused. "What's that?"

"A video game console."


	158. Chapter 158- Mario Kart

Chapter 158

Sam, Sarah, and Bobby stayed for Christmas, leaving the next day. Gather, Greg had to give them a ride, home, since Dean still hadn't returned. Sam and Sarah stayed through New Year's, with each of them trying to get a hold of Dean. They finally reached him, around four o'clock, in the afternoon, New Year's day. He had finally tracked down the monster he had been hunting and killed it. Dean drove to Bobby's house, staying the night, and the Winchesters hit the road, the next morning.

The week between Christmas and New Year's, the other three got familiar with Sarah's new toy. The three learned _Mario Kart_ ruins families as much as trusting a demon over family, especially when a blue shell appears, or when Rainbow Road gets chosen. In fact, when Dean walked in the door, Sarah and the men were arguing about Bobby, who was behind both of them, and a couple of the CPUs, receiving not only a Bullet Bill, a thunder cloud, but a Blue Shell, as well, thus taking first place.

"That was cheating!" Dean caught Sam yell out as the three argued amongst themselves. He headed into the living room, where Sam and Sarah were sitting on the couch, and Bobby, close by, in his wheelchair. Dean looked over at the TV screen, seeing the reward screen in front of the castle. Bobby had stolen first place, with Sam in second, and Sarah with third.

"What the hell is going on when I'm not around?" he asked of the bickering trio, having to raise his voice so he would be heard. The room, suddenly, got quiet as the arguing ceased. They looked at Dean.

"Dad, you're back!" Sarah got to her feet, running over to wrap her arms around her father's torso.

Dean hugged her, in return, holding one arm around her head, holding a kiss on top of it. "Hey, Baby Girl," he said, after the kiss. "Have a good Christmas?"

Sarah looked up at her father. "Yeah, it was nice. You should have been there. Even Mark was acting nicer than usual."

"Probably because I wasn't there."

"We brought your presents home, with us, for you."

Dean grinned, "Awesome." Sarah led him over to the couch, as Sam pulled them out from under the Christmas tree they haven't taken down, yet. They were mostly new clothes from Sarah's grandparents, with a few gifts from Bobby, Sam, and Sarah. Sarah's grandparents also gave him a kit that helps to take care of old, classic cars, which Dean was surprised about.

"They know how much you love your car, plus, my uncle Don told them how his car was working, great, after you helped fix it, last year," Sarah explained.

"Well, guess I have to give them a call, to thank them," Dean said.

Bobby also added, "And to apology, for leaving."

Dean didn't respond, but he knew the old man was right. He asked Sarah for her phone, and gave her grandfather, a call, thanking and apologizing to them.

Once Dean had all of his presents, opened, he joined his family for some more Wii action, calling "dibs" on Mario. "Sam, you should be Luigi," he teased his brother.

Sam glared over at his brother and returned with, "Bite me."

Sarah started another race tournament, choosing Toad, on the bike. Bobby chose, next, choosing Yoshi.

Dean looked down at the remote. Familiar with the Nintendo DS controls, he saw there was also an A button on the remote. He pushed it. "Now, what?" he asked the others.

Sarah was sitting on the arm of the couch, next to him. She reached over to point out, the directional buttons that looked like a plus sign. "You can use these to choose what vehicle you want, or you can keep the cart," she explained.

Dean looked through the vehicles, but decided to stick with the kart.

Finally, after everyone had their characters, the stage screen appeared. "Which one does everyone want to do?" Sarah asked the men.

"Doesn't matter to me," Sam replied.

"Bobby?"

"I think we should do the first one, since Dean is a newbie," the older man replied.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean protested. "Don't go easy on me, just because this is my first time. I'm not a little kid. Give me the hardest you got." He held up the Wii remote, staring, hungrily, at the TV, like he was pumped and ready.

Sam and Bobby exchanged looks with Sarah.

"Give him Rainbow Road," Sam nodded, with a small smirk.

Sarah returned it, with a nod and smirk of her own, and choose Special cup, and choose Rainbow Road, first. During the cutscene, she showed her father the controls, including how to use items, and also touched on what each item did and what item appeared depending on what place one was in. She also told him his screen was the bottom, right corner.

"Got it?" she asked, when Sarah finished explaining.

"Yup, let's do this!" he replied.

The race started.

"Yes! I got the boost," Sam said, happily, taking first place. He, Sarah, and Bobby were doing, well, since they've been playing awhile. Dean, on the other hand, was in twelfth place, falling off, a lot. Throughout the race, the other three kept up where they had left off, playfully, trash-talking each other.

"Hey, I'm gonna catch up," Dean said, trying to join in, just before falling off the edge. "Son of a bitch!"

"Uncle Bobby wasn't doing too well, last race, but he caught up, out of nowhere, and took first place," Sarah tried to encourage her father.

"He got three helpful items, in a row," Sam added. "That's lucky."

"Well, maybe I'll get lucky," said Dean. He, then, slipped on a banana peel. "Who left that banana?"

"Sorry, that was me," Bobby said, as he focused on his screen. He was in fifth.

Dean glared at the old man, and tried to focus on his screen.

In the end, it was Sam who crossed the finish line, first. Sarah came in, third, and Bobby, in fifth. After a moment, Dean finally came rolling in, in last place. The scores rolled onto the screen.

Bobby asked, "Still want the hardest tracks, Dean?"

"It was only my first time, I got this, now," he tried to keep it, cool.

Sam smirked over at his brother. "Dean, we were struggling with this track. It's okay to start on something easy. We all did."

"Yeah, Rainbow Road is hard, especially trying to stay on," Sarah agreed.

"Okay, fine," he gave in. "Choose an easier track."

For the next race, Sarah chose Luigi's Circuit. The race started, with Sam in the lead. Dean tried his best to take first. Luigi's Circuit was a simpler track, that was just a normal racetrack, looping around in a circular path. It didn't mean there wasn't curves, though. Every time he finally got his kart, straight, there was another turn. Dean did do, a little better, this time around, though he did get hit by quite a few turtle shells.

"Come on, that's the forth turtle shell," he complained, after being hit. Dean was in eighth place, trying to catch up to the other three.

Bobby was in fourth place, right on Sarah's tail. He passed through an item box and a blue shell appeared in the box, on his screen. The old man didn't hesitate to use it, either. He smashed the B button, sounding off that dreaded noise.

Sam was panicking when he heard it. "Crap, who got the blue shell!?" The blue shell sought his character out, ramming into him. Waluigi spun out, coming to a complete stop. Birdo zoomed by, followed by Toad, and then, Yoshi. Sam was able to take back control before Dean could catch up.

Eventually, Toad crossed the finish line, after Birdo. Bobby came in, third, followed by Waluigi. Shortly after, after some of the other CPUs crossed, Mario crossed the finish line, in seventh place.

The scoreboard came up, showing everyone's places and points. This time, Sarah took first place, in points, followed by Sam, then Bobby. Coming in seventh, that time, gave Dean a higher position, but he was still in last, of the four of them.

"You did a little better, that time, Dad," Sarah tried to cheer him up.

"You call that easy?" Dean said, upset he was still in last place.

"It takes practice, Dean," Sam told his brother. "You ready for the semi finals?"

"Yeah, sure, I guess." Dean leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

"Which track?" Sarah asked of the men, waiting for an answer.

"Try Moo Moo Meadows," said Sam. "That's another easy one. I'm sure Dean can handle that."

"Hey, hey, hey. I can handle this game, just fine. Everyone just keeps hitting me with every item and keeping me from catching up to you," Dean protested.

Sam smirked. "Sure, Dean. Whatever you say."

Dean looked back at the TV. "Just start the race, already."

Sarah chose Moo Moo Meadows. The race started, with Sarah taking first, this time. This time, though, he wasn't sure how he did it, Dean got a boost and took fifth place. He managed to snag an item box, on the end, at the first turn. That was where he started to mess up, again. However, a thunder cloud had appeared on his screen.

Not sure what it did, Dean pressed the B button, underneath the Wii remote. Thunder and lightning erupted, and everyone in front of him, was affected, getting struck. Those struck, shrunk to a smaller size, slowing them down.

It took Sarah by surprise. She, quickly, checked to see if it was one of the guys who had done it. Her father was the only one, not small and caught Mario passing Toad, on her screen.

"Balls," Bobby had exclaimed when it happened. "Who got the lightning?"

"Dad did," Sarah told him.

Dean cheered, excitedly, "Woo!" He managed to take first place. Dean managed to miss the first set of cows, who weren't even onscreen, because that was how far over he was, but coming to the second set, he ran right into one of them. "Why are there cows on the track?" Dean tried his best to get going, again, before the others caught up. By the time he was going again, everyone was right behind him.

Sam came up, behind his brother, and shot a red shell at the back of him. It went right at him, making Dean mess up, again and Sam was able to pass him.

"What the hell, Sam!?" Dean shot at his brother, before, quickly, looking back at the TV.

"You were in my way," he replied.

"Oh, yeah?" Now, things were personal. Dean scooted even closer, to the edge of the couch and focused on staying close to his brother, trying to grab another item box. "Come on, be something useful." The item box on the screen scrolled like a slot machine. It was the set of banana peels. It wasn't what Dean hoped for, but he would try and make this work.

He held the A button down, putting all his might into it, as Dean tried to close in on Sam. It didn't help when the turns came around, taking some time to return, right behind him. Dean was thankful Sam hadn't gotten any items, so far.

When Dean was close enough, he tried to throw a banana peel. Unfortunately, it dropped behind him. "What the hell? You can't throw the banana peels ahead of you?"

"You can, you just have to push up on the control pad," Sarah told him, dodging her father's banana peel. She dodged right into an item block, getting a set of red, turtle shells. Sarah pressed the B button. Three turtle shells surrounded her bike. She drove up, behind her father and shot one of them at him. The first missed, but Sarah shot another one, right afterwards. That time, the shell hit, enabling her to drive right passed him.

"Really, Sarah? No mercy for your dad?" Dean glanced back at his daughter.

"Nope," she smirked, eyes on the TV.

Dean quickly got back in the race. He lost his brother, so he focused on catching up to the racers ahead of him, missing an item box. It didn't matter anyway, because he passed the finish line, coming in fifth place, at least.

The scoreboard came up, showing the new scores.

"Well, you did even better, that time," Sam encouraged his brother.

Dean let out a frustrated sigh. "I still didn't beat any of you."

"Who knows," Bobby shrugged, "maybe next race, you'll beat all of us. You're making better progress than we did, in a short amount of time."

In points, Sam retook first place, with Sarah in second, Bobby, in third. With the points Dean was able to receive, he was able to move up a few positions.

Sarah pushed the A button, taking them back to the track selection screen, as before. "Which track do you, guys, want for the final race?"

"Um," Sam thought on it, trying to think which one was the best one Dean could handle, that could, at least, give him a higher place. But, by this point, Dean wasn't going to even get third place.

"Preferably, one without farm animals," said Dean, looking up over at Sam.

"How about Donkey Kong's Jungle Raceway," Sarah suggested, when Sam hadn't of come up with an answer.

"That sounds like it has animals in it."

"No, no animals," she assured her father. "There's a turn where you might fall into the water, but for the most part, it's an easy track. You might do, well, on it."

"Okay, go for it, then."

Sarah scrolled over to the Leaf Cup, and choose Donkey Kong's Jungle Raceway. The fourth and final race began. Dean didn't get the boost, that time, so a lot of the other racers passed him. He trudged on, though. Now, that it was the final race, and Dean had experienced enough of the game, he was doing quite well, not staying in last place for long. On the first lap, Dean did drive, right into the water and Lakita had to fish his character out and put him back on the track. Getting a Bullet Bill and some mushrooms, helped catch back up to the rest of his family.

During the final lap, Castiel appeared. "I came to check in, to see if any of you had another plan on defeating the devil." No one was paying the angel, any attention. He looked between the group, sitting on or near the couch, and over at the TV.

"Eat turtle shell, Sam!" Dean yelled out, shooting his brother's character with a red shell and surpassing him.

Castiel stared over at Dean, his eyebrows scrunched, together. "Actually, with a turtle's hard shell, it would be impossible for Sam to eat one."

No one heard the angel.

"What are you doing?" he tried to ask.

Finally, Sarah passed over the finish line for the final time, coming in at first place. "Yes!" she jumped onto her feet, with her fists in the air. The right one, clutching the Wii remote. Baby Peach followed behind, then Luigi, before Bobby's Yoshi finished in fourth, followed by Dean's Mario, and shortly after, Sam's Waluigi.

"Dang it," Sam cursed. He had gotten some bad luck during that last race.

On the other hand, Dean was happy. "Yes! I finally beat someone," he said, excited.

"For that race," his brother told him.

Sarah pushed the A button when the scoreboard came up. It showed the points they received for that race, before she pushed it, again. Sarah took first place of the four of them, with Sam still in second, and Bobby in third. Sam had been right, Dean still came in, behind the rest of them, but he did score higher than when he started.

"How did you still beat me," Dean asked of Sam, annoyed he came in last.

"Even though you beat me on the last race, I still had more points, in the end," he explained.

"I call, bullcrap," Dean stood up to grab a beer from the kitchen.

"Uh, what are you, guys, talking about?" Castiel finally spoke, again.

This time, everyone noticed the angel in the room.

"Cas, when did you get, here?" Sam asked.

"A few minutes ago," he replied. "I've been trying to get your attention, since."

"Sorry, we were busy, having a race."

"Want to try?" Sarah asked Castiel, this time.

"No, thank you," he said.

Dean returned, with a beer in his hand. "So, what's up, Cas?"

Eventually, the Winchesters did return to hunting and trying to think of a way to defeat the devil. It was mistake, leaving the Wii, at Bobby's house. He tried to fight it, while he was doing research for another hunter or on some kind of lore that could help with the apocalypse, but the Wii was just too addicting and Bobby didn't even like technology, that much.

It got even worse when Sarah had to stay behind, with him, when an old friend of John's, Martin, called Dean, asking for help.

"How are we gonna get inside a mental hospital?" Sam asked, while they were discussing the latest case.

Sarah shrugged, "Pretend to be doctors?"

An idea clicked on, inside Dean's head. "Just check in, ourselves."

"You mean, as patients?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, as if it was brilliant.

Sam questioned, "How?"

He shrugged, "All we have to do is tell the truth. Our lives are crazy enough. No one, in their right mind, would believe us."

"That is sad, but true," Sarah pointed out. "So, when do we leave?"

"You're staying here," Dean informed her.

"What? Why?" she protested.

"Because, one, if something happens and you get doped up, our cover could be blown, or worse, those meds would be for a fully, grown adult. I don't even want to think about what they would do if they were given to an eleven-year-old."

Sarah moaned, not wanting to sit out of a hunt.

"Besides, I, basically, kept you out of a mental hospital, remember?" Dean added. "I don't want to give your mom, something to gloat on, if she were here." That was actually a good point, considering that was Emily's plan for Sarah, in the first place.

"Fine, you got me, there," she gave in.

Dean turned towards his brother. "Sam, you ready?"

"Yup."

Both brothers, hugged and kissed Sarah, goodbye, before they headed out to the Impala. Sarah and Bobby waved them off. When the Impala had left the salvage yard, Sarah turned her head, to look over at Bobby.

"Battle?"

He looked back at her. "Battle."

The two of them headed back, inside the house and started up _Mario Kart_ , choosing battle mode.


	159. Chapter 159- Swap Meat (Part 1)

Chapter 159

After the brothers returned from the hospital, where's John's friend, Martin needed help dealing with a wraith, all Dean wanted to do was drink and hug his little girl. Both of them had to deal with a lot of stuff in there, things Dean cared not to think about. As soon as he got back to the salvage yard, he hurried inside.

Sarah was in the living room, playing her newest _Pokemon_ game, _Platinum Version_ when her father walked in the door. He went right over, to where she was laying on the couch, a research book, open, on her stomach, and her latest book for school, closed, beside her, on the edge of the couch.

"Hey, Baby Girl," he said, standing a few feet away.

She looked up from her game and over at her father. "Hey, Dad." Sarah stood up, to hug him. Dean held her head, to him, tight. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said, letting go, to smile for her. "Yeah, I'm fine. How's the research coming along?"

Sarah let out a breath of air. "Not much. Can't really find anything. Been reading so much, today, thought I would take a break and play _Pokemon_ for a bit."

"Isn't there reading involved in that game, too?"

Sarah, playfully, hit her father in the arm. "You know what I mean."

Dean laughed. He pulled her in, again and kissed the top of her head. "Love ya, Baby Girl."

"Love you, too, Dad," she replied.

There were a couple more hunts over the next month. Towards the end of the month, Dean got a call from one of his and Sam's old babysitters, in Housatonic, Massachusetts. Dean drove there, as quick as he could.

They pulled up to the house and knocked on the door. Donna answered, pleased to see the brothers, grown up. She let them in, not expecting to see a third party member standing there.

"And, who might this be?" she asked, with a smile, after the greetings was said.

"This is my kid, Sarah," To say Dean had so much pride in his introduction, was an understatement. He then turned towards his daughter. "Sarah, this is Donna."

Sarah held a hand out, towards the woman, "It's nice to meet you, Miss Donna."

"Pleasure's all mine," she smiled, returning the handshake. "Well, it looks like we both started a family of our own," Donna told Dean.

Dean gave a slight chuckle. "It wasn't exactly planned. It just happened," he explained.

"Right." She showed the Winchesters into the other room and introduced them to her husband and her daughter, who looked a little older than Sarah. Everyone took a seat, as they sat down to chat, around a coffee table, with cookies and fresh lemonade. Sarah asked for the first pour, thirsty from the long trip.

"Dean and Sammy Winchester," Donna started. "So, how long as it been?"

"Summer before sixth grade," Sam was the one to answer, as Sarah took a drink.

"Mm-mmm, I remember," she said, pouring another glass. "You assigned your own reading list."

Sam smiled at that as Dean chuckled, "That's right. I forgot about that."

Sarah looked back, over her right shoulder, at her uncle. He noticed.

"What?"

"And they call me, a nerd," she, plainly, teased him.

"Shut up, Peanut," Sam teased her, right back, calmly, and pointed his attention towards Katie, Donna's daughter. "Your mom happens to be the best babysitter we ever had."

"When I was a maid, at the Mayflower, out on the interstate," Donna told her, "Long before you were even an idea. Their daddy used to pass through town and leave the boys with me, while…" She paused, unsure of what to say. "He went off to…work. One time, he was gone for two weeks."

"Two weeks?" Katie asked.

"Hm-mm," she said. "Oh, he'd always come, limping back." She smiled over at Sam and Dean, "He loved you, boys."

"Did you know what he did all that time?"

Sam stared at the floor, listening.

"Little Sammy kept trying to tell me. Of course, I didn't believe him." Donna looked over at him. "Not at first, anyways."

He inhaled, sharply. "Katie, our dad, um… happened to be an expert at getting rid of ghosts. And now, so are we."

Donna placed a reassuring hand on her daughter's knee. "That's why I called them, sweetie. They can help us." Donna's husband walked into the room, packed.

"Sounds like you guys, got yourself, a poltergeist," said Dean.

"Started a month or two after we moved in," her husband, Jack explained.

"Yeah, first, i-it was, uh, bumps and knocks," Donna added, "and, scratches on the walls. And, then, it started breaking things."

"And, then it attacked Katie," nodded Sam.

"That was two nights, ago," said Jack.

Donna asked Katie if she could show them how the poltergeist attacked her. She tossed the blanket Katie had draped over her lap, to the side, to stand up. She lifted up her shirt, just enough to show her stomach, where there were scratches that spelled out,  
"murdered chylde" as Sam read it, aloud. She dropped her shirt, to sit back down.

Dean leaned forward to tell Katie, "Katie, everything's gonna be fine. I promise." He looked around the whole family, "Why don't you, guys, take a little vacation, and, uh, we'll take care of it."

Jack nodded.

Donna sighed, in relief. "Thank you," she breathed.

The next stop they made, was a fast food joint, to get something to eat and to do some research on the poltergeist haunting their babysitter and her family's house and terrorizing them. Sam brought in his laptop. Sarah had brought in her DS.

Dean noticed. "You better be researching on that thing," he warned Sarah.

Sarah looked up from her game. "Uh…, yes?"

Dean stared at her, knowing she was lying.

"I'm a kid, okay?" she shrugged. "Kids, nowadays, are addicted to video games."

"And, parents should be keeping that addiction, under control," Sam pointed out, not lifting his eyes from his own screen.

"That's right. When Sam finds what we're looking for, I need the DS put down and your attention on the job. You've been playing the whole way here, I think you got your fix," Dean said, firmly.

"Yes, sir," she said, returning to her game.

Their order got called. Dean stood up, to go get it.

"Uh, two bacon burger Turbos, two chili cheese fries, one without the chili, and uh, a HealthQuake salad shake?" the kid read off the order to Dean. He looked up from the receipt, confused.

"I know," Dean told the kid. "I know. It's, uh," he clears his throat, "It's not mine." Dean picked up the tray and carried it back to their table, sitting down.

Sam took his salad shake, which Dean handed him his fork. He removed the lid, pouring some of the ranch dressing on top, and placed the lid back on. Sam then proceeded by shaking the salad, mixing the ranch dressing.

Both Dean and Sarah, slowly, looked up, watching Sam shake his salad. His eyes rarely left the computer screen, until he noticed the eyes on him.

"Oh, you shake it up, baby," Dean told him, sarcastically.

Sam cleared his throat, looking back at his screen.

"You know, poltergeist aside, Donna looked pretty good, don't you think?"

Sam stared over at his brother, again. "Dude," he said, removing the lid, again, "don't tell me you've still got the hots for our babysitter."

"What?" he shot back with, defensively. "No. That's weird." Dean chuckled, looking away for a moment. "I'm just saying that she, you know, she's… She's doing good. You know, with her husband, her kid."

Sam considered that, nodding his head.

"This whole _Amityville_ thing thrown at them, and they're hanging tough."

"Yeah," he agreed, looking up at his brother, leaning his arms on the table. Sam, also noticed his niece, still playing her DS. "Peanut, can you put the game down while you eat?"

"Dad said to put it down when you finish researching," Sarah reminded her uncle.

"Well, I am finished, actually, and even if I wasn't, you need to put it down, anyways."

"Yes, what Sam said," Dean backed his brother up. "I didn't consider the food getting here, like I should have."

Sarah closed her DS, setting it on the edge of the table, before reaching for her cheeseburger.

Dean changed the subject back to what he and Sam were discussing. "You ever think that you'd want something like what Donna has?" he asked. "Wife, rugrats, the whole nine?"

Sam looked down at his computer, shaking his head. "No. I mean, not really my thing, anymore." He looked back up.

Dean nodded and in a barely, audible tone, said, "Yeah."

"Besides, I think having a niece is handful, enough," he grinned over at Sarah, as she took a bit out of her cheeseburger, teasingly.

Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Hey, I'm not that big of a handful," she grinned, in return.

"Oh, yes you are," Sam, playfully, argued.

Sarah knew her uncle was teasing her, so she, playfully, argued right back. "Are not."

"Are, too."

"Are not."

"Are, too."

"Are not."

Dean jumped in, to end the argument. "So, what do you got?" he asked, referring to the research, remembering Sam said he had found something.

"Uh, well," Sam turned his attention back to his computer, "that house of theirs, it's old, really old. Um, hundreds of years. I found a legend. It's unconfirmed, but still…"

"Saying?" Dean asked, with a mouth full of food.

"Supposedly, in the 1720s, house was owned by a guy, named, Isaiah Pickett." Sam turned his computer around, so Dean and Sarah could see. "Legend has it, he hung a woman in his backyard, for witchcraft. A woman named, Maggie Briggs."

Sarah looked closer at the screen, skimming through the article.

"Okay, so an angry, ghost witch," said Dean.

Sam shrugged, "If it's true. That still doesn't explain what 'Murdered Chylde' means."

"Or, where the bitch is buried."

"You know, I mean, It's a long way back," he said. "But, I can see if I can find something in the town records."

"It's worth a shot," said Dean.

While they were talking, unknown to any of the Winchesters, Sam was being watched by the kid who had handed Dean, their order.

They finished eating their lunch before they left. Sarah used the restroom, meeting the brothers outside, in the Impala, and slid into the backseat, her DS in hand. The Winchesters went looking for a motel, first, checking in, before Sam headed to the library.

While Sam was gone, Dean cleaned and maintained the guns while Sarah hung out, outside, with a group of kids, around her age, who were using the motel's parking lot as a miniature skate park.

Sarah had never been on a skateboard, before, but decided to give it a try when one of the boys offered his. She always have had good balance, so riding it wasn't that hard. Trying to do, at least an ollie, on the other hand, was a total wipe out.

Sarah got back up, brushing herself off.

The owner of the skateboard had went to retrieve it. "Not bad," he said, as he returned. The kid dropped it, completely on the ground, placing his foot on the board. He pushed off with the other foot, riding passed her.

Sarah turned around, watching him.

The kid rode, until he got to the edge of the sidewalk. He jumped off, landing the skateboard on the street. His friends cheered as he stopped, placing one foot off and moved the other foot, to pound the back of it, so the front came up to him. The kid grabbed it in his hand and walked back to them. "What do you think of that?" he asked of Sarah.

Sarah held her arms folded, across her chest. "That was pretty good," she complimented. Sarah stayed out there, talking and hanging out with them. Now and then, Dean would grab a drink from the soda machine, just so he could check on her, taking his sweet time.

Sarah stayed out there, most of the afternoon, mingling until they had to get home. They exchanged goodbyes, before Sarah headed back to the motel, walking in the door.

"Where the hell have you been?" Dean asked, sitting on one of the beds, reassembling his pistol.

"Oh, like you don't know," Sarah told him, removing her jacket. She tossed it onto the foot of the other bed.

"I don't," he lied.

Sarah turned to face her father. "I know you came out to check on me, a dozen times. I saw you."

"I was getting a soda," he said, in defense.

"No one drinks that many sodas, in four hours." Sarah headed into the bathroom. "If it were a beer machine, I would have believed it," she called back, before shutting the door.

That night, Sam called Dean.

"So, any luck?" he asked his brother.

"Bubkes," Sam replied, "can't even find proof a woman, named, Maggie Briggs existed, much less where she was planted."

"All right. Well, we've got a minute to breathe, here," said Dean. "Let's, uh, pick it up, first thing."

"Yeah, you bet. See you in a few." That was the last Dean heard from Sam.


	160. Chapter 160- Swap Meat (Part 2)

Chapter 160

A few hours had passed and Sam still hadn't made it back to the motel, yet. Dean was starting to wonder where his brother was. He tried calling Sam, a dozen times. It just went to voicemail. Sarah tried calling Sam, as well, until her phone died.

"Dang it," she cursed, putting the phone away. "Sorry, Dad. Phone died."

"What have I told you about keeping that thing charged up?" Dean scolded of his daughter.

"I hadn't needed to, in the last couple days, since I barely used it," she shrugged.

"Whatever, let's just head back to the motel," he decided. "Maybe Sam's there."

"Maybe his phone's dead, too and that's why he hasn't called us," she pointed out.

"Sam usually keeps his phone charged."

She shrugged, "It could happen."

Dean drove back to the motel. Sarah headed inside their room, first. Sure enough, Sam was there, waiting for them…flexing in the mirror?

Sarah had stopped, suddenly, in the doorway. "What are you doing?" she asked.

Sam, quickly turned on his heel, caught off guard. "Huh, nothing," he replied.

Shortly after, Dean walked in the door, behind Sarah, closing it. "Sam!" he scolded. "Where the hell have you been, man? I've been trying to call you for hours."

Pointing behind him, he replied, "I picked up some food."

"What did you do? Pick up food from the next town, over?" Sarah asked, wandering over, and threw herself onto the bed, taking out her DS.

Sam had grabbed the bag of food and took it over to Dean. "Bacon burger Turbo, large chili cheese, one without chili, right?"

Dean removed his jacket, dropping it on the other bed, looking at Sam. Finally, he snatched the bag from his brother.

"Sorry, man, really. I-I just…" he threw his overshirt back on. "I lost track of time. I didn't mean to freak you out."

"Thanks," Dean told him. "Don't know why it took you, two hours, but thanks." He started to take the food out when Sam stopped him.

"Oh, you're gonna want to eat that on the road."

Dean, briefly, looked ahead, before looking back at his brother. "Why?"

"The maid came in, saw that," he looked down at the guns Dean left on the bed, from when he was cleaning them, "and now they're all, kind of, freaking out."

Dean looked down at them, and then at the ceiling, before fully facing Sam. "Why did you let the maid in?"

Sam shrugged, "It just happened?"

Dean turned his head, a little, eyeing him. This didn't sound like the Sam he knew. But, he decided to let it slide. "Whatever. I got to hit the head, and then we'll take off." Dean headed for the bathroom, where he shut the door behind him.

"All right, I'll be outside," Sam called back, over his shoulder. He looked over at Sarah, who was now playing her DS, the handheld covering her face. She was consumed by her game, and with him, staying cautious, didn't see Sam grab Dean's phone and walk out with it.

Dean came out, some time, later. "Sarah, let's go," he called, having to raise his voice to get her attention.

Sarah snapped out of her video game trance. "What? Why?"

His shoulders dropped. "Did you not hear Sam?"

"Huh? No. What?"

Dean sighed, in a frustrated manner. "He let the maid in, and now they're freaking out about the fact we have guns," he explained. "Come on. We have to find another motel. Help me with this, will ya?"

Sarah closed her DS and slid it back into her pocket, standing back up. She helped pack up the weapons and everything, and carried them out to the Impala, placing everything into the trunk.

Sarah was the first, to slide into the Impala. "Thanks for the help, Uncle Sam," she told him, sarcastically.

Sam looked back over his shoulder. "Oh, sorry about that," he apologized.

"Eh, whatever. Anything to give ya a hard time about, I'll take it." Sarah opened her DS and began playing.

Dean joined them. "Hey," he told Sam, leaning over to look at him, "you ready?"

"Absolutely," Sam shrugged.

Dean slid in, under the steering wheel, getting the key out.

Sam looked around at the car. "Hey, can I drive?"

He was surprised to hear Sam ask that, but decided to allow it. They both got out, switching seats.

Sam clutched the steering wheel. "Oh, this is so sweet," he said, revving the engine.

Dean looked over at him. "You want to get the lead out, Andretti? Come on." He looked forward, again. He noticed Sam putting the gear into reverse. "Reverse."

Sam pressed on the gas.

Reverse!"

The Impala soared backwards, into a pile of trash, by the dumpster. It got Sarah's attention, for sure.

"What the hell?" she demanded, confused.

Dean was staring at his brother. "It's in reverse," he tried to say, calm as he could, as Sam, slowly looked over at him. Dean made him switch back, as Sam tried to apology. With Dean back in the driver's seat, the Winchesters finally left the motel.

They found another motel on the other side of town and got some rest for the next day.

The next day, after a quick breakfast, the Winchesters got back to business.

"So, uh, where are we going, anyways?" asked Sam.

"You're kidding, right?" Sarah told her uncle.

"To work," Dean was the one to answer. "The case?"

"Oh, right," Sam remembered. "Yeah, the case. Of course."

Dean exchanged a look with Sarah, who shrugged.

"Where, uh, do you want to start?" he asked them.

"Well, since you couldn't find where Maggie Briggs is buried, now we have to do an all-day tombstone roll to see if we can dig her up," Dean explained, circling his finger around when he said, all-day tombstone roll. He headed around to his side of the Impala.

"Wait, M-Maggie Briggs?" Sam headed to his side. "You mean, like… like the witch, Maggie Briggs?"

"Yeah, Sherlock."

"Yeah, she's in the basement."

Both Dean and Sarah looked over at Sam, at that.

Dean asked, "Come again? W-what basement?"

"Isaiah Pickett's house," he explained. "Okay, there's this legend that he hung her, but he didn't. The real truth is that she was carrying his illegitimate child, and he killed her, and then buried her in the basement."

"Her 'murdered chylde,'" Dean realized.

"That would explain the scratches," said Sarah.

"How do you know all this?" Dean asked of Sam.

"Oh, I've done all kinds of research on it," he said. Dean and Sarah stared at him. "I mean, you know… Last night."

"Yeah. Nice work," Dean reached for the door handle, "I guess."

The other two followed suit.

Dean turned on the ignition, along with the radio. As soon as Sam heard the music playing, he wanted it turned up. Both him and Sarah looked over at Sam, in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Hell, yeah," he said.

Dean looked back over his shoulder, at Sarah, who exchanged another look with him.

Sarah looked over at her uncle. "Who are you and what have you done with Uncle Sam?" she asked.

"W-what do you mean?" he asked, nervously.

"I think we finally got to him, Baby Girl," Dean told her, turning the music up before he pulled out of the parking space and headed for Donna's place.

"Guess so." Sarah pulled her cell phone out of her pocket, opening it up. She tried to turn it on, but it wouldn't. "Crap!"

Dean looked up at her, through the rearview mirror. "What?"

"I forgot to charge my phone, last night," she said, closing her phone.

Sam, suddenly looked around at his niece.

"That's great, because I can't even find mine," he replied, sarcastically.

"Wait, you have a phone, too?" Sam asked, as if he was surprised.

Sarah's eyebrow lowered as she stared at her uncle.

Sam cleared his throat, facing forward. "I mean, right, you have a cell phone. Of course."

"Are you feeling alright, Uncle Sam?" she asked of him.

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded at her, "Mm-hm."

Dean headed straight for Donna's house, parking right in front of the house. They got everything they needed from the trunk and headed inside, going down into the basement.

He took the lead, down the stairs, with Sarah behind him, and Sam, bringing up the rear. Sam tried to head down after Dean until Sarah had to remind him, she had to stay between them.

Dean shined the flashlight around the room.

Sarah came up, beside him, doing the same.

Sam kept his shotgun raised, pointing it around the room. "Boo-yeah," he said. "Master Chief is in the house, bizatches."

Dean and Sarah both looked back at him. "Are you sure you're alright?" Dean asked of him, this time.

"Yeah," he nodded, "Fine."

After another exchanged look with Sarah, Dean looked forward, again, moving along.

They kept looking around, until Dean found a patch of willow moss.

"Well, I'd be damn," he said. "Willow moss."

"Yeah, right," said Sam. "It's supposed to grow over witches' graves, right?"

Dean looked back, behind him, at his brother. "Yeah," he nodded.

Both him and Sarah got to work, digging up the body, while Sam stayed back there, keeping watching. Neither one of them noticed Sam was pointing his shotgun at Dean.

"Hey, man, I'm really sorry about this," he said.

Dean and Sarah continued digging.

"Sorry about what?" asked Dean.

Suddenly, Sam got flung back, into a bunch of stuff. Dean, immediately stopped and went to help his brother. Apparently, it was enough to freak the gentle giant out?

"Let's get the hell out of here!"

Dean stared at his brother, confused. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, we still got to burn the body, you idiot." he reminded him and gave Sam a reassuring slap on the shoulder, to return where Sarah had continued digging when she was sure her uncle was alright.

She stopped, again, when her father got flung against the same wall as Sam, now that the stuff was spilled out on the floor. "Dad!" Sarah ran over there, that time. Sam hid behind a shelf.

Maggie Briggs' ghost appeared, watching as Sarah tried to help her father.

Dean got to his feet just as the ghost started walking towards them. His right arm went up, by instinct, shielding his daughter.

Just as Maggie tried to attack them, she lit up, into flames, disappearing. Dean and Sarah looked around, wondering what had happened until they caught Sam over by the grave. Maggie's bones were burning, and Sam was standing over it, with the bottle of fluid.

"Dude," said Sam, "that was sweet!"

Dean nodded, in agreement.

The Winchesters decided to celebrate their victory, at the local bar. It wasn't very often when a job was that easy. They took a seat at one of the high tables. Their server noticed an underage minor was in the bar. Dean assured her, Sarah wasn't there to drink. The server usually wasn't allowed to let minors in, but the kid was just too darn cute, and held Dean to his promise and she also told him he'd better leave a very nice tip. Dean promised.

Dean also ordered a cheeseburger, with extra onions and a fried egg, when the server returned with their drinks. Sarah, of course, ordered a Coke. She also, second the order, except for the extra onions part. Both of them were surprised when Sam didn't object to Dean's extra onions, but wanted it, as well.

"Okay, I iterate what Sarah asked, earlier. Who are you, and what have you done with Sam?"

"As do I, what do you mean?" he asked.

Dean looked at his brother, slightly, sideways. "Bacon cheeseburgers, now?"

Sam laughed, quietly, to himself. "I don't know. I eat them, don't I? Anyways, we are celebrating." He raised his shot up to Dean.

Dean looked down, to grab his, "Yeah, I guess." He raised his up, to toast, "Another one bites the dust. Nice work, today." He gave his brother a smirk.

"You, too." He told Dean.

Sarah raised her Coke up, to join in the toast, as well. "Yeah, I love it when we're all in it, together," she said.

"I had a, uh, really awesome day, man," said Sam. "Seriously."

The Winchesters clinked their glasses, together, before Sam downed his, first. Dean thought on what he said, before downing his. Sarah took a long drink of her Coke, but did not down the whole thing. Mostly, because her Coke was in a regular size glass, triple the size of a shot glass and it probably wasn't a good idea to down a Coke, anyway.

Sam looked like he was having trouble, keeping his down.

Finally, Dean had to question his last statement. "Really awesome day?"

"Yeah, why not?" he asked.

"It was a random, D-list ghost hunt that Sarah could probably do on her own," Dean shrugged. "That's… that's awesome to you?"

Sam sat back, shaking his head. "I can't be in a good mood?"

"Yeah, I guess," he replied. "It's…" Dean tried to let it go, but something just did not feel right. "No, actually. It's not really your style, Sam."

"The only time I see you in a good mood is when the two of us, hang out, on our uncle and niece bonding time, or when we're playing _Mario Kart_ ," Sarah added, swishing her straw around in her drink, playing with the ice cubes.

"Well then, it's a new me," he told them. "I mean, come on. Why shouldn't I be happy? I've got a gun," Sam pretended he was holding one of their shotguns, "I'm getting drunk, and I look like this," he then circled his face, with his finger, which caught Dean and Sarah, off guard. Sam sighed, "I don't know. You ever feel like your whole future is being decided for you?"

Dean glanced up at the ceiling, for a moment. "Uh, yeah, Sam, I feel like that, a lot."

"No matter how much you fight it," he went on, "you can't stop the plan. The stupid, stupid plan. So, I don't know. I guess it's, uh, it's just nice to do a little ass-kicking for a change, that's all." Sam paused for a moment, before he added, "uh, you know what? I-I'm drunk," he chuckled, "sorry. Just…just forget it."

"No, no. It's alright," Dean assured his brother. "It's, uh… I'll drink to that." He then raised another shot, up.

Sam shrugged, and raised another, as well.

Sarah stayed out of that one, letting the men have their brotherly moment.

"Wow, is it just me or are we actually drinking, together," Dean realized.

"We don't do it that often, huh?" Sam asked.

He scoffed, "Yeah, you can say that."

"Well, we should. You're a good guy, Dean."

Dean picked up his beer. "Wow, you _are_ drunk," he said, and took a drink.

The server returned with their orders, setting the plates in front of each Winchester, before leaving them alone. Sarah asked for ketchup, remembering at the last minute. The server didn't mind.

"No, but I mean it," said Sam. "You really are a good guy." He then picked up his burger and took a bite, enjoying it. "The bread, alone!" Sam, also started eating one fry after another. Sarah watched as her uncle scoffed down his dinner, barely touching her own.

"You alright, Baby Girl?" Dean asked, getting her attention.

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine." Just yesterday, her uncle was eating salads, which from a fast food place, wasn't that healthy than a hamburger, either. But, it was healthier. Sarah did not understand the complete one-eighty, Sam had done. Did he hit his head or something? Could he be possessed like a few years ago? Meg was back, again, but Sarah didn't think the demon would try the same thing, twice. That wouldn't be a smart move.

Once Sam was finished eating, he excused himself over to the bar, where he ordered a Banana Daiquiri. He also met a woman, sitting nearby, which she invited him back to her place. To their surprise, Sam agreed. He then left the bar, with her.

Dean and Sarah watched the big guy leave until he was gone.

"Either Sam hit his head and thinks he's you, or that's not Sam," Sarah was the first to speak.

Dean was staring off, to the side, in thought. "That may be a safe bet."


	161. Chapter 161- Swap Meat (Part 3)

Chapter 161

Dean paid the bill, including the Daiquiri, and him and Sarah left the bar, hopping into the Impala. They headed back to the motel.

"Check the glove compartment," he nodded at it.

Sarah reached over and yanked the glove compartment, open. She looked around for the spare phones they kept. Not even John's old cell was in there. "They're all gone."

"Damn it!" Dean cursed. "Okay, we need to get yours, charged up. Maybe, if Sam was able to, he did try to reach us." Once they got back to their motel room, Sarah plugged her phone in and turned it on, manually.

The phone turned on and Sarah was able to see a few miscalls from a couple numbers she didn't recognize. She played the first one.

 _"Sarah, I can't get a hold your dad. That guy with you is not me."_

Sarah played the next one.

 _"Why can't either of you check your friggin' voicemails?"_

Sarah played the third one.

 _"You forgot to charge your phone, again, didn't you?"_

Sarah pressed, end and closed her phone. "The voice didn't sound like Uncle Sam, but, yeah, he called, and it sounds like he tried to call the both of us," she told her father.

"You see? This is why you should remember to keep your phone charged up," Dean pointed out. He ran a hand along his hair, facing away.

"I'm sorry, it slipped my mind, okay?" Sarah glared at her father. "My bad."

"Well, maybe if you stopped playing your game, so much, you would remember crap like charging your phone."

"Excuse me for wanting to find some kind of fun in this shit hole we're in," she shot back.

Dean looked over at his daughter. He felt bad for yelling at her, considering he was already on edge about everything else, and now that his brother was missing, it was the cherry on top. He didn't say anything. Not at first. When he did, it was to get to work on how they were going to catch whoever was inside Sam's body.

Sarah suggested stuffing pillows underneath the covers on each bed. She had learned to do it when she was younger in case she didn't get back in time before her mother got home from work. Since she always finished her homework, quickly, things would get boring, so Sarah would either walk to the nearby park or store, to get something to eat and/or drink.

"Just don't try that on me," Dean warned her.

"Don't I always tell you and Uncle Sam where I'm going?" she reminded him.

Dean continued making sure the pillows were just right. "Yeah," he replied, softly.

Sarah looked over at her father. She knew he was still dealing with Ellen and Jo's death. It still hurt for Sarah, but she was trying to continue on, for them. There was days that it seemed easy, while others, it was a miracle she had gotten through it, and Sarah wondered how her father was doing it.

She tried to lighten the mood. "Hey, remember the days when I wasn't even allowed to leave the motel unless you or Uncle Sam was with me?"

Dean couldn't help smile, a little. "Yeah, you were smaller and still learning the ropes."

"Well, I guess you can I'm still learning the ropes," she shrugged.

"Yeah, maybe." Dean pulled the covers over the pillows, making sure it looked like he was sleeping under there.

"Remember when you first taught me how to shoot, the day we met?" Sarah continued. "You took me to Uncle Bobby's place, and you put out a bunch of beer cans for me to shoot?"

Dean finally looked over at his daughter. He had been so proud, that day, when Sarah made her first shot. Dean would never forget that day.

They waited for Sam to return, hiding out in the shadows. When Sam eventually made it back, he noticed both of them, asleep, already. Or, so he thought. Dean and Sarah saw him, carefully make his way over where Dean left his gun, and picked it up. Sam then pointed it over at where he thought Dean was, pulling the hammer back. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Dean jumped out of the shadows and punched him in the face.

"You're not Sam," he told him. "Who the hell are you?"

All he said was, "Ow!"

Sarah came out of hiding, turning on the lights. She pulled a chair over, carrying a strong rope. Dean pushed Sam's body down, onto the chair, taking the rope from her, using it to tie his brother up.

"All right, pal," Dean said, as he backed away from his brother. "Either you start talking or I start waterboarding." He started pacing around him. Sarah stayed back, watching, with her arms folded.

"Oh, my God. Please don't hurt me," he pleaded, in a panicked tone. "Please! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"

Dean came back, towards him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Okay. Hey, pull it, together, champ."

"I don't want to die. I don't want to die."

"Where's Sam?" he asked of him.

"In my," he dropped his head, "In my friend's basement. His parents are out of town."

Slowly, Sarah's arms pulled apart. "Holy crap, how old is this guy?"

"Seventeen."

"Seventeen?" Dean repeated.

He nodded.

Suddenly, Dean got thrown across the room, smashing into the window and on top of a desk, where he rolled off and onto the floor, on his back.

"Dad!" Sarah screamed out. She looked over at her uncle's body. "I thought we destroyed Maggie Briggs?"

"Guess again."

Sarah's head zipped over to find a girl around the same age as the guy, standing there. "Who are you?"

"Sarah, my, you are growing up, ain't ya."

"Nora?" The guy in Sam interrupted.

She looked over at him. The demon moved, closer to him, leaning in, as her eyes flashed black. "Not at the moment."

While the demon had her attention on him, Sarah tried to sneak over to her father's duffel bag, where he had The Knife. However, the motel looked pretty old and there was bound to be a loose floorboard or two, and Sarah's foot had to find one of them.

The demon looked over at the girl, her black eyes, vanishing. It then sent Sarah flying across the room, bouncing off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Sarah moaned, in pain as she laid on the floor.

The demon turned back to Sam's body. "Now, where were we?" It untied him. "Boy, you earned your dessert, tonight, kiddo. Tell me, what is it you want?" The demon then lowered her voice, to add, "anything."

He looked back, over his shoulder, at her. ""Anything?" he repeated, a smile on his face. He took off the ropes as the guy watched the demon walk back around, in front of him, where she turned to face him.

"Lay it on me."

"I want to be a witch," he said, as he stood to his feet. "For real."

Even in pain, Sarah managed to roll her eyes. _Okay, Harry Potter_ , she thought to herself.

"And, really powerful."

 _Okay, I take that back, Voldemort._

"Mm, good choice," the demon complimented. "I get it." The demon turned on her heel, and walked away as it said, "No daddy, no M.I.T. No plan. You get to be big and strong, and," it looked down at Dean's lifeless body, "no one can tell you what to do, anymore." The demon turned back around. "There's just one small formality, first."

 _Shit!_ Sarah knew where this was going. It was genius and the idiot, older kid made it, so.

"You got to meet the boss."

"The boss?" he questioned.

"You know, your satanic majesty, or whatever the kids are calling it, these days."

He paused, at first. "The devil?"

"Mm-hmm," it nodded.

"Uhh… No," he shook his head. "O-okay. Umm… It's okay. I…don't really want to bother him."

"Oh, but he's gonna want to meet you."

He continued to shake his head.

"Relax. It'll be easy. He's just gonna ask one little question, and all you gotta do is say, yes. And then… you get your reward."

Sarah had to do something, fast. If that guy said, yes, to Lucifer, that would be it. Suddenly, she heard her father grunt. She turned her head, just in time to see the demon flip him, The Knife, in his hand. Once he was on the floor, again, the demon started kicking him, in the side.

Sarah forced herself to turn over, getting up, onto her hands and knees. "Dad!" she screamed out, again, while the guy tried to look away. She tried to stand up, but her back was a little sore. So, instead, Sarah tried the next back thing. "Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus."

The demon turned on Sarah. "What was that?" she demanded. The demon headed over, towards Sarah, to do the same. "Are you trying to exorcise me?! You little piece of crap!"

Sarah, helpless at the moment, stared up at the demon. Just as she started to continue, she heard her uncle's voice.

"Spiritus, omnis satanica potestas."

The demon, surprised, tried to turn on the guy, next. Just as it got close to him and grabbed him by his throat, Dean joined in, now on his feet. "Omnis incursio infernalis adversii."

The demon dropped Sam's body and faced Dean.

Sarah said the next part, then the guy, then Dean, again. They went back and forth, until Dean said the final part, getting the last word, wrong.

"Adios, bitch!"

"Uh, it's 'audi nos,'" the guy corrected him.

Black smoke shot from the girl's mouth, shooting up, towards the ceiling and into an air vent. The girl's body dropped, limply, to the floor.

The next thing Dean did, was make sure his daughter was alright, while the guy made sure his friend was alright. Once they were sure the girls were fine, and learned the guy's name was Gary, Dean and Sarah made the teens take them to where Sam was, also, tied up, bringing him back to the motel room where Gary did the spell to return him and Sam back to their respectful bodies.

Sam, relieved to be back in his own body, hurried over to a mirror, to see his own reflection.

Dean stood up from the foot of the bed he was sitting on. "So, we're good?"

He nodded, "Yeah, we're good." Sam cracked his neck, turning back around, to face everyone. "Oh, man, it's nice to be back."

Sarah walked over and hugged her uncle around the waist. "Glad to have you, back, too, Uncle Sam," she told him.

Sam held his arms around his niece.

"Yeah, awesome," Gary rolled his eyes, and stood up, as well.

"So," Dean cleared his throat, "Gary… "

"Yeah, I know," he turned back to Sam. "My bad."

Sam just stared at the kid.

Sarah let go, turning around to face the older kid, folding her arms, again.

"My bad?" Dean questioned.

The kid shrugged.

Dean stole a quick glance, with his brother, before staring Gary in the eye. "I wouldn't let my kid get away, saying that about not charging her phone. What makes you think you saying it, would cut it?" he told him. "See, if you were of voting age. You would be dead. Because we would kill you."

Quickly, Gary shot his head over at Sam, who gave him a look that agreed. He looked back at Dean.

So, either you straighten up and fly, right, or we will kill you."

Gary glanced down at the floor, for a split second.

"Are we clear?"

He nodded, "Crystal."

"Good."

The brothers gave the kids a ride to Gary's house.

On the way out, Gary whispered to Sarah, "I thought my dad was scary."

"Yeah, your dad probably has nothing on mine. You don't want to cross him, that's for sure," she whispered back to him.

Dean opened his car door. "Sarah, back inside. I want you asleep by the time Sam and I return, and phone plugged into the wall, or your butt's gonna be grounded for the next week!"

"Yes, sir." Sarah turned back to Gary. "See what I mean?" She then headed back, inside, closing and locking the door. She flopped down on the couch, after making sure her phone was still plugged in, and drifted off to sleep. Another job done.


	162. Chapter 162-The Song Remainsthe Same(P1)

Chapter 162

Not long after the whole thing, with Sam switching bodies and reliving teenaged angst, Dean ended up being sabotaged in one of his dreams while Sam and Sarah had gone out to restock supplies. It had been a year since the Winchesters had heard from the angel, Anna, and for good reason. She had been "upstairs," in prison. Now that she was out, again, she wanted to speak with them.

Once Sam and Sarah had returned, Dean informed them. They also told Castiel, who didn't trust Anna, at all, considering she was out. The angel figured, if Anna got out, heaven let her and for a good reason. So, he went in their stead and had a talk with her, to see what she wanted.

It turned out, Anna wanted to kill Sam, so Lucifer couldn't use him and there wouldn't be any apocalypse. Castiel refused to help her, though and forbid the angel to not go near Sam. With that, Anna disappeared and Castiel had no clue, where she had gone.

Castiel reported back with the Winchesters, filling them in on the conversation.

Dean asked, surprised, "Really? Anna? I don't believe it."

"It's true." Castiel was busy, drawing up a sigil, so he could use a spell, to locate Anna's position.

He stared at the floor. "So, she's gone all Glenn Close, huh? That's awesome."

Both Sarah and Castiel looked over at Dean, to ask, "Who's Glen Close?" in union. They exchanged looks between themselves, as if to say, "that was weird."

Dean thought that was weird, too, but let it go, and shrugged it off. "No one," he said, walking across the room. "Just this psycho bitch who likes to boil rabbits."

"So, t-the…" Sam changed the subject as Castiel continued what he was doing. "The plan to kill me, would it actually stop Satan."

Dean, quickly, looked over at his brother. "No, Sam, come on."

Sam ignored him. "Cas, what do you think? Does Anna have a point?"

Dean didn't say anything, but looked over at the angel, as well. The angel stole a look from him and answered, no.

"She's a…Glen Close."

"Besides, are you forgetting something, Uncle Sam?" Sarah spoke up. She was sitting on the other bed, with her laptop, open. Her schooling was one web page, and YouTube, open, on top of that, smaller, of a video, paused on a _Let's Play_ of _The Legend of Zelda: the Wind Waker_.

"What?" he shrugged.

She leaned an arm on her folded leg. "If you die or something happens while Lucifer is up here, and you can't say, yes, for whatever reason, he'll start coming after me and then we'll really be screwed," Sarah reminded her uncle. She looked over at Castiel. "Doesn't Anna know that?"

"Seems unlikely and I didn't bring it up," Castiel replied. "We should keep it that way."

"Okay, I don't get it," Sarah went on, confused. "So far, every angel and demon is intimidated by me, but no one seems to know why? Not even an archangel?" She was referring to Gabriel, who didn't seem to know what she was, either. Even he was clueless. "What the hell?"

"Only a select few angels know, and unfortunately, Anna and I are not one of them," he explained.

Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. If I knew, I would tell you."

She rubbed the back of her head, before dropping her hand in her lap. "Whatever, I guess." Sarah really wanted her questions she's had since she was five years old, answered.

Dean changed the subject, again. "I don't get it. We're looking for the chick who wants to gank Sam?" He walked back, towards Castiel and shrugged, "Why poke the bear?"

"Anna will keep trying," he answered, mixing up the ingredients. "She won't give up until Sam is dead. So, we kill her, first." Castiel spoke in another language. There was a huge flame and the angel got pushed back. Castiel breathed, deeply, grabbing onto the back of a chair. His eyes was shut.

After a few moments, he lifted his head. "I found her."

"Where is she?" asked Dean.

"Not where," he looked up at him. "When. It's 1978." Castiel stood up, straight, again.

The Winchesters stared back at Castiel.

Sam jumped to his feet. "What?" he moved closer, and asked, "Why 1978? I wasn't even born yet."

Castiel thought on it. "You won't be…if she kills your parents."

"What?"

He moved closer to them, "Anna can't get to you, because of me. So, she's going after them."

"Take us back, right now," Dean demanded, trying to remain calm.

"And, deliver you, right to Anna? I should go, alone."

Dean raised his voice, a little. "They're our parents, Cas. We're going."

"It's not that easy," he admitted, before turning to walk away.

Sam asked, "Why not?"

"Time travel was difficult, even with the powers of heaven, at my disposal." Castiel turned, ninety degrees, to the left.

"But, you're cut off."

"So what?" asked Dean. "You're like a DoLorean without enough plutonium?"

Castiel turned back, to fully face them. "I don't understand that reference."

"Don't say that," Sarah warned the angel. "Dad'll sit ya down and make you watch whatever the reference is from."

"Don't give me that. You like it whenever I do that, and you know it," Dean told his daughter.

Sarah smirked, "Did I say I didn't?"

"You were saying, Cas?" Sam interrupted the two, turning the conversation back over to the angel.

"Taking this trip, with passengers, no less," Castiel continued. "It'll weaken me."

Dean moved, closer to him. "They're our mom and dad. If we can save them, and not just from Anna, I mean, if we can set things right, we have to try."

"But, didn't you and I try that already, the first time, Cas sent us back?" Sarah pointed out. "I mean, we tried to stop the yellow-eyed demon from making that deal with Grandma, and we couldn't."

Dean looked his daughter, in the eye. "If we get another crack at it, we have to try, Sarah."

Sarah looked up at her father. She knew this was important to him, so she agreed. For her father. "Let's do this."

Once they packed all they needed for the trip, Castiel sent all three of the Winchesters back in time, to 1978, right in the middle of the street. Car horns were blared, curses were yelled out, as the Winchesters maneuvered their way, safely, onto the sidewalk. Over by a parked car, they found Castiel, sitting on the ground. The angel was spitting up blood, but he was breathing, to say the least.

Dean put him up in a motel, while Sam checked the phone book, for John and Mary Winchester. Sam found the correct address, ripping the page out. Jacking a car and hotwiring it, the three of them headed straight there. It took a few hours, pulling up to the house, after dark. Dean had to lift the driver's seat, forward, to let Sarah climb out.

Sam headed straight for the house, first.

"Sam," Dean tried to stop his brother. "Sam. Wait, wait, wait, wait."

"Dean, Anna could be here, any second," he told him.

"What exactly are we gonna march up there and tell them?"

Sam shrugged, "Uh, the truth?"

"What, that their sons and grandchild are back from the future, to save them from an angel gone _Terminator_?" Dean questioned. "Come on. Those movies haven't even come out, yet."

"Well, tell her, demons are after them. I mean, she thinks you two are hunters, right?"

"Yeah, hunters who disappeared right as her dad died," he pointed out. "She's gonna love us." Dean looked over at the house. "Just follow my lead."

Dean led the other two up the walkway, and rang the doorbell. A few moments later, Mary answered the door, shocked to see him and Sarah standing there. "Hi, Mary."

"You can't be here," she told them.

"Sorry, if this is a bad time," he told her.

"You don't understand. I'm not," she caught Sam staring at her. Mary turned back to Dean when he looked down. "I don't do that, anymore. I have a normal life, now. You have to go."

She made to close the door, until Dean held out his hand, to stop it. "I'm sorry, but this is important, okay?" They were interrupted by the door opening the rest of the way and John standing there, behind Mary, clearing his throat.

"Sorry, sweetie," Mary apologized to her husband. "They're just…"

Dean jumped in, quickly. "Mary's cousins. Yeah, we couldn't stop through town, without swinging by and saying, hi, now could we?" He quickly added, "Dean," holding out his hand for John to shake.

John accepted it.

"You look familiar," John realized.

"Really?" Dean exchanged a quick glance with Mary, then followed up with, "You do, too, actually, you know. We must have met, at sometime. Small towns, right? Got to love them."

Sarah held out her hand, next. "I'm Sarah."

John accepted hers, as well. "Wow, you have a firm grip, for a kid," he commented on the handshake.

"Thank you, sir," she replied.

"I'm John," John turned his attention over to Sam.

Sarah looked up at her uncle, when he hadn't returned the handshake, and gently nudged him in the side, with her elbow. Sam snapped out of his trance and finally noticed John was waiting on him. He returned the handshake.

"This is Sam," Dean told John.

"Sam," John nodded. "Uh, Mary's father was a Sam."

"Uh, it's a… It's a family name."

Sarah couldn't help snicker when her father said that, on the count of, where his name came from. She still did not let him forget that.

Dean caught it, briefly looking down at her and smacked Sarah, upside the head. Sarah stopped snickering, to glare up at her father, rubbing where he had smacked her. Of course, it didn't really hurt, as usual.

John was the first to notice Sam hadn't let go. "You okay, pal? You look a little spooked."

Sarah looked back, over at her uncle, and nudged him, again, with her elbow.

Sam realized he still had a hold of John's hand, and finally let go, trying to play it off. "Just a…long trip."

Dean and Sarah agreed.

"Well, Sam, Dean, and Sarah were just on their way out," Mary finally spoke up.

"What?" John looked at her, and back over at the other three, "they just got here. Real happy to meet folks from Mary's side. Please, come in for a beer." John moved to the side, to welcome them inside.

"Twist my arm," said Dean.

Sam, Dean, and Sarah were led, inside, taking a seat in the living room. Sam could not stop staring at John and Mary, especially Mary.

John got the brothers, each a beer. Thankfully, him and Mary had soda on hand, so he was able to offer Sarah a drink. "You know, I was about your age when I tried my first beer," he made small talk, starting with Sarah.

"I'm older than Dad was, when he tried his first beer," Sarah pointed out. She looked back at her father, giving him a hard time.

"Nothing wrong with having a small taste. It can help infants, while they're teething." John, quickly, added, "but, I don't want to overstep any boundaries."

"No, it's okay," Dean assured him. He held the neck of his beer out, towards Sarah. "My mind's been on other things, lately. If you really want to have your first taste, Baby Girl."

"Sure." Sarah reached over for her father's beer, taking it from him. She then took a sip, enough for her to get a good taste, before passing it back.

"Well?" John asked, waiting for a response, a smile on his face.

Sarah was still deciding. "I think I'll stick to soda, for now," she answered, before taking a drink of her soda.

Both John and Dean laughed at that.

Once that died down, John noticed Sam was still entranced. "Are you sure you're okay, Sam?" he asked of him.

"Yeah, yeah," Sam replied. "Um, I'm just, um… You are so beautiful."

"He means that in a non creepy, wholesome family way," Sarah added.

"Yeah, right," he agreed.

"What they mean, is," Dean jumped in, "we haven't seen Mary in…in quite some time. See, she's the splitting image of our mom. I mean… it's … it's…."

"Eerie," Sam finished for his brother.

John asked, "So, how are you guys related?"

"Uh, you know, distantly." said Dean.

"Oh," he nodded. "So, you knew Mary's parents."

"Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mary's dad was, uh…pretty much like a grandpa to us."

"Oh," John mouthed. "That was tragic," he reached over to grip Mary's hand, comfortingly, "that heart attack.'

Mary eyed Dean and Sarah.

"Yeah, it was," said Dean.

John decided to change the subject. "So, uh, what are you guys doing in town, anyways?"

"Uh, business, you know."

"Oh yeah? What line of work?"

Sam blurted out, "Plumbing," while Dean said, "scrap metal."

Sarah face-palmed her forehead, into her hand.

Mary quickly jumped to her feet. "Oh gosh. It's almost seven. I hate to be rude, but I got to get dinner ready," she informed them.

"Maybe they could stay," John offered.

She stared at the brothers and Sarah. "I'm sure they have to leave."

At that moment, the phone rang.

"Uh, look. Please stay. You know, it would mean a lot to me. I-I haven't met much of Mary's side of the family." He then stood up to go answer the phone that was still ringing.

When John was out of earshot, Mary turned on them, all of them now on their feet, again.

'You have to leave, now," she told them, firmly.

"Okay, just listen," Dean tried to explain.

"No, _you_ listen," Mary interrupted. "Last time I saw you, a demon killed my parents. Now, you waltz in here, like you're family? Whatever you want, no," she shook her head. "Leave me alone."

"You and John are in danger," Sam told her.

"What are you talking about?"

"Something's coming for you," Dean said, this time.

"Demon?"

"Not exactly."

"Well, what, then?" she asked.

"It's kind of hard to explain, okay? It's…It's…"

"An angel," Sarah was the one to blurt out.

"What?" Mary stared at the pre teen. "There's no such thing."

"I wish," Dean replied. "But, they're twice as strong as demons, and bigger dicks."

"Why would an angel want to kill us?" she asked.

"It's a long story, and we'll tell you the whole thing, but right now, you've got to trust us, and we got to go."

Mary stared up at Dean, unsure if she could trust them or not.

Dean understood. "Look at my face and tell me if I'm lying to you."

There was a long pause before Mary finally agreed. "Where do we go?"

"Out of here," he told her. "We have to move, now."

"Okay, but what do I tell John?" she asked.

"Just tell him…" Dean looked around, noticing the house was quiet and that John had been gone, longer than a phone call usually required. "John?" he called out.

No answer.

Dean headed into the hallway, followed by the others. They found the phone on the hook and a note left, that said, _back in 15, J_.


	163. Chapter 163-The Song Remains the Same(P2

Chapter 163

Sam, Dean, Sarah, and Mary headed to where Mary figured John would go; the garage where he worked. On the way, they devised a plan. Once there, they barged in, right as Anna was trying to deal with John.

Sam stayed back, to draw an angel sigil on the wall, with Dean charging after Anna.

"I wish I could say it's good to see you, Anna," he told her, as Anna held Dean back, the angel blade in his hand.

"You too, Dean," she replied.

Dean was then thrown through a nearby window, shattering the glass. He landed on his back, outside.

Mary grabbed the angel blade, swinging it around in her hand, ready to face off against the angel, trying to distract Anna while Sarah hurried over to help John, who was, slowly, trying to get back to his feet.

Sarah kneeled beside him. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Come on." Sarah tried to tug on his arm, to lead him out of there.

Mary and Anna fought. It was hard for John not to watch, considering he had never seen this side of his wife, before. The angel blade had gotten knocked out of Mary's hand, so she had to retreat until she could find another solution, or get the blade, back.

After being thrown over a car, Mary backed away as the angel, slowly, moved towards her. There was a crowbar, nearby, on a table Mary backed in to. Grabbing it, Mary flung it into Anna, learning that it had no effect.

Just in time, Sam managed to finish the sigil, pressing his bloodied hand to it. It sent Anna away, at least to bide them some time.

By this time, John was up, halfway leaning on Sarah, for support. Mary caught the surprised look in his eye.

On the road, Mary explained everything to John.

"Monsters." he said as he drove. "Monsters?"

Yes," she told him.

"Monsters are real."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"And, you fight them? All of you?" John looked from Mary, to the three in the backseat.

"Yeah," Sam was the one to answer.

"Including the kid?"

"Uh, yes, sir," Sarah answered.

He turned back to Mary. "How long?"

"All my life," Mary replied.

John glanced at his wife, trying to wrap his head around everything.

"John, just try to understand…"

Dean tried to speak up for his young mother. "She didn't exactly have…" Sam tried, as well, but John interrupted them, all.

"Shut up, all of you! Look, not another word, or so help me, I will turn this car around!" he ordered of them.

There was an awkward silence, which no one was brave enough to break it. That is, until Dean mumbled, "Wow. Awkward family road trip," to Sam and Sarah. Sam agreed, with a scoff. Sarah, on the other hand, mumbled in return, "Shut up. You're gonna get all of us in trouble."

They drove out to Mary's family's old house. "The place has been in the family, for years," she explained, turning on the light. Mary lifted up a rug, to show them there was a devil's trap drawn under there. "Pure iron fixtures, of course." She walked over to turn on the light in the dining room. "There should be salt and holy water in the pantry, knives, guns."

"All that stuff will do, is piss it off," said Sam.

"So, what will kill it? Or, slow it down, at least?"

Sam shifted on his feet. "Not much."

Mary scoffed, "Great."

"He said, not much," said Dean, and walked towards the table. "Not nothing. We packed." He set the duffel bag of stuff Castiel had packed for them, down and opened it up. "If we put this up," Dean showed Mary a drawing of the sigil, Sam used, back at the garage, "and she comes, close, we beam her right off the starship."

Sam took out an old-looking jug. "This is holy oil," he explained to her, next. "It's kind of like a… Like a devil's trap, for angels. Come on. I'll show you how it works."

Mary shared one last look with her husband, before following Sam into another room.

Sarah walked over her father, after having a look at the younger version of her grandfather. She guessed this was his intro into the hunting world. "What do you want me to do, Dad?"

"Um, give me a minute, Baby Girl. Okay? Maybe you can stand guard, or something." he told her.

Sarah nodded, when John moved closer to them.

"Hey, what's the deal with the thing on the paper?"

"It's a sigil," Dean explained. "That means…"

"I don't care what it means. Where does it go?"

"On a wall or a door."

"How big should I make it?"

Dean hesitated. "John."

"What?" he asked. "Y'all might have treated me like a fool, but I am not useless. I can draw a damn…" John picked up the drawing, from where Dean had set it on the table. "Whatever it is… a sigil."

"Why don't you go help Sam out? Or, I can pair you up with Sarah, here," Dean suggested. "Okay? 'Cause, this has to be done in…It's got to be done in human blood."

"Dad doesn't even let me do it," Sarah explained to John.

Stubbornly, John grabbed a knife, sitting there, removing it from its case. He slid the blade across the palm of his hand, cutting into the skin. "So, how big?"

Dean gave in. "I'll show ya." He couldn't help, chuckle, a little.

John asked, "What?"

Dean looked at him, the smile now gone. "All of a sudden, you… You really remind me of my dad." With that said, Dean headed out of the room.

John had looked from Dean, down at the floor, when he heard what he said. He caught a look with Sarah.

"My grandfather died when I was younger. My dad idolized him," she explained. Sarah headed to another part of the house, to start keeping watch, so she would have something to do.

While the men were drawing the sigils, Mary poured the holy oil on the floor, over where the devil's trap was.

Sarah was walking around the house, keeping watch for anything suspicious. She couldn't help watch Mary. Not in the same way as Sam, but still harmless. Eventually, Sarah made her way over to her younger-looking grandmother.

"How you holding up?" she asked, trying to make small talk.

Mary glanced up at the preteen. "Alright, I guess. Considering the circumstances."

Sarah nodded at the floor. "I wanted to say, sorry that we keep interrupting your life, and ruining it. I understand how much you must want out of this life. It's hard."

"I'm guessing you've been in this, all your life?" Mary asked, continuing to pour out the oil.

"I've known about monsters since I was five, been hunting them since I was seven."

"What?" Mary stopped pouring, to look up at the preteen. "Not even my parents let me hunt, that young."

"Dad felt he didn't have a choice. I knew about monsters, but he didn't want to leave me alone. He grew up, instilled on protecting my uncle. So, when he found out I was his daughter, he felt he had to protect me, twenty-four, seven. Even if that meant, hunting alongside him. Dad regrets it, as I grow up, but, had to be. In his mind, at least. I don't hate him, for it. Till this day, Dad remains my best friend." Sarah stared down at the floor, her hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans. "Truth is, I was a bit of a troublemaker when I was little. I get bored real easy and I found it, hard to interact with other kids. I didn't feel I was living, until I became a hunter. I wish I could hate this life, like my dad and uncle does, but truthfully, I love it. It scares me, and I've tried to break out. My adopted grandfather and god mom tried, so hard, to put me back in school. This is just who I am, I guess."

Mary looked up at the kid, a concerned look on her face.

"No, it's not." The girls looked over to see Dean standing in the doorway, pressing a bandana to the palm of his hand, wrapped around it. "You're my baby girl, Sarah. That's who you are."

Sarah wasn't about to argue. Not at the moment. She knew it wasn't best to argue something like that. The two of them shared a look.

Mary spoke up. "Okay," she told Dean, "you said you'd explain everything when we had a minute. We have a minute. Why does an angel want me, dead?"

Dean looked behind him, and leaned against the door post. "'Cause they're dicks."

She chuckled, slightly. "Not good enough. I didn't even know they existed, and now I'm a target?"

"It's complicated."

"Fine." Mary stood to her feet, fully facing him. "All ears," she held her hands out, at her sides.

Dean stood back up, straight, looking anywhere but at her. "You're gonna have to trust me, okay?"

"I've been trusting you, all day," she said.

"It's kind of hard to believe," he admitted.

"All right then. I'm walking out the door." Mary turned to leave when Dean blurted out, "I'm your son." She stopped and slowly looked back at him. "What?"

Dean moved closer to her. "I'm your son," he repeated. "Sorry. I don't know how else to say it. We're from the year, 2010. An angel zapped us back here. Not the one that attacked you. Friendlier."

"You can't expect me to believe that," Mary told him.

Dean figured that would be hard to believe. "My brother and I are Dean and Sam Winchester. We're named after your parents," he explained. "When I would get sick, you would make me, tomato-rice soup, because that's what your mom made you."

"Dad made it for me, once, when I got sick," said Sarah.

Mary looked over at her. She looked back at Dean when he continued.

"And, instead of a lullaby…you would sing, _Hey, Jude_ , 'cause that's your favorite Beatles song."

Mary shook her head, trying to take it all in. "I…" her voice was breaking. "I don't believe it." She sniffed in. "No," she continued to shake her head, trying to deny it.

"I'm sorry, but it's true," he said.

Mary stared up at Dean. "I raised my kids to be hunters?" she asked.

"No," Dean shook his head. "No, you didn't."

"How could I do that to you?"

"You didn't do it." Dean took another step, closer to Mary. "Because, you're dead."

"What?" Mary closed her eyes. She opened them, to ask, "What happened?"

"Yellow-eyed demon. He killed you, and," Dean stared down at the floor. His lower lip was quivering. He looked up, to stare at the other room, where John was. "John became a hunter to get revenge. He raised us in this life."

Mary looked away. Sarah could see how devastated the young woman was.

"Listen to me," he said, "A demon comes into Sam's nursery exactly six months after he's born. November 2, 1983. Remember that date. And, whatever you do, do not go in there. You wake up that morning and you take Sam and you run."

"That's not good enough, Dean." The girls and Dean looked over, to see Sam standing in another doorway. "Wherever she goes, the demon's gonna find her. Find me."

"Well then, what?" he asked of his brother.

Sam sighed. "She can leave Dad. That's what."

Mary stared at Sam.

Dean and Sarah stared at Sam, too.

He shook his head, at Mary. "You got to leave John."

She asked of him, "What?"

"When this is all over, walk away and never look back."

Dean figured it out. "So, we're never born," he said and looked back at Mary. "He's right."

Mary shook her head, "I-I can't. You're saying that you're my children, and now you're saying…"

"You have no other choice," Sam told her.

"There's a big difference between dying and never being born, and trust me, we're okay with it, I promise you that," Dean assured his mother.

"Well, I'm not," she argued.

"I hate to say it, but after the crap I, alone, had to go through, I agree. You have to do this," Sarah said. "Sometimes, if you love someone, you have set them, free. Excuse the sappy-ness of how that sounds."

"Listen, you think you can have that normal life that you want so bad," said Sam. "But, you can't. I'm sorry. It's all gonna go rotten. You are gonna die, and your children will be cursed."

"There has to be another way," Mary continued to fight it.

"Remember when I said, I learned monsters were real and I became a hunter, two years, later?" Sarah asked her grandmother.

Mary nodded.

"I was raised among non hunters, away from it all. The life still got to me. The demon found me when I was five years old. It found my mom, the night of my six-month birthday, and then found where I was. When I was seven years old, the demon led my maternal grandparents to find my dad, so I could become a hunter."

"This has to be the way. Leave John," Dean told Mary.

"I can't."

"This is bigger than us. There are so many lives at stake."

Mary got firm. "You don't understand. _I can't._

He stared at her.

She pulled back. "It's too late."

Dean looked at her, sideways."

"I'm…" Mary glanced at the floor. She looked back up to, softly, say, "I'm pregnant."

All three of them stared at Mary, in horror.

Suddenly, John came, barging in, interrupting the conversation. "Hey, we got a problem," he told them. "Those blood things, the sigils, they're gone."

Sam looked between John and Dean, "Gone as in…"

"I drew one on the back of the door. I turned around and when I looked back again, it was a smudge."

Dean went to check for himself. "He's right," he said when he saw it with his own eyes.

Mary kneeled down to check the floor, where she had poured the oil. "There's no more holy oil," she told them.

There was an intensified screeching sound, making Sam draw the angel blade he had on him. John and Mary, along with Sarah, covered their ears. Every single window shattered into a million pieces, including light bulbs. The house was now, in complete darkness.

When it was over, the back door slammed open. A man walked in, wearing a suit.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean demanded of the guy.

"I'm Uriel," he answered.

Dean backed away, with a smirk. "Oh, come on."

The brothers and Sarah backed up, trying to cover Mary and John. They noticed Anna was standing over on the stairs.

"Here goes nothing," said Dean.

Sam and Sarah nodded at him.

The brothers went after the two angels, while Sarah stayed back, to cover Mary and John. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, considering Sarah was unarmed.

During the fight, Sam had dropped the angel blade. John happened to notice it on the floor. He tried to go retrieve it when Anna stepped between him and the blade. He looked up at the angel, who placed a hand under his chin, bringing him up, slowly.

Anna blasted the guy through a window. John crashed into a nearby windmill. Sarah wanted to grab the blade, herself, until Sam got between her and Anna.

Anna turned on her heel, to grab a pipe from inside a hole in the wall. Sam made a dash for the angel blade. Right as he was about to grab it, Anna plunged what she had grabbed, into Sam. Blood oozed from his mouth.

"NO!" Sarah cried out.

The moment he heard his little girl scream, Dean's head shot in that direction, just as Sam was sliding down, against the wall, his hands clutching his side. "Sammy!" he also cried out. "Sam!"

Anna looked from Sam, over at Mary. The angel moved closer to her.

Sarah grabbed the angel blade from where her uncle had dropped it and jumped in, right in front of her grandmother, glaring up at Anna.

"I'm really sorry," Anna told them.

Sarah continued to glare at her, gripping the angel blade in her hand. "He wasn't the only vessel, you bitch!" Her fists were curled, tightly, at her side. "Now, Lucifer has no choice but to come after me!" Of course, that wasn't the main reason she was pissed. Anna had just murdered her uncle. However, Sarah wanted the angel to know, in case she didn't.

Anna's eyes grew wide. Before she could speak, she heard someone call her name. Anna looked behind her, to see John standing there. Only, she wasn't seeing John. The rest were, but not Anna.

"Michael."

Sarah perked up at that name. Could it be the archangel? But, why in her grandfather's body?

Michael, in control of John, stepped towards Anna. He laid a hand against her shoulder. Her eyes burned out, fire shooting towards the ceiling as Anna screamed in pain. Soon, her body turned to ash, burning until there was nothing.

The archangel turned his head towards the young Uriel.

"Michael," the angel said, walking towards his superior. "I didn't know."

"Good bye, Uriel," the archangel, plainly, told him. With a snap of his fingers, Michael sent Uriel back home. He then turned to the girls, next, moving closer to them.

"What did you do to John?" Mary asked of Michael.

"John is fine," he assured her.

"Who… What are you?"

Michael put his finger to his lips, shushing her. He reached over Sarah's head, touching two fingers to Mary's forehead. Mary dropped like a stone, out cold.

Sarah looked behind her, quickly. "Mary?" she asked.

"She's fine," Michael assured the preteen, as well. He tried to do the same to Sarah, but Sarah ducked out of his reach, rushing over to her father, as he was, slowly, making his way in the room. She glared at the archangel.

"I'm quicker than I look," she told him.

Michael just smiled. He looked over at Dean. "Well, I'd say this conversation is long overdue, wouldn't you?"

Sarah looked up at her father, making sure he was alright.

Dean pointed down at his brother, "Fix him."

Michael held up a finger, "First, we talk." He looked down at where Sam laid, "Then I'll fix your darling little Sammy."

"How'd you get inside my dad, anyway?" Dean asked of him.

"I told him I could save his wife, and he said, yes," he answered.

"I guess they oversold me, being your one and only vessel," Dean mocked, sarcastically.

"You're my true vessel, but not my only one," the archangel told him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"It's a bloodline."

"A bloodline?"

"Stretching back to Cain and Abel. It's in your blood, your father's blood," Michael's eyes moved towards Sarah, "your daughter's blood." He looked back at Dean, "Your family's blood."

"Wait, what?" Sarah exchanged a look with her father the moment the archangel mentioned she was his vessel, as well, then back at Michael. "You said, my blood. But, I'm…"

"Relax, we'll get to you. I hear you have some questions," he assured her, calmly.

Dean was searching around, at the ground. He looked up to ask, "What do you want with me?"

Michael grinned. "You really don't know the answer to that?" he asked.

He shook his head. "Well, you know I ain't gonna say yes, so why are you here? What do you want with me?!"

Michael stepped closer. "I want you to understand, what you and I have to do."

"Oh, I get it," Dean nodded. "You got beef with your brother. "Well, get some therapy, pal. Don't take it out on my planet!" He raised his voice, at the last part.

Michael just shook his head, "You're wrong. Lucifer defied our father, and he betrayed me. But still, I don't want this, anymore than you would want to kill Sam." The archangel turned around. He walked over to stand over Sam, "You know, my brother," he shook his head, "I practically raised him. I took care of him in a way most people could never understand, and I still love him." Michael looked back over at Dean. "But, I am going to kill him because it is right and I have to."

"Oh, because God says so?" Dean asked.

"Yes. From the beginning, He knew this was how it was going to end."

"And, you're going to do whatever God says?"

"Yes, because I am a good son."

Dean smirked, "Okay, well, trust me, pal. Take it from someone who knows… That is a dead-end street."

Michael moved back, towards them, "And, you think you know better than my Father? One unimportant, little man. What makes you think you get to choose?"

"Because I got to believe that I can choose what I do, with my…unimportant, little life."

"God gave us free will to choose," Sarah spoke up. "You of all, should know that."

"You're both wrong. You know how I know?" Michael told them and turned back around, walking away, again. "Think of a million random acts of chance," he turned back around, "that let John and Mary be born, to meet, to fall in love, to have the two of you. Think of the million random choices that you make," he walked back, "and, yet how each and every one of them brings you closer to your destiny. Do you know why that is? Because, it's not random. It's not chance. It's a plan that is playing itself out, perfectly. Free will is an illusion. That's why you're gonna say yes."

Sarah spoke up. "You say you're a good son, but isn't dissing what God commanded, going against Him? I mean, this sounds like something Lucifer would say, to me," she folded her arms across her chest. Sarah had slid the angel blade through one of her belt loops while her father and Michael were talking. "In Deuteronomy, it's says, we have a choice to follow Him, and if my dad doesn't want to say, yes, he has the will to do so. Otherwise, you go against God just as your pathetic worm of a brother did."

Michael stared back at the girl, looking defensive. "That book was written by a mere man," he told her, "retold over the years." Michael looked back at Dean.

"You're wrong, you manipulative dick." To think, she had idolized the archangel. Now, she was starting to learn how dangerous that was.

He shrugged, "Anyone can be steered wrong. Especially you."

"Well, just in case, I'm sticking with God, thanks. Trust me when I say I have no more faith in you, angels."

"It could be worse," Michael looked from Sarah, to Dean, "You know, unlike my brothers, I won't leave your dad, a drooling mess when I'm done wearing him."

"Well, what about mine?" Dean asked.

"Better than new," he said. "In fact, I'm gonna do your mom and your dad a favor."

"What?"

"Scrub their minds. They won't remember me or you."

Dean tried to object. "You can't do that."

Sarah looked back up at the archangel.

"I'm just giving what your mother wants. She can go back to her husband, her family…"

"She's gonna walk right into that nursery," Dean proclaimed.

Michael had turned around, again, "Obviously, and you always knew that was going to play out, one way," he turned back around to face him, "or another. You can't fight city hall."

"Watch us," Sarah growled.

The archangel ignored her, kneeling down beside Sam, touching his forehead with two fingers. Sam was suddenly gone. "He's home," Michael stood up, slowly. "Safe and sound." He walked back to Dean. "Your turn." He reached over to fix Dean's jacket, making it straight. "I'll see you soon, Dean."

Dean glared at the archangel. He shut his eyes, just as Michael touched his forehead. With a flash, Dean was gone. Only Sarah remained.

He tried once more to touch Sarah, but she ducked out of his reach.

"Hold up there, Chuckles. We still need to talk." Sarah glared up at the archangel. It was basically, just the two of them. Just her and Michael. Dean was gone, back at the motel, in their own time period. So was her uncle. She swallowed the lump, starting to form. She had to be brave if she wanted her questions finally answered. "First of all," she began. "Why did you say it's in my blood, too. I have demon blood in me. War, Lucifer, they all told me I was his vessel."

Michael shook his head. "You were born as my vessel," he explained.

"So, I'm not Lucifer's vessel?"

"Unfortunately, you are," he told her. "Since that night, the demon blood entered into your blood, already a vessel of mine, and awoken the curse."

Sarah's eyebrows scrunched together. "Curse?"

"Because, I refused to join my brother, Lucifer put a curse on each vessel in the bloodline, mixing good and evil, together. If that happens, that vessel will be powerful, and might even be out of control."

"So, why did my powers start, early, when I was five, instead of when my uncle and the other children's, started?"

"It couldn't hold off that long, the curse is too powerful."

Sarah stared at the floor. She looked up to ask, "So, what? It's like when you mix Mentos with Diet Coke?"

"Basically."

"Damn. So, I was screwed?"

"Yes, but don't fret. It could have happened to your dad, your grandfather…"

"But, it happened to me." Sarah looked up. "Why did it target me?"

"It happened the first time you and your father was sent back in time. The first time you tried to stop everything from happening."

Her eyes enlarged. "I did it when I opened my mouth to the yellow-eyed demon, didn't it?"

Michael nodded.

Sarah became enraged. "Then, why the hell did you let Cas send me back, too? Why didn't he just send my dad?!"

"Sadly, it had to be that way. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise, Dad and I wouldn't have had a reason to meet, am I right?"

Michael smiled. "You're a smart kid. Naïve, but smart."

This time, it was Sarah who turned and walked away.

Michael watched her. "That was what you wanted. This is how it has to be," he told her.

Sarah twisted back around. "There was no other, possible way for me and Dad to meet?" she questioned. "We couldn't meet any other way?"

"How else do you think it could have happened?"

"Gee, I don't know, maybe my mom calling him like she should have?" she replied, sarcastically.

He shrugged, "That was her choice to throw the number away. It was destined to happen, like I said, before."

Sarah stared at the archangel. "Mom threw it away? Why?"

"Because she was afraid you might find it."

She scoffed, turning away, again. "Well, it wouldn't have done a bit a good since Dad changes his number, frequently."

"It was a back-up phone, your dad had up until a few weeks ago when that boy switched places with your uncle," Michael explained.

Sarah zipped back around. "What?"

"He kept it, just for her. Your parents really did love each other."

"What?"

"But, he did the right thing and left her."

"Why is that considered the right thing?"

"Because he had an important duty to tend to," Michael replied.

"What could be more important than…" Michael lifted his head. It hit for Sarah.

"He couldn't leave Uncle Sam."

He nodded.

Sarah's eyes dropped to the floor. She wasn't angry with either her father or uncle. Her father was just doing what his father had instilled in him.

"Your mom thought he wouldn't care if you were born or not, so she did what she thought was for the best for you. But, as stubborn as you are, you wouldn't let it go."

"But, she was wrong."

"She didn't know that."

Sarah looked up at him. "Why was I even born, for?" she asked, close to tears. "Why does it even matter if Dad and I have met or not? There can't be just the fact I wanted it, considering you're not letting Dad have what he wants. I can't possibly have any part of this, so-called destiny you keep blabbering about."

Michael hesitated before he answered. "This is what God wanted." Michael moved closer to her. He was about to reach out to send her home, when she stopped him.

"Wait. One last thing," she said. "You named off Dad, my grandpa, and I'm sure Grandpa's dad, and so on, are your vessels, if it started with Cain and Abel."

"Yes."

"So, it sounds like the bloodline follows sons. Why am I in the line, for?"

"Because you are the first generation, following my true vessel. Before Cain and Abel, there was Eve."

"The first woman," she realized.

"That's right." With that said, Michael reached down, his fingers finally reaching her forehead.

Sarah prepared for it, shutting her eyes as her father had done. When she opened her eyes, she was back in the motel room.

Dean had been pacing around the room, waiting for his daughter to return. Sam was over on one of the beds, also waiting, alive and healed.

Dean was the first to rush right over, wrapping Sarah in an embrace. "Thank God," he said.

Sarah, numbly, hugged him back. Not because of him, but what she had just learned. It was a lot for a kid to take in.

"What happened, Peanut?" Sam asked, now on his feet.

Sarah told the brothers all that Michael had told her, including that she wasn't angry with either one of them. Not even her grandfather. "I'm a weapon of mass destruction, basically." she said, when she was finished. Sarah went over, and dropped on the bed, opposite from the one Sam had been sitting on. She turned her head, the other way and tried to fall asleep.

Dean looked down at the floor. He felt Sam looking over at him. They exchanged a look between each other.

None of them got a full night's rest. They barely got any sleep at all. Dean went out, at first light, to stock up. When he returned, Sarah was up and dressed, trying to focus on her DS. After a while, she turned it off and slid it into her back pocket, to start packing.

Dean watched her, sadly. He knew all of this was bothering her if Sarah was turning down video games. Dean walked up, behind her, wrapping his arms around his little girl.

Suddenly, Castiel appeared, still weak. Both Dean and Sam moved, fast, to catch the angel, thankful he made it back in one piece.

"I'm very surprised," he admitted to the brothers.

Sarah rushed over, thankful as well, to see the angel.

Castiel almost fell back, out of their grip. The brothers dragged him over to the bed Sarah had fallen on, the night before, and laid him down.

"Well, I could use that drink, now," said Dean.

"Yeah," Sam agreed.

Dean poured a glass for himself and Sam. "Well, this is it," he said, twisting the cap back on.

"This is what?" Sam asked and took a drink.

"Team free will. One ex-blood junkie, one eleven-year-old kid, one dropout with six bucks to his name, and Mr. Comatose over there. It's awesome." Dean took a drink.

Sarah leaned against her uncle, which he wrapped an arm around her, rubbing her upper arm. "It's not funny," Sam told his brother, staring at the floor.

Dean swallowed. "I'm not laughing."

They looked over at the comatose angel.

Sam exhaled, deeply.

"They all say we'll say yes."

Dean, quickly, looked at his brother. "I know. It's getting annoying."

"What if they're right?" he asked.

"They're not," Sarah spoke up.

"I mean, w-why wouldn't… why would we, either of us? But…" Sam shook his head at the floor. "I've been weak before."

"Sam," Dean scolded.

"Michael got Dad to say yes," he pointed out.

"That was different. Anna was about to kill Mom."

"And if you could save Mom…" Sam shook his head and shrugged. "What would you say?"

Dean was silent.

 _ **I've held this chapter back, quietly, for the last four years since I was writing season one, only sharing with friends and co workers also fans of Supernatural. It feels great to finally have this chapter written out. Hopefully, this explains parts of why Sarah is the way she is. Feedback is welcomed, whether you like or hate it, just as long as it's respectful and constructive. Friends/co workers I've shared it with, thought it was a good idea. I would love to hear your opinion.**_


	164. Chapter 164- My Bloody Valentine (P1)

Chapter 164

After what happened in the past, the Winchesters decided to take a short break, taking an afternoon off to play some more Mario Kart. Sarah decided to spend her hard earned cash on another Wii game. So, she bought a Zelda game. Sam and Dean watched, at first. Dean grew curious and the three ended up, playing, together, switching the Wii remote around. Especially when one of them got stuck. It was a great way for the Winchesters to let off some steam and relax. Castiel still did not understand video games, though. He just sat back and watched. Bobby did, too. The game looked too complicated for his taste. It was fun watching the brothers and Sarah play, though.

When they got to the first mini boss, in the first dungeon, things got weird once they realized what they had to attack. At first, Sam ran around the area, trying to shoot the monkey with the slingshot, while Dean and Sarah yelled at him, to try something else and Sam had to tell them, to shut up. He, eventually, figured it out when he, accidentally, rolled into the totem the monkey was standing on and it fell off, letting Sam go in with his sword.

"Did I just stab a monkey in its ass?" Sam asked, once the fight was over.

"Yes, you did, Sammy," Dean told him.

Bobby shook his head at the TV, then looked over at Dean. "What game did you let your kid, buy?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "They didn't ask for an ID like they do for R rated movies."

Sarah grabbed the game's case off the coffee table, to look over the cover. "It's rated, T, for teen."

"I'm all for, going back to Mario Kart," Bobby decided.

"Hey, we have to, at least beat the dungeon, first," Sarah protested.

Sam handed his niece, back the Wii remote, telling her, she can finish it. That is, until Dean said, he wanted a turn. With Dean in control, he collected the boomerang.

"Holy crap! This thing can talk?" he asked, surprised.

"After the other weird things we've seen in this game. That shouldn't come as a surprise," Sam pointed out. He was leaning back, against the couch, his arms folded across his chest.

Dean shrugged, in agreement. He continued playing, using the boomerang to get back out of the room, pressing the button all five times so the blockage moved, faster. It didn't. He had to do it, three different times.

"That is crap," he stated as he went through the door. Dean finished gathering all the monkeys before getting to the boss of the dungeon. He, then spent the next ten minutes, running around the room. "A little help would be nice."

Sarah had been studying the TV screen, sitting there, in silence. "There are bombs over there. Try using your boomerang," she suggested.

Dean stopped running around, facing the two Venus fly trap-like plants. He got out his boomerang, targeting the bug bombs, bringing one to him and tried to throw it. The bomb didn't reach. "Now, what?" he asked.

"Why don't you target both the bomb and the plant thing. See what that does," Sam suggested.

Dean aimed his boomerang at the bug bomb, again, and targeted, not only that, but the plant, as well, releasing his finger off the button. The boomerang soared through the air. It picked up the bomb, letting the plant eat it, before returning to Link, the character he was in control of. The bomb exploded inside the plant's mouth, destroying it.

"Hey, it worked. Thanks, Sammy." The brothers exchanged high fives.

"Don't forget, you still have the other plant," Sarah reminded her father.

Dean did the same to the other plant. He was rewarded with a cutscene. "Wow, that was easy!" The celebration was cut, short, when the two plants returned, along with their big brother. A long, hideous snake-like monster shot out of the poisonous water. When it roared, they could see its eyeball attached to the tip of its tongue. "What the hell is that thing?"

Sarah shrugged. "Another head to throw bombs into?"

Dean tried to repeat the process, but there wasn't any more bombs. Eventually, another cutscene triggered. The baboon they fought, earlier, appeared, swinging on a vine. It landed on a high ledge, showing them he wanted to help.

"Aw, it's a nice monkey, now," said Sam.

The baboon swung back and forth, between the platforms.

"Slow down, will ya?" Dean had a hard time, aiming and targeting the bomb it carried in its feet. Sarah tried to offer to finish the boss battle, but Dean held the remote away. "I got it, Sarah. You can fight the next one."

"I haven't played in a while," she protested.

Dean was able to target the bomb and the first plant, blasting that one away, repeating with the second head. Now, it was just the middle head, left. He had lost a heart, when one of the plants bit him. Guessing it was the same strategy as with the two plants, Dean locked onto the bomb and the main head.

The main head dropped on the ground, revealing its tongue. Dean rushed Link right over and started slashing with the sword, until it got back up. The other two plants, returned, as well.

"I have to kill the plants, again?" he asked, annoyed.

"Guess so," said Sam.

"Holy hell!" Dean suddenly had to run across the room, as the boss squirted out poisonous sludge, onto the ground, to avoid getting hit by the stuff. After blowing up the two plants, Dean blew up the main head and got another chance to stab the eyeball, killing it, this time. He shot to his feet, excited as the boss blew up into tiny, pixelated pieces and formed into a black, weird-looking artifact, hovering in Link's hands. The game partner popped out from Link's shadow and explained that it was called a fused shadow and that they had two more to find.

"Now, can we play some Mario Kart?" Sam asked.

Dean had collected the heart container and entered the portal the partner created, asking if he wanted to save. He chose, yes. Once the game was saved, Sarah ran over to switch the game for Mario Kart, and the four of them raced for the next couple of hours. They even convinced Castiel to join in the fun, though he spent most of the race, crashing into walls and driving backwards. Pretty much, it was like racing a two or three year old.

But, the Winchesters knew they couldn't play video games forever and soon got back on the road when they heard of another potential case. Two people were dead, eaten to death. A friend of the girl, involved, was the one who found the bodies. The girl was dead, the other was almost, and was still chewing. It was weird even for the Winchesters. The friend even explained that the girl didn't drink or swear, nor had premarital sex. It wasn't like her, at all.

Sam and Sarah were the ones to interview the friend and check out the crime scene, while Dean checked out the bodies. They met back at the motel the Winchesters were staying in.

"How'd it go?" Dean asked them.

"No EMF. No sulfur," said Sam.

"Ghost possession and demon possession don't seem likely, either," Sarah added, dropping onto one of the beds.

"Hm," he said, "that's where I was putting my money."

Sam shook his head, "Nope."

"Well, then, what then?" Dean rubbed at his eyes, with the back of his hands. "Oh, dude. At the coroner's. You didn't see these bodies. I mean, these two started eating a-and they just... Kept going. I mean, their stomachs were full. Like...like... Thanksgiving full." He looked down at the report he was looking over. "Talk about co-dependent."

Sam scoffed, "Should have heard the talk on the way here, just now. "

"What do you mean?"

Sam looked over at Sarah, who had moved over to the table to grab her lunch.

Sarah noticed her uncle was watching her when he mentioned their awkward conversation. "Okay, so I was curious. I'm sure you were curious when you were my age," she pointed out.

"It's alright, Peanut. You know you can ask me, anything."

The room grew, deafly quiet.

Dean looked between his brother and daughter, confused on what they were talking about. "What did you two talk about? Curious about what?" he asked.

Sarah was now turning red.

"You want me to tell him, Peanut?" Sam asked, knowing how embarrassed she was feeling about this whole thing. She nodded, slowly, so Sam turned back to his brother. "Sarah heard in a movie, about... Eating out." He tried to put empathesis on _eating out_ so Dean would catch what he actually meant. Dean wasn't getting it. Sarah was the brightest of red she has ever been, staring down at the table.

Dean looked at Sam, sideways. "Eating out?" he questioned.

"You know, between a man and a woman, while making love."

It finally clicked, together. "Eating out," he nodded, this time.

"Sarah wanted to know if what this couple did, is what the movie was referring to, and I explained to her, that it didn't...actually mean to eat the other person, that...it meant something else." Now, Sam was feeling the awkward tense he had been feeling, earlier, when he had to explain it to Sarah.

Sarah was so red, she looked like a tomato.

Dean was now running his hand down his face. He remembered the first time he had to explain about sex, to his daughter. It was almost a year ago, they were discussing about urges and how to relieve them. Dean missed the days, Sarah was too young to know about this stuff.

Finally, he called her over, beside him and wrapped an arm around her torso. "It's natural to want to know about this stuff. It's better you ask us, then learn it, elsewhere, that could give you misinformation. There's nothing to be embarrassed over. Okay?"

Sarah nodded. She was still coming out of the awkwardness, her voice hadn't returned yet.

"Did Sam cover everything or do you still have any questions?"

"N-no," she managed to squeak out, shaking her head.

Dean smiled for his daughter. He reached up, to kiss Sarah on the cheek, before sending her on her way, with a playful swat.

"Alright. Sarah and I will go through some files," Sam announced, still across from Dean, at the table. "You can go ahead and get going." He turned the laptop around.

Dean dropped his feet, he had crossed at the ankles, on the table. "Sorry?"

"Go ahead. Unleash the Kraken. See you, tomorrow morning."

He stared at Sam, confused. Dean's eyes searched around before he asked, "Where am I going?"

"Dean, it's Valentine's day," Sam reminded him. "Your favorite holiday, remember? I mean, what do you always call it? Uh, unattached drifter Christmas?"

Dean scoffed, remembering now. "Oh, yeah." He stood up, fetching another beer. "Well. Be that as it may. I don't know." Dean leaned back, against the counter, twisting the cap off the bottle. He tossed the cap over his shoulder, into the sink. "Guess I'm not feeling it, this year."

Sam gave a small scoff. "So, you're not into bars, full of lonely women?"

He shrugged it off. "Nah, I guess not." Dean caught his brother staring at him and asked, "what?"

"It's when a dog doesn't eat, that's when you know something's really wrong."

Dean nodded, "Remarkably, patronizing concern duly noted." He stood up from the counter. "Nothing's wrong. We gonna work or what?" He sat back down, at the table, getting back to work.

Later, that evening, Dean got a call, that there were more victims involved. Both suicides. The Winchesters rushed right over to the morgue.

While heading through the hallway, Sam noticed a man walking the other way, carrying a briefcase and wearing a suit. Something was off about the guy, but Sam couldn't put his finger on it.

The coroner was just finishing up for the night. So, he gave them the keys and to lock up when they were done, before taking off. One by one, the Winchesters took everything out from the fridge, looking over each organ.

Of course, Dean had to be funny. "Hey," he told Sam and Sarah, pushing a container with a human heart inside, "be my Valentine?" He smiled at his own humor.

Sarah couldn't help let out a small smirk. Sam, on the other hand, just shook his head, with a sigh.

Suddenly, something caught Sam's eye. He pulled another container, containing a heart, towards him and yanked off the lid. Sam compared the two hearts, together. "These hearts both have identical marks."

Sarah asked, "What kind of marks?"

"Check this out," he showed her, grabbing the magnify tool. Sam looked at it, first. "Looks like some kind of letter."

Sarah examined it for herself. "Yeah, it does. But, what does it mean?"

It dawned on Sam, at that point. "Oh, no."

Dean looked over at his brother. "What?" he asked.

Sam pushed the magnify tool, away. "I think it's Enochian."

"You mean, like angel scratches?"

He looked up at him, glancing over at Sarah, as well.

"So, you think it's like the tagging on our ribs?"

"Dean, I don't know," Sam shrugged.

"Ah, hell." Dean ripped off one of his gloves, to take out his cellphone, calling Castiel. The angel picked up on the second ring. "Cas, it's Dean." He paused before continuing, "yeah, room 31-C. Basement level. St. Johns Medical Center." as Dean told the angel where they were, he walked forward, right in front of where Castiel appeared.

"I'm there, now," Castiel said.

Dean stared at him. "Yeah, I get that."

"I'm gonna hang up, now." Their voices echoes from each other's phones.

"Right."

Sarah motioned at the two. "Who needs Television, when you have a family like this," she snickered towards Sam.

Sam agreed, with a smirk.

Once they caught the angel up to speed, Castiel took a look at the mark, touching the heart with his bare hand. "You're right, Sam. These are angelic marks. I imagine you'll find similar marks on the other couples, as well."

"So, what are they?" he asked, shaking his head. "I mean, what do they mean?" Sam shrugged one shoulder.

"It's a mark of union," he explained. "This man and woman were intended to mate." Castiel set the heart back in its case, shaking off his hand.

"Okay, but who put them there?" asked Dean.

"Well, your people call them, Cupid."

Sam questioned, "A what?"

Castiel walked away as he said, "What human myth has mistaken for cupid, is actually a lower order of angels." He turned back around to face them. "Technically, it's a cherub, third-class."

"A cherub?" Sarah questioned.

"Yeah. They're all over the world. There are dozens of them." Castiel turned around, again, staring at nothing.

"You mean, the little, flying fat kid, in diapers?" asked Dean.

Castiel turned around to stare at Dean, confused. "They're not incontinent."

"Okay, anyways," Sam interrupted. "So, what you're saying is..."

Castiel then interrupted Sam. "What I'm saying is, a cupid has gone rogue," he, quickly, moved closer to the Winchesters, again, "and we have to stop him. Before he kills, again."

Sam shrugged at that. "Naturally," he said, sarcastically.

"There's one for the greeting cards," Sarah also added, joking.


	165. Chapter 165- My Bloody Valentine (P2)

Chapter 165

Castiel and the Winchesters headed for a restaurant that he was sure Cupid would be attracted to, and while they were at it, where the Winchesters grabbed dinner. On the car ride there, Sarah had the sudden urge to pull out her DS and start playing, zoning out on the job. Dean had to get Sarah's attention when they arrived. She didn't put her DS away, though. Instead, she walked inside the restaurant, while still playing, all the way to where the hostess showed them to their booth.

Dean slid in, on the same side, Sarah had slid in. "Really?" he asked of his daughter, when he noticed she was still playing.

Sarah paid no attention to her father as she battled through the seventh gym.

"Hey, Sarah, we're on a job, remember?" Dean raised his voice, a little louder, to get her attention.

Finally, she responded, but did not look away from the game. "Yeah, I know. I can still hear. I just need to beat this gym."

"We need your full attention. You can play it, later," he told her.

"Yeah, sure, Dad. I'll stop just as soon as I beat this gym." Sarah was so involved in her game, when the server took their order, she said, she didn't want anything.

"Peanut, are you feeling alright?" Sam asked.

"Mm hm."

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Um, nope."

Dean watched her play, for a bit, before yanking the DS out of Sarah's hands, shutting it. As quick as he snatched it, Sarah jumped on him. He held it out of her reach, making Sarah lean over him, trying to grab it, back.

"Give it, back!" It was as if Dean had taken a bottle of booze from an alcoholic, or crack from a crack addict Sarah reached as best as she could, eventually crawling even further until she fell, face first, onto the floor.

Sam leaned over, to the side. "Are you alright, Sarah?"

It looked like it hurt, but Sarah got to her feet and continued trying to get her DS, back.

Dean held it behind his back. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded. "You're embarrassing us and yourself."

Sarah finally chilled. "I... don't know."

"Well, cut it out and sit your butt down." Dean, then stood up so she could. When the server returned with their drinks, Sarah ordered a BBQ sandwich, with fries and a root beer.

Once their food arrived, now Dean decided he wasn't hungry and pushed it away.

"Wait a minute," observed Sam. "Now, you're not hungry, either?"

"No," he admitted, reluctantly.

Sam sat up, more, watching his brother.

"What? I'm not hungry," Dean shrugged. "Neither of us made a big deal when Sarah said, she wasn't hungry."

"Sarah was distracted by her video game," Sam pointed out.

Castiel spoke up, "So, you're not gonna finish that?" All three looked over at the angel. He picked up Dean's plate and set it, in front of him, picking up the burger. Just as Castiel was about to bite into it, he sensed Cupid's presence, nearby. "He's here."

They looked around. "Where?" Sam asked. "I don't see anything."

Castiel followed Cupid with his eyes, until it found a couple to target. "There." The Winchesters looked over a couple, who were sitting sitting on the same side of the booth. "Meet me in the back." With that, he was gone.

Dean left money on the table, for their server as Sarah took several bites, before hurrying to meet Castiel. They dashed towards the back of the restaurant, inside a dark kitchen. Castiel had his hand up, in midair.

"Cas, where is he?" Sam was the first to ask.

"I have him, tethered." Castiel said a spell in Enochian. "Manifest yourself." He lowered his hand as the four of them looked around the room, trying to locate the cupid. It wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"So, where is he?" Dean asked.

Suddenly, his question was answered when Dean was grabbed from behind.

"Here I am!"

Dean was lifted up, off his feet, being hugged from behind. He struggled to break free as Cupid giggled.

Sam and Sarah stood there, helplessly, as they watched what seemed like a butt naked man holding up Dean, as he cried out for help. When Cupid was done, he let go of him and went after Castiel, next, grabbing him up in a hug, as well.

"This is Cupid?" Dean questioned.

"Yes," Castiel replied, painfully, as his ribs got crushed.

Cupid turned around to face the Winchesters, heading over in that direction. Sarah, quickly stepped out of the way, letting her uncle take the fall.

"Is this a fight? Are we in a fight?" Dean asked of Castiel, as the angel moved closer.

"This is...their handshake," he explained.

"I don't like it."

"No one likes it."

When Cupid was done hugging Sam, he turned towards Sarah. "Can't forget about you."

Smart, Sarah ducked behind her father and Castiel, using them as a shield. Dean also placed a hand over her eyes, when he realized his eleven-year-old could see everything on Cupid.

"Back off, Cupid," he told it, as he flinched, ready to punch him if need be.

Cupid took the hint. "So, what can I do for you?" he asked, instead.

"Why are you doing this?" Castiel was the one who asked.

He shrugged, "Doing what?"

"Your targets. The ones you've marked. They're slaughtering each other."

The smile slowly vanished as it sunk in. "What?" Cupid paused. "They are?"

"Listen, Birthday suit," said Dean, his hand still over Sarah's eyes, "we know, okay? We know you've been Flittin' around, popping people with your poison arrow, making them murder each other!" His voice rose with each word.

"What we don't know is why," Castiel added.

Cupid was looking around the floor, with his lip out, touching his hand to it, like a scolded child. He looked over at Castiel, "You think that I...?" His face scrunched up like he might cry, any second. "Well, uh..." His voice cracked. "I don't know what to say." Cupid walked away, which Dean ducked away as he went around him. With his back turned, Cupid started to cry.

Sam moved closer to the group. "Should... Should somebody maybe...go talk to him?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Dean, then gave Castiel, a playful pat on the shoulder, "give'em hell, Cas."

Castiel stared back at Dean, as if he didn't know how to deal with this sort of thing. He, slowly looked over at Cupid's back before stepping towards him. "Um, look," he began. "We didn't mean to, um..." Castiel looked back at the Winchesters. Dean gave him a nod and a wink to show he was doing good. "...Hurt your feelings."

Cupid, suddenly, turned around and grabbed Castiel in another hug. "Love is more than a word to me, you know," he sniffled from the angel's shoulder. "I love love. I love it. And, if that's wrong, I don't want to be right."

"Yes, yes. Of course." Castiel lifted his hands to hug him, back, awkwardly, patting him on the back. "I, uh... I have no idea what you're saying."

Cupid released Castiel, standing up, straight, "I was just on my appointed rounds. Whatever my targets do after that, that's nothing to do with me. I-I was following my orders." He stared at him. "Please, brother. Read my mind. Read my mind. You'll see."

Castiel stared into Cupid's mind for a moment, before turning around, to report to the rest. "He's telling the truth."

He sighed, in relief. "Jiminy Christmas. Thank you."

Dean spoke up. "Wait, wait. You said you were just following orders?"

"Mm hm," Cupid nodded.

"Whose orders?"

Cupid bust out in laughter. "Heaven, silly. Heaven."

Dean stared at the floor, before looking back at Cupid. "Why does Heaven care if Harry meets Sally?" he asked.

"Oh, mostly they don't. You know, certain bloodlines, certain destinies," explained Cupid. "Oh, like yours." He pointed at Sam and Dean.

Sam stared at Cupid. "What?"

"Yeah, the union of John and Mary Winchester, _very_ big deal, upstairs. Top priority arrangement. Mm," he nodded.

"Are you saying that you fixed up our parents?" asked Dean.

"Well, not me," he pointed at himself, "but, yeah." Cupid let out a laugh. "Well, it wasn't easy, either. Ooh, they couldn't stand each other, at first. But, when we were done with them, perfect couple."

"Perfect?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

"They're dead!" Dean told him, angrily.

The smile disappeared on Cupid's face. "I'm sorry, but... The orders were very clear. You and Sam needed to be born. Your parents were just, uh...meant to be." He grinned, this time, like the Chestsire Cat and sang, "a match made in Heaven. Heaven."

Losing it, Dean suddenly punched Cupid. It ended up, backfiring and he hurt his hand, instead. Cupid fled. Sam, Castiel, and Sarah looked around, making Dean looked back. "Where is he?" he asked. "Where did he go?"

"I believe you upset him," Castiel told him.

Sam wiped his hand down his mouth.

Dean exclaimed, "Upset _him_?!"

His brother moved around where Sarah still stood. "Dean. Enough."

"What?"

"You just punched a cupid," he told him.

Dean tried to justify that statement. "I punched a dick!"

Sam looked back at Sarah and Castiel, before looking back at Dean. "Um... Are we gonna talk about what's been up with you, lately, or not?"

He stared at him. "Or, not," Dean answered, and stormed out of the room.

Sam rolled his eyes, at his brother's stubbornness. He turned around, watching him, leave. Sarah watched Dean leave, as well. Looking up at her uncle, they exchanged worried looks amongst themselves.

The next day, another victim was reported. Sam went back to the medical center to check it out. Apparently, the victim went on a Twinkie binge, rupturing his stomach band, until eventually, he died. Sam checked his heart and saw no mark from Cupid.

While Sam was looking into that, Dean and Sarah, or rather, just Dean checked the police blotter and saw there was eight suicides since the Wednesday, before, and nineteen overdoses. If there was a pattern, it wasn't love, that was for sure. On the way back to the motel, Sam followed behind the same man he had seen at the medical center, carrying the briefcase. Turned out, he was a demon.

Sam managed to scare him off, leaving behind his briefcase, after they fought.

Back at the motel, Sam and Dean tried to figure things out.

"What the hell does a demon got to do with this, anyways?" Dean questioned.

Sam sighed, shaking his head. "Believe me, I got no idea." He stared down at the briefcase.

Dean asked him, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," he assured him. "I'll be alright."

Dean stared at him, for a moment, before looking at the briefcase, again. "Let's crack her, open." He turned back to Sam, "What's the worst that could happen, right?"

The brothers squatted down, beside the table, the briefcase was sitting on. They each placed a hand on each side, getting ready to push the latches at the same time. Sarah was laying over, on the bed. She was propped up, on her elbows, playing her DS, again. No interest in the briefcase, at all.

After a moment, they finally pushed the latches, releasing them. The briefcase popped open, shinning a bright light. Sam and Dean had to look away. It even got Sarah's attention, for a moment. Once the light died down, Dean asked, "What the hell was that?"

Castiel appeared. "It's a human soul," he replied.

They turned around to face the angel, who was standing there, holding a burger from some fast food place, along with the paper bag. They were surprised to see him, eating.

"It's starting to make sense." Castiel took a bite from the burger, that was almost gone.

"Now, what about that makes sense?" Sam questioned.

"And, when did you start eating?" Dean added.

Castiel held up his burger, "Exactly. My hunger. It's a clue, actually," he said.

"For what?" the brothers both asked, in union.

"This town is not suffering from some love-gone-wrong effect," Castiel moved closer to them. "It's suffering from hunger. Starvation, to be exact. Specifically...famine."

"Famine?" Sam repeated.

He nodded.

"As in the horseman?"

Dean nodded, "Great," sarcastically and turned his head from side to side. "That's freaking great." He walked away, across the room.

"I thought famine meant starvation," said Sam. "Like, as in, you know, food."

"Yes. Absolutely," replied Castiel. "But, not just food. I mean, everyone seems to be starving for something. Sex, attention, drugs, love."

"Well, that explains the puppy-lovers that Cupid shot up," said Dean. "And, little Miss Video Games, over there," he nodded towards Sarah, who had gone back to playing her DS.

"Right," he agreed. "The cherub made them crave love, and then, Famine came, and made them rabid for it. Same for Sarah and her video game." Castiel took another bite.

"Okay, but what about you?" Dean moved back, closer to the other two. "I mean, since when do angels, secretly, hunger for White Castle?"

Castiel looked down at what was left. "It's my vessel. Jimmy."

Sam shook his head.

He turned, halfway around. "His, uh, appetite for red meat has been touched by Famine's effect." He took another bite.

"So, Famine just rolls into town," said Dean, "and everybody goes crazy?"

Castiel swallowed as he stared at the floor. "And, then will come Famine, riding on a black steed. He will ride into the land of plenty, and will be the horsemen's hunger, for he is hunger. His hunger will seep out and poison the air," he recited. "Famine is hungry. He must devour the souls of his victims."

"So, that's what was in the briefcase," Dean pointed back at it, behind him. "The Twinkie dude's soul?"

Castiel looked back, over his shoulder, at Dean. "Lucifer has sent his demons to care for Famine, to feed him. Make certain he'll be ready."

Sam's eyebrows rose. "Ready for what?" he asked.

He turned all the way, back around. "To march across the land."


	166. Chapter 166- My Bloody Valentine (P3)

Chapter 166

Sam had gone inside the bathroom, wetting a washcloth under the faucet and dabbed it on his face and neck.

Dean was pacing back and forth. "Famine?" he questioned.

"Yes," Castiel nodded, his mouth stuffed with the last bite of his burger he was eating. He was now sitting on the foot of the bed, next to the one Sarah was laying on.

"So, what? This whole town is just gonna eat, drink, and screw itself, to death?" Sam asked from the bathroom.

"We should stop it," he said, calmly.

"Hey, that's a great idea," Dean agreed, in a sarcastic tone and asked, "How?"

Castiel pushed the food to one side, in one of his cheeks, to ask, "How did you stop the last horseman you met?"

Dean recalled, the last year, when they met up with the first horseman. He went over to where he had hung up his jacket, "War got his mojo from this ring," he pulled out the ring he kept in his pocket, showing it to Castiel, "and after we cut it off, he just tucked tail and ran. And, everybody that was affected, it was like they woke up out of a dream. You think Famine's got a class ring, too?"

"I know he does," he answered, softly, looking downward.

Dean shook his head, "Well, okay. Let's track him down and get to chopping."

Castiel was now looking inside the paper bag. "Yeah," he agreed. Castiel stood up, holding the bag up, towards the ceiling.

"What are you, the Hamburgerlar?" Dean asked of the angel.

"I developed a taste for ground beef."

"Well, have you even tried to stop it?"

"I'm an angel. I can stop anytime I want," he told Dean.

Dean shrugged it off. "Whatever." He turned his attention to the other two in the room. "Hey, Sarah. Sam. Let's roll." Sarah continued playing, not paying him any attention. "Sarah Lynn!" Dean raised his voice.

Sarah snapped to attention. "Uh?"

"You haven't heard a word, any of us said, haven't you?"

Sarah sat up, onto her legs, sitting back on them. "Uh, no. I've been trying to get to the Distortion world, so I can catch Giratina."

"Could this Giratina help stop Famine?" Castiel asked of the preteen.

"Famine? You mean the horseman?"

Dean rubbed at his eyes, in one hand. He tried to keep his cool. It wasn't her fault, Famine had affected her, too. It made sense video games would be Sarah's hunger, since she had a liking for it since her and Dean met, and even before that. Dean could still remember his seven-year-old, curled up in the backseat of the Impala, with her old black sweater on, needing to be washed, playing her hand-held PSP, with the Pikachu sticker on the back over the logo. Oh, how he missed those days.

He lifted his head. "It's on her video game, Cas. It's not real."

"Giratina's basically the Pokemon equivalent to Lucifer, actually," said Sarah. "And, I'm going to be able to capture it and use Giratina in battle and my character is only a ten year old girl." She had decided to go with the female character, this time and used her own name.

Castiel stared over at Sarah. He then looked over at Dean for confirmation.

"Yeah, pretty intense, if you ask me," he said. "Next thing you know, those Japanese guys are gonna tell us, there's a Pokemon God, too." Dean looked over, towards the bathroom. "Sam, let's roll, I said."

"Dean..." It sounded like he was panting. "I, um... I can't." Sarah moved between her father and Castiel, as Sam appeared in the open doorway of the bathroom. "I can't go."

Dean shook his head, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I think it got to me, Dean," he said. "I think I'm hungry for it."

He stared at his brother. "Hungry for what?" Dean had a suspicion, though.

Sam stared back at him, "You know."

"Demon blood," Sarah realized.

Dean looked down at his daughter and stared up at the ceiling. "You got to be kidding me," he muttered out loud and turned to Castiel. "You gotta get him out of here. You got to beam him to, like, Montana. Anywhere but here."

Sarah looked back at Castiel, too.

"It won't work. He's already infected," he told them. "The hunger is just gonna travel with him."

"Well, then, what do we do?" Dean asked, frustrated.

"You go cut that bastard's finger off," Sam told his brother.

Dean and Sarah looked back at Sam. Dean looked between Sarah and Castiel, "you heard him."

"But, Dean," Sam added, "before you go, you better..." He exhaled, sharply. "You better lock me, down. But, good."

Pulling out a set of handcuffs they had, Dean handcuffed Sam, to the pipes under the bathroom sink and closed the door. To be on the safe side, Castiel pushed a wardrobe in front of it, as well.

Dean, Sarah, and Castiel headed back to the medical center, to speak with the coroner. Unfortunately, after twenty years of being dry, the guy drank himself to death. Since the demons haven't harvested his soul yet, it was their best lead, to find Famine.

Dean and Sarah waited outside the medical center, watching for the demon to bring out the guy's soul. Sarah tried, but she couldn't hold out any longer and had to pull out her DS, again.

When half an hour had passed, Sarah was now battling the Pokemon, Giratina, saving before the match. She chucked every ball she had, at it, using all six of her Pokemon to weaken it.

"Come on!" she moaned towards the ceiling. "Please give me three shakes." She threw another one at it. It shook three times, at least. Though, Giratina broke free, anyway. "Are you kidding me?!"

"Dude, it's a game," Dean reminded her.

"Right now, it's very important," she snapped at her father. Sarah refocused on the game.

Dean rolled his eyes, before turning back to the medical center. That was when Castiel reappeared, in the backseat, with another paper bag. "Are you serious?" he asked of the angel, as he watched him unwrap the sandwich.

Castiel took the first bite and smiled. "These make me...," he gave a short chuckle, "very happy."

Dean rolled his eyes, again, turning his head away. He looked up at the rearview mirror, to ask, "How many is that?"

"I lost count," he answered. ""It's in the low hundreds."

His eyes grew wide, before Dean whistled. Not even him and Sarah could eat that much.

"What I don't understand is," Castiel continued, chewing, "Where is your hunger, Dean?"

Dean looked back, over his shoulder, "Huh?"

"Well, slowly, but surely, everyone in this town is falling prey to Famine, but, so far, you seem unaffected." He took another bite of his burger.

"Hey, when I want to drink, I drink," Dean shrugged. "When I want sex, I go get it."

"Ew," Sarah imputed, not looking up from the game.

Dean smirked and continued. "Same goes for a sandwich or fight."

"I would have thought your hunger would have something to do with Sarah. Your hunger to protect her," Castiel guessed.

He considered on the angel's thought. "I never thought that would be a hunger, but nope. I don't feel anything. I guess you can say, I'm well fed, even as a parent."

Castiel shrugged in return. That was when he noticed the demon come out, with another briefcase. "There," he got Dean's attention. Dean looked over in the demon's direction. It was a different one, this time. The demon got into a black Escalade.

Dean turned the key and started the Impala, before following behind the demon.

"Oh man, I just caught Giratina in a heal ball," Sarah suddenly cried out. "That has to be the funniest thing, ever!"

"Not the time, Sarah," Dean told her as he drove, focused on the Escalade up ahead.

"Well, excuse me for being excited for something," she mumbled under her breath. Dean heard her mumble, he just couldn't understand what she had said. However, that wasn't the issue to dwell on at that point.

Dean followed the Escalade all the way to a Biggerson's restaurant. A couple other demons were standing out there, on guard. There was no way they were getting in through the front.

"Demons," said Dean. "You want to go over the plan, again?" He looked over at the other two. Castiel was fingering the foil wrapping and Sarah was still playing her game.  
"Hey, Happy Meal. Game Nerd."

Both of them looked up when Dean raised his voice, a little.

"The plan."

"Uh, I take the knife," Castiel explained, "I go in, I cut off the right hand of Famine, and I meet you back here, in the parking lot."

Sarah finally noticed where they were. "Wait, that's a Biggerson's."

"So?" Dean asked.

"So, they're bound to have hamburger meat in there. What if Cas can't handle it?"

"Well, right now, it's the only plan we got," he shrugged. Besides, Castiel had already vanished. All they could do was wait and hope Castiel hangs, tough. They waited a few minutes. Sarah tried again, to fight the urge. Thankfully, Dean was impatient, waiting. "This is taking too long. Come on." He slid out of the Impala.

Sarah followed suit, on her side, hurrying around to his. She had slid her DS into her back pocket, unable to just leave it in the car. Both of them had their shotguns, at least.

Sneaking around back, Dean opened the back door to the kitchen. He checked around first, before letting Sarah in, closing it, carefully. Staking through the kitchen, quietly, Dean noticed a guy with his top half in the deep fryer. He nudged Sarah's shoulder, getting her attention, nodding at at the guy.

Sarah gave a look as if to say, "Dang."

In the other direction, Dean could make out Castiel, through the large opening. "Cas!" he loudly whispered, trying to get the angel's attention. Castiel ignored him, munching on a tub of raw meat. Sarah was right, after all.

Suddenly, a demon came up behind Sarah, who couldn't hold out any longer and her DS was out, yet again. Dean caught the demon's reflection, just in time, turning around and slamming his elbow into his face. There was no breathing time. Dean was grabbed and thrown into the door of the freezer.

Dean was knocked out, briefly. Enough time for two of the demons to restrain him, shoving him out of the kitchen, out to the main area. The demons didn't bother restraining Sarah, since she was preoccupied and, at the moment, not a threat.

"Cas," Dean tried again, to get his attention. Castiel looked up at him, but was unable to pull away from the meat. The demons pulled Dean over to where an old man sat, in a motorized wheelchair. A breathing tube was attached under his nose.

"The other Mr. Winchester," he said.

"What did you do to him?" Dean grunted, back over his shoulder.

"You sicced your dog on me. I just threw him a steak."

Dean noticed the Knife over on the floor. He looked back at who he presumed to be Famine. "So, this is your big trick? Huh? Making people cuckoo for Choco Puffs?"

"Doesn't take much," said Famine. "Hardly a push. Oh, America. All-you-can-eat, all the time. Consume, consume. A swarm of locust in stretch pants. And, yet, you're all still starving, because hunger doesn't just come from the body, it also comes from the soul."

"It's funny, it doesn't seem to be coming from mine," Dean mocked.

"Yes. I noticed that." He gazed at Dean, in awe. "Have you wondered why that is? How you could even walk in my presence?"

Dean flicked his eyebrows up, "I'd like to think it's because of my strength of character." He gave a small smirk.

Famine breathed out his nose. "I disagree." He wheeled forward, towards Dean and reached out. Dean tried to break out of the demons' hold, but couldn't. Famine touched his hand to his torso, causing Dean to grunt in pain. "Yes. I see. That's one deep, dark nothing, you got there, Dean. Can't fill it, can you? Not with food or drink. Not even with sex." He laughed.

"Oh, you're so full of crap," Dean told him.

"Oh, you can smirk and joke and lie to your brother and daughter, lie to yourself. But, not to me! I can see inside you, Dean. I can see how broken you are. How defeated. You can't win and you know it. But, you just keep fighting. Just keep going through the motions. You're not hungry, Dean, because inside, you're already... Dead."

Dean stared at Famine.

"Let him go."

He looked up to see his brother standing in the doorway. How did he get out of the bathroom, out of those cuffs? Then, Dean noticed the bloodied mess on Sam's face.

Famine turned his wheelchair around to face the youngest Winchester brother. "Sam."

"Sammy, no," Dean tried to plead with his brother.

Two other demons tried to go after Sam, but Famine stopped them.

"No one lays a finger on this sweet little boy." Famine also gazed up at Sam, too. "Sam, I see you got the snack I sent you."

Sam glared at him. "You sent?" he questioned.

"Don't worry," Famine assured him. "You're not like everyone else. You'll never die from drinking too much. You're the exception that proves the rule. Just the way Satan wanted you to be."

Dean listened, in horror, looking between Sam and Famine.

"So," he raised his hands, "cut their throats." The two demons in front of Famine, exchanged looks between each other. "Have at them."

"Sammy, no!" Dean tried once more.

"Please, be my guest."

Sam huffed, trying to resist. In the end, he raised his hand and vanquished the demons from inside each of the vessels. At the same time. Dean was released during it and was able to move away, grabbing the knife up, off the floor. He watched as the black smoke poured from their mouths, shooting towards the floor.

Sam breathed, heavily. He stared at Famine. "No," he told him.

"Well," said Famine, "Fine. If you don't want them. Then, I'll have them." With a quick wave of his hand, Famine opened his mouth and sucked all of the black smoke inside until it was all gone.

Sam stared at Famine. He moved closer to him and raised up his hand towards him.

"I'm a horseman, Sam. Your power doesn't work on me," he smirked.

"You're right." Dean stared down at the Knife, in his hand, he looked up at Sam when he continued. "But, it will work on them." Sam closed his fist, tight, twisting it the other way. The black smoke started steeping through Famine's shirt, as he cried out. Blood trickled down from Sam's nose as he hung in there until all of the smoke Famine sucked up, shot out of him, in separate directions. Sam panted, trying to catch his breath.

Dean walked towards Famine as Castiel and Sarah snapped out of their trances, one could call it. Sarah closed her DS, shoving it into her back pocket, and rushed from the kitchen. All three couldn't help stare at Sam, in worry, especially Dean.

They took him back to Bobby's place, where they locked Sam up in the panic room so he could detox, once again.

Sarah leaned against the wall, in between her father and Castiel. Dean had a bottle of the strongest stuff Bobby had. It pained her heart to hear her uncle scream out like that, having to re-go through this experience all over again. Something else pained her heart, as well.

She glanced up at her father as he took a drink. Her mind may have been focused on her game, a word or two that Famine said, still got through. Sarah never realized how broken one person could be.

"That's not him in there," Castiel finally spoke up, leaning one shoulder against the wall. "Not really."

"I know," Dean managed to say while Sarah said nothing. She stared back at the floor, closing her eyes. _Please, God. Help us._

"Dean, Sam just needs to get it out of his system," he continued. "Then, he'll be..."

"Listen, I just need, uh," Dean said as he shook his head, a little. He chewed on his tongue. "I just need to get some air." Dean stood up from his spot against a wooden post and headed upstairs.

Sarah looked up at her father when he reached the door and disappeared through it. She, slowly, looked back down at the floor. Sarah then felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Castiel give her a sympathetic look.

Dean headed outside, out in the yard. He looked around at the broken down cars. That basically how he felt. Dean walked past where he had parked the Impala, stopping at the hood. He tried to take another drink, but found he couldn't that time.

He stared at the Impala for a long moment, before staring ahead. His eyes ended up, moving towards the night sky. Words struggled to come. With his voice breaking, Dean managed to get out, "Please." He shook his head at the sky. "I can't." He swallowed. "I need some help." Dean was losing it, more and more. "Please?" He shook his head, slowly. He couldn't believe he was doing this.

"Dad?"

Dean twisted around at the sound of his daughter's voice.

Sarah stood back, a few feet. She stared back at her father, tear marks already dried on her face.

"Sarah." He wasn't expecting anyone to follow him.

She suddenly bolted towards Dean, knocking into him. Sarah hugged her father, in a tight embrace. Dean set the bottle on the hood of the Impala and hugged his daughter to him, also in a tight embrace. Father and daughter stood there, in the cold, night air, not saying a word. They just held onto each other.

 ** _Special thanks to YouTuber, Chuggaaconroy, for the Giratina/heal ball reference. When that happened on his Platinum Let's Play, I thought it would be funny if it happened to Sarah, as well, so I borrowed it. Thought I would point out the credit! :)_**


	167. Chapter 167-DeadMen Don't Wear Plaid(P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 167

It wasn't easy but Sam managed to bounce back, after a few days and he was back to his normal self and the Winchesters were able to get back on the road, looking for a job. At least, Dean and Sarah was able to bond, a little during Sam's detox, though. To take their minds off, the two of them decided to do what they haven't done in a long time. They tossed the ball back and forth.

Of course, Sarah grown since they last played catch. Thankfully, Bobby still had Dean's old glove from when he was around her age, so Sarah used that one. Shaking off the dust.

They tossed the ball in the yard, still arguing who would go get it, when one of them threw a bad throw. Most of the time, though, no one said a word, except an occasional word, here and there.

"Keep that elbow, straight when you throw it," Dean would call over to his daughter, before catching it. "That's it. Great job, Baby Girl!" He would, then throw it right back.

The two of them were still tossing the ball, once Sam was completely better and Castiel released him from the panic room. He asked the angel where they were.

"Outside, I believe, throwing some kind of small sphere, back and forth," he replied.

"You mean, a baseball?"

"What's a baseball?" Castiel asked.

Sam couldn't help smile at him, before they headed outside, staying back so neither of them would see him, yet. He wanted to see his brother and niece, doing what they used to do, before this whole mess started. Sam smiled, as Sarah tossed the ball to her father.

"Good, good," he heard Dean say, as he caught it in his glove. "See, it's all coming back to ya." Dean smirked and threw it back. Sam never thought he would see this, again.

It did help, a little, but, eventually, they had to get back to hunting. Just after they left, a job returned the Winchesters right back to Sioux Falls, where they heard about a dead guy coming back and killing his buddy. One person who was interviewed, said he saw what happened but no one would believe his story. So, the Winchesters decided to speak with him, first, meeting the guy at a local dinner. On top of that, it had been a few days since they heard from Bobby, and neither one of them, not even Sarah could get a hold of him.

Sitting down, they met with the witness.

"Mr. Wells, why don't you tell us what you saw. In your own words," Dean told him.

"Call me, Digger," he said.

"Digger?"

He nodded.

Dean exchanged looks with Sarah and Sam, before turning back to the guy. "Who gave you that nickname?"

Digger glanced between them, with just his eyes. "I did."

You gave yourself your own nickname?" Dean shook his head, "You can't do that."

"Who died and made you, queen?" Digger questioned him.

Sam interceded, changing the subject. "Okay. Uh, why don't you just tell us what you saw?" he suggested, as Sarah was rubbing her eyes with one hand.

"I _saw_ Clay Thompson climb into Benny Sutton's trailer, through the window," he explained. "Couple minutes later, Clay walked out and Benny's dead."

"And, uh," Dean took out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and held it up to Digger, "is this the guy you saw?"

He shrugged, "Well, he was covered in mud, but, yeah. That's Clay."

Dean looked at it, as Sam asked, "And, you are aware Clay Thompson died, five years ago?"

"Yep."

"And, you're positive it was this guy?" Dean held the paper up, again.

Digger stretched back, puffing out his chest, "You calling me a liar?"

Sarah spoke up for her father, "No, not at just want to make sure."

"Look," Sam continued. "Can you think of any reason why Clay Thompson, alive or dead, would want to kill Benny Sutton?"

Digger chuckled to himself. "Hell, yeah. Well, five years ago, Benny's the one that killed Clay, in the first place."

Dean looked down at Sarah, and over at Sam. "Is that a fact?" he asked, looking back at Digger.

"Well, so-called, hunting accident. Now, if you ask me, Clay came back from the grave, to get a little payback."

"Go on."

Digger was about to continue, when his eyes caught someone and stopped. "Heads up," he warned the Winchesters. "Fargo."

The town's sheriff walked over to their table. "Digger," she addressed him.

"Sheriff," he replied.

The sheriff pointed her attention to the Winchesters, next. "Gentleman. Mam. I'm Sheriff Jody Mills. I don't believe we've had the pleasure."

"Are you sure? Because, you look awfully familiar," Sarah pointed out.

She shook her head, "I don't think so."

Sam and Dean had taken out their fake FBI badges. "Agents Dorfman, Neidermeyer, and Conroy." Sarah, quickly fished out hers, as well.

Sheriff Mills folded her arms. "I didn't know the FBI were hiring children," she eyed Sarah.

Sarah remained cool. "Oh, no, no, no. I'm just short. But, I make up for it, by staying fit and looking young. I get asked that all the time, I can assure you."

"Uh huh." It looked like the sheriff wasn't buying it. So, Sam offered her a business card, for their "supervisor." She took it, taking out her cellphone and dialed the number on the card. "Agent Willis, this is Sheriff Jody Mills speaking..." she said when Bobby answered, but stopped, mid sentence. "Bobby?"

Sarah's frown left her face as Sam's head, slowly rose.

Sheriff Mills glanced at the Winchesters before she asked, "Is this Bobby Singer?"

The three of them exchanged looks between themselves. Bobby tried to continue, but Sheriff Mills wasn't buying it and hung up.

"FBI, huh?"

"So, uh," Sam took his card back. "So, you know Bobby Singer?"

"That is," Dean tried to laugh, "a fun coincidence."

"Here's what I know about Bobby Singer," she told them. "He's a menace around here. Ass-full of drunk-and-disorderlies and mail fraud. You understanding me?"

"I think we all can agree you've made yourself, perfectly clear. Yes," he said.

"So, whatever the four of you are planning," the sheriff looked between the Winchesters and Digger, who looked up at her, strange, "it ends here. _Now._ Ten-four on that, _agents_?

Dean nodded, "Yeah."

"Now, that I think about it, I have seen you before," she pointed at Sarah. "At Apache's fall dance, a year ago, I chaperoned. In fact, shouldn't you be in school?"

"My teacher suggested I switch to an online school." After the other lies, the sheriff wasn't buying it. "That one, I swear is true," Sarah tried to tell her. "I can show you my transcripts if you want."

"Great. Go get them."

So, Sarah had to pull out her transcripts in her backpack, from the car, to show them to the sheriff.

"Well, aren't you a smart one." She really meant that, too. The sheriff handed them back to her and let them go. First place, the Winchesters headed, was to Bobby's house.

"You know how many times we called?" Dean was asking of Bobby as they walked into the den. "Where you been?"

Bobby wheeled himself around to face them. "Playing murderball."

Dean noticed a weird odor he wasn't used to in Bobby's house. "Is that soap? Did you clean?"

"What are you, my mother?" he asked of him, sarcastically. "Bite me!"

Sarah looked around, noticing her Wii was gone. "Wait, where's my Wii?"

"Upstairs, in your room," he nodded towards the stairs.

Sarah stared at the old man, confused. How did he get it upstairs?

"Bobby, seriously," Sam interrupted.

"I been working," he told him. "You know, trying to find a way to stop the devil."

"By...cleaning?" Sarah questioned, with one eyebrow raised.

Bobby glared at her, his head, tilted to the side. Sarah put up her hands, in defense, looking away, both eyebrows raised.

"You find anything?" asked Dean.

He shrugged, "What do you think?"

"Bobby, it's just," Sam chuckled to himself, moving to sit on the edge of Bobby's desk, "there's a case less than five miles from your house."

Bobby stared over at him, switching between them, "What? The Benny Sutton thing? That's what this thing is about?"

Dean nodded at him, "You knew about this?"

"Hell, yes. I checked into it, already," he shrugged. "There's nothing here."

"Except a witness who saw a dead guy commit murder," Sam pointed out, raising his voice.

"What witness? Digger Wells?"

"Yeah," replied Dean. "So?"

"So, he's a drunk."

"Well, what about the lightning storms?" Sam asked. "They look like omens."

"Except in February, in South Dakota, in storm season." Bobby looked at all three of them, "Guys, I thought it was something, too. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar." He shrugged.

Sam stared at him, unconvinced. "So, who killed the guy?"

"Take your pick," he answered. "This Benny Sutton guy was a grade-A son of a bitch. There's a list of the living, a year long, wouldn't mind putting a cap in his ass."

Dean shrugged, "So, you're telling us...nothing."

He sighed, "Sorry. Looks like you wasted a tank of gas on this one."

"All right."

Since there didn't seem to be a case, the Winchesters were shooed away, getting back on the road. On the way out of town, they passed the local cemetery. Dean stopped, pulling over.

Sarah woke up, from a short nap, looking around. "What are we doing?" she asked, peering around through half closed eyes.

"Isn't that the graveyard back there?" Dean asked her.

She looked out the back window. "Yeah? Why?"

"Yeah, Bobby already checked it out," Sam also added.

"And? What, Bobby's never wrong?" he pointed out. "Come on. We'll take a quick peek, and then, we'll hit the road. Can't hurt." Dean pulled into the cemetery and parked. They grabbed a few shovels and flashlights from the trunk, and went looking for Clay Thompson's grave. Along the way, Sarah couldn't help look over, towards where her mother's grave was.

When they found it, the soil in front of the headstone looked as if someone had dug it up, not long ago. All three started digging. Halfway through, Sarah stopped digging, to hold her flashlight down the hole, so the brothers could see where they were digging. Once they reached the coffin, they tossed their shovels to the side. Sam opened the coffin, finding it, empty.

He looked at the other two, looking back at the coffin. "What is going on, here?"

Dean shook his head, slowly, "I don't know, but something stinks."

"Well, we did just dig up a grave that held a rotting corpse, inside," Sarah pointed out.

He looked over at her. "Really, smartass?"

"What?" she shrugged, innocently. "Just saying." Sarah knew what her father actually meant.

They headed back into town, to Clay Thompson's house, sneaking inside. The Winchesters split up, looking around the place, using their flashlights to see.

While Dean checked the living room, Clay attacked him, thinking he was a burglar. Dean retaliated, in defense, knocking him into a coffee table. Sam and Sarah hurried over.

"Don't shoot me! Please!" Clay exclaimed, protecting himself with his hand. "There's money in the safe."

"We don't want your money," Dean told him.

"What do you want?" he asked. "Anything. Please."

Sam asked, "You're Clay Thompson, right?"

He looked up at them. "Who are you?"

"Um," Sam cleared his throat, "FBI."

Clay rose to his feet, slowly. "FBI? Oh, my God. This is about Benny."

"What about Benny?" Dean asked.

"He killed me! He shot me in the back! I'm supposed to let him get away with that?"

Dean stared at him. "Hold up. Are...are you confessing?"

"Please," he lowered his voice, "I'll go with you. Just...just don't wake my kids."

The three of them looked at one another. "You'll go with us, where?" Sam asked, looking back at Clay.

"Jail."

Dean closed his eyes. "Let me get this straight," he said. "You're Clay Thompson, and you died five years ago?"

"Yes."

"And, three days ago, you climbed out of your grave, and you killed Benny Sutton."

"Yes," he nodded.

"So, you are, in fact, a dead guy?"

Clay shook his head, "I guess. I-I-I don't know what I am."

A woman spoke behind them. "Clay?"

The Winchesters shined their flashlights over at her, who looked scared.

"I called, 911."

"It's okay, honey," Clay assured her. "These men are the FBI. They're here about Benny."

Dean turned back to him. "Why don't you come with us, Mr. Thompson? I'd think that would be best." They let Clay say good-bye to his wife and grab his jacket and shoes before leading him outside, where Dean pulled his gun out, from inside his own jacket.

"Dean," Sam hissed at his brother.

"He's a monster," he told him.

"He's a soccer dad," Sam pointed out.

"What do you want to do with him?"

Before anyone could answer that, a siren blared, flashing a light on them. "Freeze!" they heard Sheriff Mills exclaim. She was holding a gun at them. "Drop your guns!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Dean chuckled as the three of them, slowly set their guns down, on the ground, holding their other hand up. "All right. Hey. Remember the guy that's supposed be dead and can't possibly commit murder?" He motioned over at Clay, "There he is."

She glanced over at Clay. "And?" she asked of Dean.

Dean stared at her. "And?" he questioned. "And, you're welcome. For catching the undead killer zombie."

Clay looked at Dean.

"Whatever he is or isn't, that doesn't give you the right to shoot him in the middle of the street." Sheriff Mills walked around, behind them, handcuffing Dean.

"Shoot me?" Clay asked.

"You're free to go, Mr. Thompson," she told Clay.

"Free to go?" Dean questioned.

"I can't believe you were gonna kill me," said Clay.

"You're a zombie!"

"I'm a taxpayer!" Clay Thompson headed back inside his house and the Winchesters were arrested and taken to the station.


	168. Chapter 168-DeadMen Don't Wear Plaid(P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 168

The Winchesters sat in jail, trying to figure out what was going on in town. Bobby came down to bail them out. After he talked with the sheriff, she let Sam, Dean, and Sarah go.

"Bobby, I thought the sheriff hated you," Sam was telling him, pushing Bobby down the hall of the station.

"She did till five days ago," he replied.

"What happened five days ago?" Sarah asked, walking along side him.

"The dead started rising all over town."

Sam looked over at his brother. "So, you knew about this?" he asked of Bobby.

"Yep," Bobby stared off to the side, at the floor.

Dean held his hands out, "I think what Sam meant to say is, you lied to us?"

Bobby rolled his head. He stopped his wheelchair, to turn around, facing them. "Look," he said, "I told you there was nothing here. And, there isn't. Not for you."

Things got quiet as they let an officer walk pass. Once he was out of earshot, Dean pointed out, "There are zombies, here."

"There are zombies," said Bobby, "and then there are zombies."

Sarah looked from Bobby, up towards the ceiling, trying to find the logic of what he just said as Dean looked at him, from the side.

"Come with me."

Bobby took them back to his place, stopping to get the Impala back, where they had left it.

"You want to tell us, what the hell...," Dean started to say, as they walked in the door. Until a woman walked into the room, setting the table. 

"Oh, hey," she greeted them, and set the plate she was holding, down. "I didn't realize you were bringing company."

Bobby rolled towards her. "It's four A.M., babe," he told her. "You didn't need to cook."

"Oh, please. I'll get some more plates." She left the room.

Dean and Bobby exchanged looks.

"Who is that?" Dean asked of him.

"Karen, my wife."

"Your new wife?"

Bobby paused, glancing at the floor. "My dead wife."

After Bobby introduced his wife to them, the men and Sarah took a seat around the table as Karen served them, each a slice of pie.

Dean especially enjoyed it. "This is incredible, Mrs. Singer," he complimented, his mouth full of pie.

Karen carried what was left over, over to where Bobby sat at the head of the table. "Thank you, Dean," she told him.

Sam looked at his brother, clearing his throat.

"What? It is," Dean mumbled back at him.

"It's great, Karen. Thanks," Bobby told his wife. "Could you, um, just give us a minute?" He winked at her.

Karen smiled at everyone, before heading back into the kitchen. The second she was gone, Dean, Sam, and Sarah all turned on Bobby.

"Are you crazy," Dean asked. "What the hell?"

"Dean, I can explain," he said, remaining calm.

"Explain what? Lying to us? Or, the American girl zombie, making cupcakes in your kitchen?!" he exclaimed, in a whisper.

"First of all, that's my wife, so watch it," Bobby warned, glaring at Dean.

"Bobby, whatever that thing is in there, it is not your wife," Sam said, in a normal tone.

He looked over at him, "And, how do you know that?"

"Are you serious?"

"Do you think I am an idiot, boy?" Bobby asked of him. "My dead wife shows up on my doorstep, I'm not gonna test her every way I ever learned?"

"So, what is it?" Sarah asked.

"Hell, if I can tell," he shook his head, at the table. "She's got no scars, no wounds. No reaction to salt, silver, holy water."

"Wait," Sarah realized. "Didn't you tell me, once, you had your wife, cremated?"

Bobby nodded, "Yup. Somehow, some way, she's back." He looked over at Sam.

"That's impossible," he said.

He shrugged, "Tell me about it."

"You bury her ashes?"

"Yeah," Bobby nodded.

Dean asked, "Where?"

He looked over at him. "In the cemetery. That's where they all rose from."

A thought crossed Sarah's mind. "All of them rose?" she asked Bobby.

"I don't think so. Just some of them. Why?"

Without another word, Sarah made a dash, upstairs, to her room. Once the door was closed, she pulled out her phone. If it was around four, in the morning, her grandfather should be waking up, at least. She called him, putting the phone to her ear.

It rang a few times, before it picked up. "This is Greg."

"Papa, I need to ask you, something." Sarah tried to remain calm.

"Sarah?" he asked, surprised. "It's early. Is everything all right?"

"Um, depends how you look at it, I guess," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Um, have you..." Sarah ran a hand down her face, placing it on her side. "Have you had any unexpected guests, lately?"

"No, not lately. Usually, we plan ahead. You know that. Why? Are you planning on stopping by?"

"Um, no. We're on a job, right now, here, in Sioux Falls." Sarah paused, wondering if she should tell her grandfather or not. "Look, if you do receive an unexpected guest, call me, right away. And, keep your guard up. In fact, keep a gun nearby."

Greg stared at nothing, confused. "What's going on, Sarah? Is something after us?"

"No, but..." Sarah let out a breath of air. "Just trust me, okay? Please?"

He wanted to press further, but remembered what Sam had told him. "Okay," Greg gave in, releasing a breath of his own. "I'll trust you, Sarah. Do we need anything else? Salt? Holy water?"

"No, it doesn't seem like we're dealing with demons or ghosts. Just make sure you're locked and loaded," she told him.

"Well, all right. If someone shows up, I will give you a call. Thank you, Sarah," he said.

"No problem, Papa."

"I love you."

"Love you, too," she said and they hung up. She looked over at her wall of photos, above her bed, stopping of one of her mother.

When Sarah returned downstairs, Sam and Dean was getting ready to leave. Dean handed Sarah, her jacket, letting her know they'd fill her in, on the road.

"Who was it, you called, just now?" he asked, while Dean was driving.

Sarah was leaning over the back of the seat. "Um, my grandfather. I was seeing if any unexpected guests had dropped by."

"And, did they?" Sam asked.

Sarah shook her head. "I told Papa to call me, if anyone did, though."

"Well, they're about to," said Dean.

Sam handed Sarah a list that Bobby had written down, from the cemetery, filling her in on what he told them after she left.

"So, Death is behind all this?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied, and told her to look over that list.

Sarah scanned the list of fifteen people who had risen from their graves. Her eyes stopped on one of them, widening. Sarah fell back, onto the seat, in full shock. "I...don't believe this."

The Winchesters got breakfast at the local diner, to talk things over on what to do about Bobby's wife. Of course, Sarah couldn't focus. She kept her phone in her hand, staring at it. So, to keep an eye on her, Dean had Sarah come with him, when him and Sam split up. Sam went to check on everyone on Bobby's list, while Dean waited and watched outside Bobby's house, in case things went sour.

Sarah sat on top of the trunk, still staring at her phone.

Dean leaned against the car, next to her, his hands inside his jacket pockets. "You okay, Baby Girl?"

"Yeah," she replied.

"What would you do if he calls you back?"

Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. I don't even know why I'm anxious about this."

Suddenly, Karen was right there, next to them. Both Dean and Sarah jumped out of their skin. Sarah, practically, pulled a Scooby-Doo, only she remained sitting on the car, up against her father.

"Oops. Did I scare you?" Karen asked them.

"No. No. No," Dean shook his head. "There's nothing scary about you, at all."

"Like some lunch?"

"Uh, we're good. Thanks," he told her.

"Come on, there's more pie," she urged them. Karen turned to head back inside.

"I don't think Bobby wants us inside."

"Guess, it'll have to be our little secret, then, huh?" Karen motioned Dean and Sarah, towards the house, "Come on," and started walking.

Dean exchanged a look with Sarah.

Sarah leaped down from the car, and both of them followed Karen around back. Inside, Dean and Sarah talked with Karen, enjoying another slice of pie.

Dean looked around at several baked pies, lying around. "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say, you like pie," he said, in between bites. "You bake all these?"

"I don't know what it is," she shrugged. "Since I got back, I can't stop baking."

Sarah was sitting sideways, at the table, eating a slice, as well. She held the hand holding her fork, up to her mouth, trying to chew, faster so she could speak. "You and my grandmother would get along, perfectly."

"She likes to bake, huh?" Karen smiled, back over her shoulder, at the little girl.

"Uh, yeah. Every time my school or our church held a bake sale, or some kind of function, they always call her, first. Everyone had a homemade cake for their birthday. No store-brought or bakery-made. That woman would bake all day if you let her."

Karen giggled. "Sounds like a fun gal."

"Then, why did we need to bring a pie, on Thanksgiving?" Dean questioned.

Sarah shrugged at him. "Uncle Sam volunteered a pie. Possibly, because we didn't have any means to cook anything."

Dean shrugged it off. "So, when do you have time to sleep?" he asked of Karen.

"I don't," she answered, working on another pie. "Must be all the excitement."

"Or, being dead."

Sarah gave her father a look, which he shrugged, as if to say, what?

Karen stared forward, silent. She wiped her hands on her hips. "I know you don't trust me."

"Why would you say that?"

"Come on, Dean," she looked back, over her shoulder. "That's why you're here, isn't it?" She returned to her work. "Keeping an eye on me?" Karen turned around, to fully face the two. "I know who you are. Just like I know Bobby's not the same mild-mannered scrap dealer I married."

Dean turned his head away.

"You hunt things."

Dean looked back at her as Sarah perked up.

"I-I'm a thing. I get it."

"So, you know that Sam and I would never let anything happen to Bobby. That he's like a father to us."

"I understand, and he's lucky to have you looking out for him, Dean." She shook her head, "But, you're not the only one."

"Is that so?" he asked.

Karen turned back around, picking up the ball of dough, kneading it in her hand. "I remember everything, you know," she admitted, staring up at the ceiling. "When I died. That demon taking over my body. And, the things it made me do, and Bobby having no choice but to..." She stopped, mid sentence, unable to say it. Karen looked down at the ball of dough in her hands. "Well, you know what he did."

Sarah set her plate on the table, wiping some cherry sauce off of her face.

"But, I can see it in his eyes when he looks at me. The guilt." Her voice cracked, but she held it in. "It weighs on him."

"So, why don't you just tell him, you remember?" Dean asked.

Karen looked back at him. "Oh," she realized. "I'm gonna go out on a limb, here, and say, you've never been in love."

Dean looked away. He had thought he did, once.

"He's my husband," Dean heard Karen say. "My job is to bring him, peace," she shook her head, "not pain." Karen returned to her baking.

When Karen had turned around, Sarah's phone rang. Sarah jumped to her feet, pulling it from her back pocket, to answer it, not only for her anxiety's sake, but before it woke Bobby. She didn't even have time to look at the caller ID.

"Papa?" she asked into the phone.

"Sarah..."

"Papa, what is it?" she asked, trying to stifle the urgency in her voice. Dean had jumped to his feet when he heard his daughter's grandfather respond.

"I don't believe this."

"What? What?"

"I am standing here, staring at..." his voice paused.

"Who?"

"Your mother."


	169. Chapter 169- What Hurts the Most

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 169

Dean sped down the highway, getting to Milbank as fast as he could, calling his brother on the way, to let him know they were making a detour. Sam understood, knowing this was important to Sarah. Plus, someone was going to have to put her mother down when she turned. He told Dean, a headshot was the key to killing the zombies.

Sarah stared out the window, her heart beating faster than the breaths she could take. She never thought she would get another opportunity. It didn't feel like the other times, Emily found herself back. It wasn't a fake phone call, nor was her spirit, forcibly revived. This was actually her. Emily was back.

Dean caught a look out of the corner of his eye. "Breathe, Baby Girl. Breathe," he reminded her, softly. He reached over and, gently, gripped her hand, rubbing it with his thumb. "I'll be right here, with you. You're older and wiser, now. Okay?"

She nodded at her reflection in the side mirror. She swore it turned into a younger version of herself, but it was just her mind, playing tricks on her. Sarah took in a huge breath of air.

"No matter what she tells you, you can't let it get to you. She has no power over you, anymore. I taught you, better than she did."

Sarah twisted around, reaching over the seat, and grabbed her wolf. She hugged it to her chest. "I'm sorry, Dad."

Dean looked between his daughter and the road, ahead. "For what?" he asked.

"Still needing a toy to comfort me. I should be brave, right now." Sarah stared at the floorboard, at her feet.

"Nothing wrong with that. Ellen gave that to you, remember?" He gave her a crooked smile. "It's, kind of like, she's still here, with you. Her and Jo."

Sarah looked over at her father. She scooted over and snuggled against him, which Dean put his arm around her and kissed her head. He drove with one hand, the rest of the way.

Forty minutes passed when Dean pulled up to the gate. He flipped the visor down, briefly, for the code he had kept there since he first came here, five years ago and punched it in. The gates opened, allowing him, access to head inside the neighborhood. Since it was a residential neighborhood, he couldn't go as fast as he wanted. Thankfully, it wasn't that long before he pulled up to the Holdens' house and parked. He waited until Sarah finished praying and asked, "You ready?"

She sat up, nodding.

Dean let Sarah slid out on his side, closing the door once she had gotten out. The two of them walked around the back of the car, stepping up, onto the sidewalk. Going up the walkway, Dean placed a hand on the back of Sarah's collarbone, giving it a gentle squeeze. Sarah couldn't even wait. Before Dean could ring the door bell, she was opening the front door and going on in. They walked through the foyer, stopping in the archway to to living room, where everyone had looked up when Dean and Sarah came in.

Sarah froze as Emily stood up. It was as if everything had gone back in time.

"Sarah?"

"Hey, Emily," was what came out of Sarah's mouth. She wasn't even sure why she had addressed her mother by her first name. It just slipped out.

Greg approached Dean and Sarah, holding his hunting rifle. "Hey, Dean," he greeted him.

"Hey," Dean replied. He accepted the handshake Greg offered.

Greg looked over at Sarah. "It's good to see you, despite the circumstances," he told Sarah.

Sarah looked up at her grandfather, "Yeah. Same, here." She hugged him around the waist as Emily walked over. Sarah noticed she was staring over at her father.

"Dean?" Emily managed to say.

"Wish I can say, it's great to see you, Emily," he told her.

"Why is that?"

Dean looked at the floor. "Greg, can you and Beth take Sarah on a ten-minute walk?"

Sarah looked up at her father. "But, Dad..." she tried to protest.

"I promise, just give me, ten minutes. Okay?" He gave her a pleading look.

Sarah gave in, knowing this was just as important for him, as it was for her. "Okay, Dad," she nodded, once.

Dean wrapped an arm around her head, holding a kiss to it.

Greg offered him, his rifle.

"Thanks, but Sarah and I came, prepared," he assured him. "I appreciate it, though." If Greg was trying, then Dean was going to try, as well.

He set the rifle against the wall, at his feet. "Come on, Sarah," Greg held an arm out to her. Beth joined her husband and granddaughter, heading for the door.

Once they were gone, Emily asked, "She listens to you without a fight?"

Dean looked over, from the front door, to his daughter's mother. "We have a few fights, now and then, but, yeah."

She scoffed, off to the side.

Mark wheeled over to them. Dean had not notice he was even there.

"Hey, pal, you mind giving us some privacy?" he tried being nice, as possible. With Mark, that was almost a pipe dream.

He leaned his chin inside his hand, on the arm of his wheelchair. "Nope," he replied.

Dean let out a sigh. He didn't feel like arguing with the guy. He wanted to say his peace so Sarah could, so they could get this over with and get back to Bobby before something happened. Instead, he looked back at Emily, "First off, I want to apologize for our sudden break-up. I didn't realize how much it would hurt you, and I'm sorry. I was a stupid kid, back then. I shouldn't have even started anything, knowing I would have to leave, soon." Dean wasn't sure how to start this whole thing, so he started with the apology. Seemed like a best start.

Emily folded her arms across her chest. He noticed she was doing it like Sarah folds her arms when someone was pissing her off.

"Still pissed at me, I see?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know that?" she asked.

"Sarah crosses her arms like that when she's pissed," he explained. Dean noticed Emily was thicker around the middle than he remembered she was back then, just a little, and her hair was longer, tied back in a ponytail that hung in front of her left shoulder. He shifted on his feet, looking down at the floor, "the question I would like to know is, why didn't you call me? You had my number. In fact, I kept that phone in case you ever did."

"You did?" she asked.

He sighed, knowing he had to say it. "I left it with girls I knew were at risk for getting pregnant."

"So, all of that..." she said, "it wasn't real?"

"No, it was real. I hate buying flowers. I think it's cheesy, I think it's a waste of money," Dean counted on his fingers. "But, I did it for you. I don't know. That first night we talked, it felt like..." He glanced at the floor between them. "I understood how you felt."

Emily stared at the floor.

"So, why didn't you call?"

"She did. You never called back," Mark spat at him.

Dean ignored the guy, pretending like he wasn't even there. "Why, Emily?"

"Because, if I did, I was afraid you would only come back for our child and not me."

He stared back down, at the floor. "I told Sarah, once, how much of a stupid kid I was and how I would choose to stay away, because I wasn't mature as I am now. Heck, I wasn't even ready when Sarah and I finally did meet. If I was, Sarah never would have become a hunter."

Emily stared at the floor, requiring Dean to watch the top of her head. She wasn't short, but she wasn't tall, either. "My parents told me, everything that happened after I died."

"You remember?" It dawned on Dean. "Wait, Sarah told me you lost your memory during one of your surgeries. You didn't even remember Sarah."

"I don't know. When I climbed out of my coffin, I could remember everything. Including both of my operations. Not sure why the inside was burned, though," Emily finally looked up, at that last part.

"We salted and burned your bones after one of ours hunts, that used you to get to Sarah," he explained. "It was mostly for her, to help Sarah move on. And, also, so no demon could possess you, nor could you come back as a ghost. 'Course, that flew out the window, a year later."

"I remember that. Someone forced me to rise from the dead. Some chick. I can assure you, I may not have wanted Sarah to be born, I never wanted to harm her, much less, kill her. Shit, I never even wanted to say those things to her."

"Never wanted to harm her." Dean gave a smirk, "Hm."

"What?" she asked, irritable.

"Never wanted to harm her, huh?"

Emily glared at him. "No," she said, bitterly. "Why? What did Sarah tell you?"

"Not just Sarah, but a friend of mine, as well, told me, you used to beat her, with a belt, for things _you_ thought were wrong."

"That's how my family disciplines? What, did your dad hold your hand, the whole time, growing up?"

"No. My dad raised us like a drill sergeant." Dean shook his head, "But, he never beat us how you and your dad beat Sarah."

"How would you know how hard we hit? You weren't there. Sarah could be exaggerating."

"And, who's fault is me not being there!?" he exclaimed.

Emily, crossed her arms, aggressively, looking away. Her ponytail whipped behind her.

"One, I saw it, myself when your dad did it. Two, remember a nice lady who helped you out when the two of you were homeless?"

She glared at him, out of the corner of her eye.

"Which by the way, would be the perfect time to pick up the phone. Even if I didn't want to be a dad, back then, if my child was starving and dehydrated on the side of the road, I would be there in a heartbeat. You know why? Because we look out for family in this family! We call each other when the other needs something. Just, thank God, Ellen found you both when she did!"

Emily's head whipped around, when she heard that name. "How do... Sarah was two years old. She couldn't possibly remember that, and I never told my parents or anyone any of those people's names." The look she had, proved she was telling the truth.

"Ellen's a good friend of mine. Always wondered why Sarah felt trusting of her before my brother and I did. Even though she didn't remember, Sarah could still feel the connection of that place."

"Did she tell you, they wanted to adopt Sarah?"

Dean looked at her. "No," he admitted. "Why didn't you take her offer? I'm surprised, seeing as you never caring."

"I did love Sarah!" Emily snapped.

Dean scoffed. "Well, you have a funny way of showing it." He nodded towards her, "I heard what you told Sarah. Ask your cousin, here. He left them in, on the home movies your mom gave me. It's no wonder her self esteem is low, by the way you spoke to her. You couldn't even be proud of her first home run or her first essay she wrote, or all of her other accomplishments."

"Because, they should have been mind! I wanted to be proud, I did, but everything I worked hard for, she was getting, without breaking a sweat! It's all her fault I had to quit school! She ruined everything!"

The front door had opened at that point and Sarah heard her mother. She froze in her tracks, her hand still on the door.

Emily noticed Sarah was standing there, behind Dean. "Sarah," she said, in a softer tone.

Dean twisted around. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath. Worse time for his daughter and her grandparents to return.

Suddenly, Sarah stormed towards her mother, ripping her gun out, from behind, pointing it at her mother. Emily flinched, taking a step, backwards.

Dean grabbed onto her, grabbing onto her arms. "Not yet, Baby Girl. You don't want to do this without saying your peace. You'll regret it." He struggled to get through to her. "I know how much you wanted this."

Tears poured from her eyes as she stared over at her mother.

Greg and Beth stood just inside the front door. Greg had closed it, once they were in, as Beth picked up Sarah's wolf she had dropped. They watched as Dean fought with his daughter.

He managed to get a good grip, bending over to look Sarah in the eye. "Sarah, look at me! Remember what I said, before. Let it go! You have the chance to tell her, say it, damn it! Come on, Baby Girl! I know this isn't you. Say what you've told all of us."

Sarah stared at her father, her chest, rapidly heaving, in and out. She managed to look up into her father's matching eyes.

Dean moved his hands to cup his daughter's face. "This is your chance to tell her. For once, ask, first and shoot later. Okay, Baby Girl?"

More tears filled her eyes and Sarah threw herself against her father, holding onto him, as she cried into his shirt. Dean wrapped his arms around Sarah, holding another kiss on top of her head, this time.

After a moment, Sarah let go, stepping around her father. She wiped away the remainder of the tears, with the back of her left hand. She held her gun, at her side, in the other. Dean moved to the side.

"It's good to see you, again, Sar Bear," Emily told her, trying to make up for before.

Greg spoke up for his granddaughter, surprising everyone. "Sarah hates that nickname. We dropped it. Right, Sarah?"

Emily looked from her daughter, to her father, then, back to her daughter. "Since when?"

Sarah shrugged, "Since, always. I just never said anything."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked.

"I never felt I could. Not without us getting into a shouting match and the neighbors pounding on our door."

"Because, you had a hard time, listening to what I said. That's why we argued."

"You never...!" Sarah felt her father's hand on her shoulder. She pulled back, lowering her voice. "You never gave me a choice. It had to be your way, not mine, or anyone else's. You only thought about you. You never cared about me. I ruined your life. Right?"

Emily looked away, catching Mark, sitting there, quietly staring off to the side.

"I heard you and Mark talking, once. About how I was a burden on you. I know about you wanting an abortion. That it took a demon to persuade you, not to."

"I, honestly, wish I hadn't given in," she admitted. A tear escaped from her eye.

Sarah stared at her mother, "You know what? Me, too." It got her a slap, upside the head. "Ow! Dad!" She looked back at him.

Dean looked back at her. He didn't mean to hit Sarah, the way he did. "Don't even think about saying that. Not after everything we've been through."

Her face softened when her father told her, that. "I'm sorry, Dad,"

Emily just shook her head. "I don't get it," she said, getting their attention. "Everyone who meets you, falls in love with you. Why?"

Sarah shrugged, "I'm nice to others. I show respect. I show I care. I don't cock an attitude and act like I got a stick up my ass."

Beth scolded, out of habit, "Sarah Lynn."

"You know what, Emily," Dean told her. "You know what I learned from the actions you took?"

Emily looked at him.

"It showed me the person you really are." He shrugged, "It's makes me, feel stupid for ever falling in love with you, at one point."

Her mouth hung open, a bit as she stared at Dean. "You...love me?"

"Not anymore," he shook his head, again. "Not after the way you treated my daughter."

"Emily," Sarah spoke up.

"So, you're not going to call me, Mom?" she asked, when Emily looked over at her.

"You don't have the right to that title. You see, any woman on God's green earth can have a child. It takes a mom to raise said child. Nurture, said child. Take care of. Love them." Sarah stared at the woman, standing firm. "The title of mom, goes to my god mom." Sarah twisted around. She saw her grandmother holding her stuffed wolf and asked her for it. Beth moved, closer, to hand the toy to her granddaughter. Sarah thanked her as she took it, facing forward, again, as she hugged the stuffed wolf to her. "You don't control me, anymore. In fact, I forgive you, and I pray for mercy, for you."

Dean looked over at his daughter. He, then wrapped an arm around her shoulders, hugging Sarah, to him.

"And, I'm done trying to make you, proud," she continued. "Because, I make both my dad and uncles, and even my paternal grandfather, proud, every day."

"You make us, proud, too, Sarah," Greg spoke up, once again.

Sarah and Dean looked back at her grandparents.

Emily stared in horror, at her parents.

Greg looked over at her. "Emily, I'm so sorry. I should have been saying that to you, as well. I really am. You worked so hard, just like I taught you and your sister. Maybe, a little too much," he admitted. "I was too hard on you, because that was how my dad taught us. Sarah made me, see, that's not the right way to teach a child. Can you ever forgive me?"

Emily nodded, but not what they expected. "Right, Sarah did this. It took Sarah for you to see how I felt. Well, you can take it and shove it up your asshole, 'cause I don't want it. And, I am not apologizing for the choices I made with you, Sarah."

Dean couldn't believe what he was hearing. Even he wasn't this stubborn. "Your father is trying to make things, right. Don't you get it?" he asked. "Hell, I've seen his asshole side, and this is a huge step for him."

"Don't bother, Dad. It's too late," Sarah told her father, as she watched Emily just stand there. "Sometimes, the heart's gone long before the person dies."

Emily backed away. She tried to move towards Mark, but it snapped him out of his thoughts. He backed away from her. "Mark, not you, too."

"You lied to me," he growled, quietly.

"What?"

"You said, he never called. I thought..." Mark shook his head. "I lost my little buddy, because I was, stubbornly, treating her father, harshly, _for you_. But, he was the one, telling the truth."

"Told ya," Dean smirked, the other way.

Sarah elbowed him in the side, distracting her from noticing Emily make a move towards her and raised her hand. She was slapped her across the face, causing Sarah to lose her balance and fall.

Dean grabbed a hold of Emily and shoved her into the wall, as Greg and Beth tended to Sarah, making sure she was alright. That was when Emily turned, shoving Dean, backwards, onto the floor. She lunged for him, hungry for human flesh, landing on top of him.

He tried to hold her back as Emily tried to take a bite out of him. Greg made to stand to jump in, when Sarah jumped to her feet, grabbing her gun she had dropped. She hurried over and didn't think, twice, like Dean had taught her to do in that situation. Sarah shot her mother in the back of the head.

Dean turned his head, as blood and brains splattered everywhere. He pushed her off once he knew Emily was dead, quickly, sitting up. Looking from her limp corpse, Dean looked over at his daughter, standing there, still holding the gun in the position she had fired it. Getting to his feet, he went over and wrapped his arms around his little girl.

"It's over, Baby Girl. You did what you had to do." Dean hugged her head, to him as Sarah held on.

Sarah caught a look out the window. It was now getting dark out. She let go, stepping back. "Dad, Uncle Bobby!"

"Right," he remembered.

They turned to look at the Holdens. "We'll take Emily's body back to Sioux Falls, make sure she gets back where she's supposed to be," Dean assured them. "We need to get back to help Sam and Bobby with the rest of the people who was raised from the dead."

"Is there a lot?" Greg asked.

"Fifteen rose. Emily was one, my brother took care of another earlier. So, we have about thirteen left, I think."

The older man went over to grab his hunting rifle. "Let's go, then?"

"What?" Dean and Sarah were surprised.

"I held my own against those demons, a couple years ago," he shrugged. "Plus, we also have family in Sioux Falls."

Dean really did not have time to argue. So, he agreed. Besides, they could use all the help they could get. Wrapping up Emily's corpse, Dean and Greg carried her out to the Impala, and the three of them headed back to Sioux Falls.


	170. Chapter 170-DeadMen Don't Wear Plaid(P3)

_**Fixed an error in the last chapter. I forgot Cas still has Dean's pendent. Just wanted to point that out, in case anyone was wondering about that.**_

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 170

Just before the Impala neared Sioux Falls, Dean called Sam for an update. Sam explained that Bobby didn't want them anywhere near his property. Dean did not care, he wasn't going to leave the guy alone, again and that he won't let Bobby see them. Sam had also convinced the sheriff, they needed to take care of this problem, after having to deal with her little boy.

"Speaking of that, how's Sarah doing?" he asked Dean.

Dean looked over at his daughter, sitting next to him. She was staring out the window. "She's hanging in there," he told his brother. "We're bringing back help."

"Who?"

"Greg," Dean answered.

"Sarah's grandfather?"

"Well, he's got family there, so he volunteered. We'll take all the help we can get, I guess."

"Right. Well, I'll see you when you get here."

"Yeah." Both brothers hung up. Dean put his phone away, in his pocket, looking over at Sarah. "How you holding up, Baby Girl?" he asked her, looking ahead, at the road.

"Fine, I guess," she replied, watching the passing scenery blur pass.

Dean glanced over at her, again. He couldn't believe just how messed up Emily really was. What exactly could make a person that angry at the world? Dean may have felt broken like Famine said, but even his soul wasn't in that much darkness. Emily's was in advanced darkness.

He looked up, in the rearview mirror. "How about you?" he asked Greg.

Greg looked up from his hunting rifle, at Dean. "I've been better," he admitted. "It was nice seeing my daughter, again. My wife and I miss our girls, every day, they've been gone." He looked back down.

Dean gripped the steering wheel in one hand. "Hey, I get it. Can't be easy, losing both of your girls, and one of them, twice. If anything happened to Sarah..." He glanced over at his daughter. He looked forward.

"Why didn't we see it before?" Greg asked, mostly thinking out loud.

"What?"

Greg shook his head. "I always thought it was just teenage rebellion. That Emily was going through a faze and things would get better with time. We prayed for her. Tried to love her. But, instead I pushed Emily away."

"Look, don't beat yourself up over it. You messed up and now things are this way. You can't change the past, as much as we all would like to. We just have to hang on and keep fighting," Dean told him. "That's all you can do. Besides, you still have a chance with your granddaughter. As long as you leave the discipline to me, I got no problem with you talking to Sarah."

"Thank you, Dean," he said. "You're a good guy."

Dean shrugged.

Dean pulled up, in front of the salvage yard, later that evening. All three, quickly got out, pulling out their weapons. He led Sarah and Greg around the back, picking the lock on the back door. Right as Dean got the door, open, they heard a gunshot.

Sarah pushed passed her father, running into the den, followed by Dean. Greg hurried behind him. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Bobby sitting there, holding his own gun and Karen, shot in the head, blood soaking the pillow underneath. Sarah wandered over to wrap her arms around the old man's neck, to comfort him.

Dean, Sarah, and Greg loaded up a van, Bobby had parked, out in the yard. Dean noticed Bobby staring off into space. "You know, Bobby," he said, "if you want to sit this one out."

"It might be best. I mean, considering he's crippled..." Bobby glared up at Greg.

Sarah told her grandfather, "Papa, no disrespect, but just shut up before you're full of lead. Please."

"Just get going," Bobby told them .

Dean had Sarah closed one of the doors. Before he closed the other, a noise caught their attention. Dean grabbed his shotgun and a flashlight, going to check it out. Sarah grabbed hers, as well, moving just in front of where Bobby sat, staying alert.

With Dean gone, a rumble was heard, as if something was hitting against the cars.

"Dean?" Bobby called out.

"Dad!" Sarah yelled.

Bobby cocked his shotgun when he caught movement and shot at it.

Sarah tried to call out to Dean, again, but when she didn't get a response, she took off in the direction he went.

"Sarah, wait!" Greg called and tried to run after her.

Bobby reached out and grabbed him. He looked back, giving him a stupefied look. "Let her go. If her daddy's in trouble, Sarah's not gonna stand back and do nothing." Bobby let go to shoot at another zombie.

Greg looked forward, to see Sarah gone. When one caught his vision, Greg shot at it.

Sarah ran as fast as she could, stopping, abruptly when she saw Clay Thompson dragging Dean, who was trying to reach for his own shotgun. Sarah aimed hers and shot the guy in the head.

Dean looked back, to see who it was and, quickly, got to his feet, grabbing his shotgun. He hurried over to her, thanking Sarah as they hurried back to the van. Just as they got there, Greg had shot one, who had knocked Bobby out of his chair. With both Dean and Greg's help, they got him back in his chair.

Greg and Sarah covered them as Dean pushed Bobby, back inside his house. Once they were all inside, Dean closed and locked it.

Sarah checked inside her shotgun. "Anyone got anymore ammo? I'm low," she said.

"Yeah, we got plenty. Just run back, past the zombies," Bobby told her, sarcastically.  
"It's in the van, where we left it."

"A simple no would have suffice," Sarah returned the sarcastic remark.

"What are they all doing here, anyway?!" Dean demanded, towards the door they came in.

Bobby looked around as he said, "I think I get it."

Greg asked, "Get, what?"

Glass shattered from upstairs.

"Oh, that ain't good," Bobby commented. A zombie broke through the window in the den. He shot at it.

Another came hurrying down the stairs. Greg shot that one. One by one, the four of them took care of the rest of the zombies. Sarah was the first to run out of ammo, followed by Bobby and Greg. Dean had a couple extra bullets left so he made quick work of the last couple of zombies.

Sam and Sheriff Mills got there, right at the last second, catching the tail end.

The next morning, Dean and the Sheriff drove around town, making sure there wasn't any more dead ones, walking among them. Sam, Sarah, and Greg remained at the cemetery, salt and burning the corpses, including Emily. The three of them stood there, watching the fire, in silence.

Greg was the first one to break the silence. "Sarah, you should probably know why your mom came back." He looked over at his granddaughter.

Sarah was staring at the part where they had laid her mother. "Hm," was all she could say.

"While we were waiting for you to get there, we talked. We asked your mom if she knew why she was back."

"What did she say?"

Greg looked down at the grass, his hands in his coat pockets. "She said, she saw a thin man, there. Like a skeleton or something. He told her he had a message for you."

Sam looked over at the older man.

At that moment, Dean and Sheriff Mills walked up, interrupting them. "Well, if there's any zombies left, out there, we can't find them," said Dean.

"How's the townspeople?" Sam asked.

The sheriff stared at the fire. "Pretty freaked out. Hell, traumatized," she shrugged. "A few of them are calling the papers. As far as I can tell, nobody's believed'em yet."

Sam nodded at the ground. "Would you?" he asked, looking up at her.

She shook her head.

"How you holding up?"

The sheriff opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come. Sam understood.

Greg shook his head. "I know the dead were supposed to rise during the End Times, I didn't think it would be like this."

No one said anything until Dean changed the subject. "Is that everyone?"

Sam looked back over his shoulder, at the fire. "All but one."

After the dead was taken care of, they dropped the sheriff off at the station and headed back to Bobby's place, where he had done his own burning, for his wife. Greg remained in the car, while the other three approached Bobby.

Sarah wrapped her arms around his neck, laying her head on his shoulder, from behind.

"So, thinking maybe I should apologize for losing my head back there," Bobby told them.

"Bobby," Sam took in a deep breath. "You don't owe us, anything."

"Hey, look, I don't know squat from shinola about love, but," Dean shrugged, "at least you got to spend five days with her, right?"

"Right," he agreed, tirelessly. "Which makes things a thousand times worse." Bobby took a breath in. "She was the love of my life. How many times do I got to kill her?" Sarah tightened her grip, in a reassuring way.

Sam took another breath in. "Are you gonna be okay, Bobby?" he asked.

He, slowly, shook his head.

The brothers exchanged looks.

"You three should know. Karen told me why Death was here."

Sam asked, "What do you mean?"

"I know why he took a stroll through a cemetery in the sticks of South Dakota." Bobby took a deep breath. "He came for me."

Dean stared at him, "What do you mean, _you_?"

Sarah let go, standing up, straight, staring at Bobby.

"Death came for me. He brought Karen back, to send me a message."

She glanced back at her grandfather, turning back around. "Papa was telling me the same thing, earlier. He said, my mother had a message for me, too. But, then Dad and the sheriff came back, so he never got to tell me, what it was."

"Of course. That makes sense," Bobby said.

Dean asked, "Why either of you?"

Bobby looked up at him, "Because, we've been helping you, sons of bitches." He stared forward, again. He looked up at Sam, next. "We're one of the reasons you're still saying no to Lucifer, Sam."

Dean stared at the ground for a moment. "So, this was like a hit on your life?"

Bobby shook his head, staring ahead, "I don't know if they wanted to take our life or..." he paused. "Our spirit. Either way, they wanted me, and I guess, Sarah, out of the way."

Sarah stared at the ground, thinking about yesterday. She heard her uncle, say, "But, you're gonna be all right. Right, Bobby?"

Bobby didn't say anything. He gave Sam a sorrowful look, before turning back to the fire where his wife laid. Sarah reached up and gave his shoulder an reassuring squeeze as the four of them watched the fire burn.


	171. Chapter 171- Dark Side of the Moon(P1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 171

After that last hunt, Sam and Dean found themselves, sitting in a Walmart dressing room area, waiting on Sarah. At the rate she was growing, her jeans were, slowly, becoming capri pants. The brothers waited on a bench, across from a full length mirror. Sam was slouched, on his side, checking his phone for messages he may have missed.

Dean rubbed at his eye. "How long does it take to try on a couple pairs of pants?" he called over to Sarah.

One of the dressing room doors opened, and Sarah walked over, going over to the mirror across from them. She looked herself over, looking at her reflection.

Dean sat there, watching her, with his arms folded across his chest. Finally, he told his daughter, "you better be looking for the price tag."

Sarah turned around to face him. "I was...making sure they were the right size."

He eyed her. "Whatever. Are you done yet?"

"Yeah, I think so. These seem to be my size."

"Well then, go change back, so we can pay for everything and get the hell out of here."

Sarah headed back into the dressing room, to change back into her clothes, while Sam and Dean stood up, stretching. Once everything was paid for, the Winchesters left to go get something to eat, and also decided to catch a movie.

When they got back to the motel, Dean suggested they play cards, playing late into the night. Sarah ended up winning most of them, but, each of the brothers won a few games, as well. The most important part was, they had a great time. It was around one in the morning, when they decided to hit the sack.

Sarah retreated to the couch, while the brothers took the beds. The next morning, Sarah was jerked awake, by the sound of a gun. She reached under her pillow for her gun, but couldn't feel it. Sarah got to her feet. Two men had guns pointed at her father. When they saw her get up, the one closest to her, switched over to her.

"Stay back, Baby Girl," Dean warned her.

Sarah looked between him and the men. "Who are these..." Her eyes landed on her uncle, covered in blood, on the bed. "Uncle Sam?" Her chest started to heave as tears filled her eyes.

"They're hunters," he explained, eyeing the men.

She looked over at the men, as anger built up inside of her. So, when one of the men shot her father, that was the fuse that exploded the bomb. She made a dash towards them, whipping out her knife Dean had passed down to her. Not sure what that would do, rage not only, blinded her, but deafened everything around her. Before she knew it, she felt a bullet lodge itself inside her chest and fall back onto the floor.

Sarah could now hear the guy, closest to her, say, "I didn't want to shoot the kid!"

"It's probably for the better. She shouldn't have been hunting in the first place." She heard the other guy say. It was as if they were in a cave, that echoed. The last thing Sarah saw before everything was black, was her father lying there, motionless, on the bed. Her arm sprawled out, clutching her knife, until eventually, it released its grip. The small knife laid there, in her palm. This was it...

Sarah shot awake, as if she just had some horrible nightmare. She looked around. To her surprise, Sarah was standing in the Roadhouse. But, how? The Roadhouse had burned down.

She looked around the place, seeing a few hunters and other random customers sitting around, eating, drinking, and either making conversation or looking over maps or newspapers.

 _What the heck?_

A voice behind, startled her. "Why? That won't teach her nothing."

Sarah bolted around where the voice was coming from. To her surprise, the owner of the voice, standing there, on the far side of the pool table she was standing next to, was Ash. He was lining up a shot, to make. "Ash?" she managed to say. But, it was as if he didn't hear her.

Another voice startled her, forcing a cough. Sarah looked up, beside her, to see Ellen standing there.

"Miss Ellen? Is that really you?"

Ellen didn't respond, either. Not to her, anyway. Instead, she snickered. "Looks like its Sarah's turn."

Sarah looked forward. A game was already started, with a few of the solid balls already gone. She noticed she was standing on a milk crate. She hadn't needed to stand on something, since before she turned ten.

Sarah felt Ellen help her hold the pool stick, and line up a shot. The two of them hit the white ball, into another, in the far, corner pocket.

She heard Ellen say, "Yeah, good job, sweetie. Give me, five!" Sarah looked up at the woman and returned the high five, before looking between the two adults. Both of them seem, proud, including Ash, which was a surprise to Sarah. Even though she had a crush on the guy, Sarah figured Ash, more than likely, hated her. Or, so, she thought, anyways. She was a brat towards him, after all.

Knowing she could make the next shot on her own, Sarah lined up the pool stick with the white ball, and took aim, just as she was about to hit it, she heard gunshots, making her mess up. Seeing her uncle lying there, and her father getting shot, as well as getting shot herself, came running back to her mind, playing out like some kind of dream. Soon, she was all alone, in an empty saloon.

"Miss Ellen? Ash?" Sarah looked around the place, walking forward, towards the front of the Roadhouse. What was going on?

Sarah decided to head outside. When she opened the door, it wasn't the Roadhouse's porch she stepped out, onto. It was the upstairs hallway of her grandparents' house. She looked around, confused. "What the hell?" she said, out loud, to no one. Sarah looked back, inside. To her surprise, it wasn't the Roadhouse. It was her old bedroom she had, growing up, when she stayed with her grandparents. "What is going on, here?"

"Sarah, can you come here, please?" Sarah heard her grandfather call to her, from downstairs. She made her way down the hall, until the wall ended and the railing began. She looked over the railing, placing a hand on top of the banister. Her mouth hung open. This was the day she first met her father.

"Sarah Lynn, what did you do, this time?" The memory played out as it did the day it was created, but when Sarah saw her father standing there, "Dad?"

Dean looked up. "Sarah?"

Sarah realized that wasn't her father from the memory, that was actually her father, today. She made a dash, for him, down the stairs, knocking into him.

Dean held onto his daughter until it dawned on him. "Wait." He pulled her away, to look at Sarah. "Are you dead?"

Sarah stared back at him. "Dead? Isn't this a dream?"

He shook his head. "This is heaven, Baby Girl. Did those guys shoot you, too?"

Sarah looked off to the side, letting the scene play out in her mind. She looked back at her father. "I remember seeing Uncle Sam, dead, and them shooting you. I don't know. I couldn't mask my anger and I charged towards them with my knife. The one guy must have overreacted, and shot me. Everything went black and, then suddenly, I was playing pool with Ash and Miss Ellen."

Dean wiped a hand down his face, staring at the tiled floor.

"This was not how I pictured going out," she admitted.

At that, he pulled her back in, wrapping his daughter in another embrace.

Dean and Sarah hurried out to where he had parked the Impala and drove down a road. They were unsure where it was, they were going. Castiel had just told Dean, to follow it, and so, that's what they did. Eventually, they pulled up to a less nicer two-story house. Dean and Sarah stepped out of the Impala, looking over at it.

Making their way up to the front door, they stopped.

"Should we knock?" Sarah asked.

"Screw that." Dean took a hold of the door knob and turned it, carefully. There were voices coming from inside and one of them sounded like Sam. Dean held the door for Sarah, having her shut it behind her, and stepped over to stand in the doorway. "Wow. Just... Wow." That was all he could say.

Sarah moved, to stand next to her father. Right there, in front of her, was some kind of Thanksgiving family dinner. Sam was eating among some stranger family, of a mother, father, two girls, and a grandfather. "Awkward," she said.

Sam was surprised to see them. "Dean? Sarah? What are you doing in my dream?"

"That's what I thought, too."

"What?" He looked at his niece. 

Dean told his brother the same thing he told Sarah. Sam, quickly got up from the table, the father still talking as if he hadn't moved, just like hers and Dean's last memory.

"Heaven?" he questioned.

"Yep," Dean replied.

"Okay, how are _we_ in heaven?"

"All that clean living, I guess," he shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure I was the only saved one, in this family," Sarah pointed out.

"Yeah, exactly. You, Peanut, I get. And, maybe even you, Dean," said Sam. "But, me? Maybe you haven't noticed, but, um...I've...done a few things."

"You thought you were doing the right thing," Dean told him.

"Last I checked, it wasn't the road to heaven that was paved with good intentions."

"If heaven didn't allow sinners, the place would be pretty, freakin' empty," said Sarah.

"Yeah, well, if this is the sky mall, it sucks." Dean threw up his hands, "I mean, where's the triplets and the latex? A guy has needs."

Sarah facepalmed into her hand. "Really, Dad?" she asked.

"Are you really that surprised, Sarah? Come on, now. "

"No, no," she shook her head. "Just once, can you go a minute without thinking with your downstairs brain?"

"That's like trying to keep a dog from licking himself," Sam told his niece, and looked around, twisting back towards the family, still eating. He turned back around, in realization. "You know, when you bite dust, they say your life flashes before your eyes."

Dean asked, confused what his brother was talking about, "Your point?"

"This house," he said. "It's one of my memories."

It finally hit Dean. "When I woke up, I woke up in one of my memories. The 4th of July that we burned down that field. And, then, there was the day Sarah and I, first, met."

Sam chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, maybe that's what heaven is. A place where you relive your greatest hits."

"Hold up," Sarah interrupted. "I get the-day-I-met-Dad memory, but I woke up, playing pool with Ash, at the Roadhouse, while standing on a milk crate, and Miss Ellen helping me hit the ball. I don't recall that ever happening. When you and Dad left me, there, I only played Ash, once, and he lost fifty dollars. But, it was just me and him, playing. In fact, that was when Miss Ellen took off after Jo, when she took off to help you."

"It's possible, it's an early memory, that you may have forgotten about," Sam shrugged.

"Yeah, like maybe it's from when you and your mom stayed there, and that was the day you learned how to play," Dean took a guess. "You did say, you had a memory of a pool table, and that you don't recall how you learned. And, what about that picture of yours, of the three of you standing around that pool table? Maybe you were reliving that day."

Sarah thought on that possibility. "Come to think of it, it did seem like it could have been the day that picture was taken."

"Okay, so, I get Sarah's greatest hit, but you playing footsie with Brace-face in there, t-that's...that's a trophy moment for you?" Dean asked of his brother.

Sam rolled his eyes. He glanced back, before turning back to his brother. "Dean, I was the same age as Sarah is, now. This was my first real Thanksgiving."

Dean glanced out of the corner of his eye. "What are you talking about," he shook his head. "We had Thanksgiving every year."

"We had a bucket of extra crispy, and Dad passed out on the couch."

"That's our Thanksgiving, now," Sarah pointed out. "Minus, Grandpa. I thought you liked..." She paused. "Wait. Is that why you made us go spend Thanksgiving with my grandparents?"

"No, Peanut. It was for..." Sam tried to tell her, but Sarah nodded. "...For me, I know. Wow, if you wanted my family, all you had to do was ask. I would have gladly given them to you."

"Peanut..." Sam looked up as a rumbling started, shaking the house, as the lights went out. "I don't remember this," he admitted. The family wasn't even feeling it. The memory continued to play out as if everything was fine.

"We should, uh..." Dean started to say.

"Yeah, definitely," Sam agreed.

The three of them ducked for cover. Sarah ducked behind a recliner, as Dean hid behind the matching couch. Sam squeezed behind a wall. A light shined into the house, as if it was looking for someone or something. When it passed, Dean was the first to peek his head out. He stood up, moving a lamp that had fallen. The other two followed suit.

"Okay, uh, what the hell was that?" Sam asked as Dean hurried over to a stereo.

Dean knelt in front of it, trying to turn the stereo on. "I don't know, but we are taking the escalator back downstairs." He tried turning the knob, and hitting it. "Cas!"

Sarah looked over at her father. "I think Dad finally lost it," she said.

"Cas talked to me before, using this "phone home" radio thing, so I..." Dean turned back to the stereo. "Cass!"

"I can hear you," Castiel spoke, but not from the stereo. The Winchesters looked over at the TV, where the angel's mug was flashing on the screen, like a 90s or older, picture quality.

Dean stood up and rushed over to the TV. "Cas? Hey. So, I found both Sam and Sarah, b-but something just happened. There was this weird beam of light-"

"Don't go into the light!" Castiel told him.

Sam and Sarah joined them.

"I feel obligated to make _A Bug's Life_ reference, right now," Sarah admitted.

"How would insects help?" he asked, confused.

"Never mind," she told the angel.

"Okay, so what was it?" Dean asked, getting back on topic.

"Not what, who," said Castiel. He was flashing in and out, every now and then, it would flash to his mouth. "Zachariah. He's searching for you."

Sam asked, "And, if he finds us?"

"You can't say, yes, to Michael and Lucifer if you're dead, so Zachariah needs to return you to your bodies," he explained.

"Great. Problem solved," he said, in relief.

"No, you don't understand," Castiel tried to tell them. "Y-you're behind the wall. This is a rare opportunity."

"For what?" Dean asked.

"You need to find an angel. His name is Joshua."

"Hey, man," he objected, "but we are, kind of, ass-ful of angels, okay? You find him."

"I can't. I can't return to heaven."

Sam shifted on his feet. "So, what's so important about Joshua?" he asked.

"The rumor is, he talks to God."

Dean shrugged, "And? So?"

"You think maybe, just maybe, we should find out what the hell, God has been saying?"

"Geez," Dean looked over at his brother. "Touchy."

"Please. I just need you to follow the road."

"What road?" Sam asked.

"It's called, the Axis Mundi. It's a path that runs through heaven. Different people see it as different things. For you, it's a two-lane asphalt. The road will lead you to the garden. You'll find Joshua, there. And, Joshua..." Castiel paused. "He can take us to God."

Sam and Dean stared at him, but Sarah was staring at the floor, thinking about something else.

"The garden. Please. Hurry." The TV shut off.

Sam and Dean turned to face each other.

"So, what do you think?" Sam asked his brother and niece.

"I think we hit the yellow bricks, find this Joshua cat," Dean suggested.

Sam stared at his brother. "Really?"

Dean stared back at him and shrugged. "What? You don't?"

"No, I, uh, I'm just surprised you do. I mean, last I checked, you wanted to break God's nose. Now, you think He can help?"

He looked down at the floor. "He's the only one who can," Dean admitted, looking up at Sam. "I mean, come on, Sam. We are, royally, boned. So, prayer... A last hope of a desperate man." They stared at each other, before heading out the front door.

Sarah remained where she was standing, still in thought. She had a bad feeling all over. Zachariah were looking for the brothers. Not her. Was this the end of her road?


	172. Chapter 172-Dark Side of the Moon (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 172

Since the road had somehow disappeared, outside, Dean started searching everywhere, around the downstairs part of the house, including the closet. Sarah had snapped out of her thoughts. She decided to keep them to herself, though. Her father and uncle had a lot on their plates, at the moment, the possibility of Sarah not coming back with them, seemed like it would over stuff it.

Dean ended up finding an old toy racetrack when he looked in the closet. "I used to have one of these," he said, picking up one of the cars, "when I was a kid." A big smile was on his face. "Hey, Sarah, come race your dad."

Sarah held her hands on her hips. "What do I look like? Five?"

He had already placed the car on the track, and was moving it around the track, with the one-button remote.

Sam and Sarah knelt beside him. "That was the road?" Sam asked.

Dean was looking around, with just his eyes. "I guess."

The three of them looked around where they had appeared. It looked like a young child's bedroom.

"Pretty trippy, right?"

Sarah was looking around the room when Sam said, "More trippy. Um, apparently...um, you wuv hugz." She looked up at Sam, then over at her father, her eyes spotting his T-shirt, underneath his over shirt. Sarah couldn't help let out a tiny snicker.

Dean looked down at his shirt and glared at his family. "Shut up," he told them.

"Aw, Dad. Do you want a hug?" Sarah asked, wearing a smirk. She had to tease him for this. It was too great to pass up.

"Hey, watch it," he pointed at her. "You, I can ground."

"Can you ground someone in heaven?"

"Well, to be _ground_ -ed, you have to be on the ground, so..."

"I'm about to smack both of you, up-side the head," Dean told the other two off. He pointed at Sam, "You, stop encouraging it," he pointed over at Sarah, "you, you _will_ be the first person, to be grounded, in heaven. Do I make myself, clear?"

"Crystal," Sarah responded, which Sam agreed.

Dean looked away, looking around the room. "Wait a minute. I know where we are."

The other two turned back around. "Where?" Sam asked.

He scoffed and looked over at him. "We're home." Dean heard someone call his name. Their heads turned when the door opened and the boys' mother, Mary, poked her head in.

"Hey, Dean. You hungry?"

The Winchesters, especially Dean, couldn't believe it.

Downstairs, in the kitchen, Dean sat at the kitchen table, where his mother had set a plate, with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and poured him, a glass of milk.

Dean smiled up at her.

"You want the crusts cut off?" she asked him.

"Yeah, I...I'd love that."

Mary proceeded in cutting off the crust, from all four sides of the sandwich.

Sam and Sarah watched a ways away, in the archway, to the kitchen. Sam leaned against the frame, while Sarah stood next to her uncle. Both of them had their hands shoved in their pockets.

To Sarah, it felt like she was watching a live home movie of her father's childhood. How many children got to see, even a glimpse, firsthand, of their parents' past? Not just on a TV, watching it, recorded, with the date in one of the corners of the screen, but actually, in person, one could say, standing in their parents' childhood home. Sarah did not want this to end, for her father. She knew this meant a lot to him, to see his mother, again.

Sam tried to call out to Mary, but since it wasn't his memory, as well, it was as if he and Sarah wasn't even there.

"Dean, uh," Sam spoke after the disappointment. "We should...go. Keep looking for the road."

"I know," he told his brother. "Just...Just give me a minute, okay?"

But, Sam tried to press, further.

Sarah glared up at her uncle, out of the corner of her eye. She understood this was difficult for the guy, to watch, knowing he never got to know their mother, but Dean did, and if this was one of his greatest hits, then Dean had every right to treasure it. In fact, he earned it. "Go in the other room, if it bothers you, that much," she told him. Sarah didn't mean to sound harsh, with her uncle. She was just frustrated.

Sam understood. He nodded at the floor.

Mary finished cutting off the crust. She rubbed Dean on the head, before taking the knife and cutting board over to the sink. The phone rang. Mary answered it, in a soft tone, before it, suddenly changed, turning around when she seen Dean looking back at her. "No, John," she said, in a lower voice so he couldn't hear. Or, so she thought, anyways. "We're not having this conversation, again."

She paused, before she asked, "Time to think? About what?' Mary glanced over at Dean, for a brief second. "You have two boys, at home."

Dean stared at nothing. "I remember this," he admitted. "Mom and Dad were fighting, and then, he moved out for a couple days."

Sarah couldn't help feel and look confused. Her eyebrow lowered.

"Dad always said they had the perfect marriage," she heard Sam say.

Dean didn't look back at him. "It wasn't perfect until after she died."

"Fine. Then, don't," they heard Mary say over the phone. "There's nothing more to talk about." She, then slammed the phone receiver, down, onto its hook.

Sarah stared down at the floor. First, they find out John and Mary were bought, together, by a cupid, and now, this? She was starting to see how big of dicks the angels were. How much pain can one put a family, through?

"What happens, next?" Sam asked.

Dean didn't answer. He stood up and headed over to his mother, stopping in front of her. "It's okay, Mom," he assured and wrapped his arms around her. "Dad still loves you. I love you, too. I'll never leave you."

The waterworks immediately were turned on, as a single tear floated, gently down Sarah's cheek, as she watched the scene play out in front of her. Another one fell when Mary spoke.

"You...are my little angel," Mary cupped Dean's face, in her hands, just as he had done for Sarah, not long ago. Sarah could see her father smile for his mother. The moment ended when Mary offered him, some pie.

 _That explains so much_ , Sarah thought to herself.

Dean watched her, walk away, before he walked back over to the table. He looked over his brother, first. "What?" he asked.

Sam shook his head and gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I just never realized how long you've been cleaning up Dad's messes."

Dean looked away, at the floor. "Whatever. Let's keep moving," he told him. Dean walked back into the kitchen, looking out the window while the other two searched around, elsewhere.

Sarah looked around the front hallway of the house, checking every closet and shelf space, possible. She ducked low, to look through a lower cabinet of a bookshelf, holding onto the knobs. When she saw nothing in there, Sarah closed both doors. Her eyes caught something, sitting on one of the uppers shelves.

She rose, slowly, to see it was her stuffed fire monkey Pokemon, Chimchar. What was he doing here? If Chimchar was there, that meant it was a connection to one of her other memories, but what did the fire monkey have to do with a road? Sarah reached out to grab it, staring at the toy.

"Guys, I found something!" she called out to the brothers, not removing her eyes from the toy. Sam and Dean hurried over to where Sarah was.

"What is it, Peanut?" Sam asked, slowing down. He and his brother walked up, behind the preteen, stopping on either side of her. When they saw the toy, Sam and Dean were just as confused as Sarah was.

"That's not a road," said Dean. But, the Winchesters realized they weren't at home, any longer.

Sam was the first to look around at his surroundings. They were now in a hospital room. What caught his eye, made Sam flinch. He hit Dean on the arm, motioning over at the bed.

Dean twisted around to see what Sam was looking at. "What the hell?" He couldn't understand it, either.

Sarah looked up from her toy, over at what the brothers were looking at. Sitting up, over on the bed, was John Winchester, bandaged up from the car crash.

Dean looked at his daughter, for an explanation. "This is a happy memory for you?" he questioned of her. "When I was dying?"

All Sarah could do, was shrug up at her father. She tried to get some kind of explanation out, when they heard John call over to her. "Wait, Sarah," he told her, as if she was leaving. "Come here. I want to speak with you."

She stared over at her grandfather, in realization. "Wait, I remember, now." Her feet automatically headed over to the bed. The brothers watched as she climbed onto the bed, and leap-frogged over John's legs as if her shoulder was dislocated, again, sitting next to him, who put his arm around her.

"I wanted to let you know how proud I am, especially back on that vampire hunt. I never expected just how mature you really are. When you chopped that vamp's head off, you did it with out a smile. I never saw you mess around or anything," he told her.

"Dad would beat my ass if I played around with a weapon," Sarah said.

Dean stared down at the floor, closing his eyes. He felt, badly, using that phasing with her, knowing now that his daughter actually got beaten, when she was younger.

"That's good to hear, but, I'm still proud. You did good, sweetheart," Dean heard his father continue. John would have felt, differently, if he had known, as well.

Sarah looked up at her grandfather, holding her monkey in her right arm, between them. She never thought she would ever see him, again. "Papa never told me, he was proud of me, before," she shook her head.

"Sounds to me like those people don't know what the real meaning of family is," John smiled down at her.

She smiled, in return and laid her head against him. "You're the best grandpa in the whole world."

John continued to smile, hugging her head to him. "Always remember this, sweetheart. I love you and I, will always love you, no matter what."

"I love you, too, Grandpa," Sarah replied, looking up at him. "I can't wait until we go on more hunts, together. I like riding shotgun with you. With the four of us, together, we can, evenly, split up. One time, I can go with you, while other times, I can go with Dad, and once we figure out what we're dealing with, we can all kill it, together. Then, when we find the demon, again, we can all gang up on it and take it, down. He won't even know what hit him, right, Grandpa? 'Cause, Dad's gonna get better. I have to keep telling myself, that, right?"

John took a silent breath. Both Sam and Dean could tell, their father knew what he had to to. What the man was thinking. Even Sarah could see that, now. John had it planned all along, that he had to make that sacrifice to save Dean. "Right, kiddo. Your dad's strong, he'll hang on."

"I'm so thankful for my family," she smiled. After everything they've been through, made that statement, even more true.

John smiled, in return. "Same here." He hugged Sarah, one last time and kissed the top of her head, before letting her go. John watched her, head back over to the brothers, as if she was leaving the room.

Sarah stared at the floor, as she walked, stopping in front of them, raising her head. "Grandpa said, what I wished Papa would have told me, and right after Papa and I had that huge fight, where he had slapped me, too," she explained to them. Sarah looked back at her grandfather.

"I remember this, too," Dean admitted. "I was here, listening, when I was a ghost."

"Boy, was I stupid and naive," Sarah said, out loud, still staring over at John.

"You weren't stupid, Peanut," Sam assured her. "Neither of us knew what was going to happen. You were just looking on the bright side of things. At least, one of us was."

Sarah turned her head, to stare down at the floor, in front of her.

Dean reached out and gripped the back of her neck. Both him and Sam continued their search, for the road. Sam looked inside the nightstand drawer, while Dean checked the medical cabinets and glanced out the window, as well.

It was Sam, who found the next piece. "I've seen this somewhere, before," he told Dean and Sarah, holding up a postcard that said, Route 66 on the back, and a picture of a road.

Dean asked, "Where?"

The post card appeared on the wall, with a couple dozen other postcards. All three looked around at their new surroundings. Now, they were in some motel room.

"Where are we, now?" Sarah asked, this time.

Sam stared at the floor, a smile appearing on his face. "No way." He looked over in time, to see a Golden Retriever hurry over to him. "Bones! Hey, come here!" Sam motioned for the dog, who came right to him. The dog licked at his face.

Dean questioned, "Bones?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Bones was my dog."

Sarah stared in bewilderment. "Hey! I've been begging for a dog since I was seven, and," she looked over at her father, "he got to have one?"

"This is news to me, believe me," Dean told her.

Sam sat over on the couch, opening up a pizza box that was sitting on the coffee table.

Dean looked around the place. "Is this Flagstaff?" he asked of Sam.

"Yeah," Sam smiled, hugely, up at his brother, as he rubbed the back of the dog's head and acknowledged it, again.

Dean stared at his brother. "What is with you two? First, Sarah's happy memory back during while I was dying, and now, this?"

"Yeah," Sam said and shrugged. "I mean, I was on my own for two weeks. I lived off of Funyuns and Mr. Pibb." Bones snatched the pepperoni out of his hand.

"Wow," was all Dean managed to get out, staring at Sam.

Sam looked up at his brother, confused. "What?"

"You don't remember, do you?" he asked him. "You ran away on my watch. I looked everywhere for you. I thought you were dead. And, when Dad came home..." Dean stopped himself, unable to speak. His own personal memories during this time, rushing back to him.

Sam's smile vanished. He rolled his head, feeling guilty, now.

Dean looked away.

Sarah looked from her uncle, up, towards her father, looking between them. She knew he was trying to hide his feelings.

"Dean, look- I'm sorry," he tried to tell him. "I-I never thought about it like that."

Dean looked back at Sam. "Forget it. Let's roll." He, then, stormed out the door.

Sarah watched her father, leave. She looked back at her uncle, giving him a concerned look and not the good kind, either. A CD on the coffee table caught her eye. "Did you like Carrie Underwood before you met me?" she asked him.

"No," he shook his head. "You introduced me to her music, remember?"

Sarah picked up the CD, to get a closer look at it. Suddenly, all three of them were standing in the middle of a concert hall, with hundreds of screaming fans all around them. Mostly, teenage girls and young women.

"What the hell is this?!" Dean yelled over the music, as the country/pop singer sang _Before He Cheats_.

Sarah's eyes widened as she stared forward, through a couple young women, in their late twenties, jamming along, right at one of her favorite singers. "This is the concert Uncle Sam took me to, last year!" she yelled back. "This was such an awesome night! Right, Uncle Sam?!" Sarah looked over at her uncle, who was also smiling, again.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say, this is both of yours' happy memory." Dean noticed what they were wearing, nodding at their matching shirts. Both Sam and Sarah looked down at the Carrie Underwood concert T-shirts they were wearing.

"I never seen Sarah have so much fun, than she did, this night!" Sam told his brother over the music.

Dean held his hands out, looking over at his daughter. "What about the rock concert I took you to?!" he also said over the music.

"Yeah, that was a great night, too," Sarah yelled back.

He shrugged, keeping his hands out, "Besides the day we met, I have yet to see one of our moments!"

"I don't have a favorite memory!" She didn't mean to make that sound harsh. Having to yell over the music, made it seem that way, and Dean didn't stick around for his daughter to finish.

Sam and Sarah exchanged looks between each other, before following after them. Going through one of the concert hall's entrances, they walked out, onto another road. It was daylight, out.

"Where is this?" Sam asked. It wasn't a place he had ever visited. Trees surrounded the area, on either side of the road, with a rest stop on the right side of it. In the background, there was a couple tall mountains. The sky was overcast, but there wasn't any rain or sign that it had rained yet.

Dean noticed the Impala parked nearby. "Sarah," he finally spoke, looking over at a walking trail.

"Yeah, Dad?" Her and Sam was back in their usual clothes.

"Do you remember this place?"

Sarah looked around at the area, eventually looking down the trail, her father was looking at. It eventually hit her. "Isn't this where you took me, fishing, last summer?"

"I think so."

The Winchesters walked down the dirt trail, walking for a mile, until they came to a large lake. Beside the lake, in front of them, was the tree stump, Dean and Sarah sat on.

Dean turned around to look at his daughter. "I dreamed of taking you fishing, one day. And, when we finally did... This was the happiest I felt in a long time. Even after hell."

"Same here. I had a great time, that weekend," she agreed.

"But, it wasn't a favorite? You prefer seeing a concert with Sam than fishing with me?"

"What?" Sarah stared at her father. "Dad, I meant I didn't have _a_ favorite memory, back there." She put emphasis on "a."

Dean forced a smirk. "Hm," he scoffed, and turned around to head over to the log.

"I don't, because _all_ of them are my favorite," she called after him. It stopped her father, in his tracks.

He twisted back around. "What?"

She shrugged, "I can't choose which of our moments we've shared, together, because I love them all. Honesty."

Dean took a step towards her. "Seriously?"

Sarah nodded. "Everything you have ever done for me, or with me, I treasure the most, out of all my happy moments, in life. Even if you were to ask me," she shook her head, "I couldn't do it. I couldn't pick."

"I'm sorry, Baby Girl. I didn't mean..."

"I know," she assured her father and smiled.

Dean returned it.

The two of them took the time, to relive that moment, enjoying the familiar sounds and scenery.

As they headed back towards the road, Sarah slowed back, to walk next to her uncle.

"You know I didn't mean I loved spending time with Dad, more. I treasured the times we've shared, too," she assured him.

"I know, and I'm sorry about earlier," he told her. "I really was thinking of you, when I was trying to help you patch things up with your grandparents."

"That's a relief," Sarah shrugged.

When they reached the road, again, it had gotten darker. Nightfall had fallen. Sam was the first to see that the rest stop had turned into a cabin. Sarah heard him let out a sigh. She looked up at him, before looking over at what he was staring at. She could see he recognized the memory.

"Another one of your memories?" she asked him.

He nodded, not saying a word.

Dean looked over at Sarah, switching over towards Sam, and then, over at what they were looking at. "What memory is this?" he asked.

Since Sarah had already caught on to it, Sam couldn't lie. He still tried to hurry Dean along before he realized which one it was. "All right. Come on". Dean continued to stare forward, at the rundown house. "Dean. Road, God. Remember?"

Dean finally looked back at his brother. He, slowly, turned around to face him and Sarah, looking down the road. That was when he did remember, but not what Sam hoped. Dean looked at his brother, sideways, "this?"

Sam let out a small sigh, unable to look at his brother, any longer.

"This is the night you ditched us for Stanford, isn't it?" He stared at Sam. "This is your idea of heaven? Wow." Dean looked off to the side, forcing a smirk and a laugh.

"I can't control this stuff," he shrugged.

Dean had turned back to the house for a brief moment. He looked back at Sam, to ask, "Seriously?" but not in the same way he had asked his daughter. Quite the opposite, actually. "This is a happy memory for you?"

"I don't know," Sam shrugged, once more. "I mean, I was on my own. I finally got away from Dad."

"Yeah, he wasn't the only one you got away from," Dean said, turning his head away, before the rest of his body.

"Dean, I'm sorry. I-I just..."

"Oh, I know," he shot his head, back, towards him, "you didn't think of it like that."

Sam looked up, towards the sky, throwing out his hands. "Dean," he tried to say.

Dean forced another laugh. "Come on! Your heaven is somebody else's Thankgiving, okay? It's bailing on your family. What do you want me to say?"

"Man," Sam shook his head, shifting his feet. "Man, I never got the crusts cut off my PB and J."

Sarah watched up at her uncle. "At least, you can have a PB and J," she reminded him.

He sighed at the ground. He tried to tell his brother, "I..." Sam paused. "I just don't look at family the same way you do."

"Yeah, but, I'm your family. _We're_ your family," Dean reminded him, angrily.

"I know..."

"We're supposed to be a team. It's supposed to be you, me, and Sarah, against the world, right?" Dean shook his head, once.

"Dean," Sam shifted his feet, again. "It is."

Dean stared at his brother, pondering on that statement. He looked away, briefly, before he asked, "Is it?"

Sam let out a frustrated breath of air.

"If it weren't for that memory we shared, back there," Sarah motioned over her shoulder, "I'd be wondering the same thing."

He looked over at his niece, who gave him, a puzzled look. Sam returned it with a reassuring one, until a beam of light shot on, overhead, drowning them in it. The Winchesters' heads shot up, at it.

At once, the three of them took off at a fast sprint, running for cover. They ran into the woods, dashing through the trees, not one of them looking back. Coming to an overturned log, the Winchesters leaped over it, ducking on the other side, behind it. Sam, Dean, and Sarah took the time to catch their breath, as they sat there, hoping they had gotten away.

Unfortunately, they heard Zachariah's voice. "Wow," he said. "Running from angels. On foot. In heaven. With out-of-the-box thinking like that, I'm surprised, you three, haven't stopped the apocalypse, already."

It suddenly turned back to daylight.

"Guys," Zachariah continued. "What's the problem? I just want to send you back to earth. That's all." The Winchesters stole a look over their shoulders, to see the angel standing a way's away, with his back turned to them. They ducked when it looked like he was turning around. "I mean, after I tear you, a cosmos of new ones. You're on my turf, now."

The Winchesters, slowly, exchanged looks among themselves.

"And, by the time I'm through with you, you're gonna be begging to say, yes."

At just the right moment, the Winchesters took off, at another run. They ran until they bumped into Zachariah, who had reappeared in front of their path.

"Guys, come on," he told them. "You can run, but you can't _run_."

Sam, Dean, and Sarah turned on their heels, and ran another way. This time, they ran into someone different, wearing a wrestling mask and cape.

"Shh." It sounded like a guy. "Hurry," he told them. "This way!" and shot around, running off in the direction they had been running. With no other idea on where to go, the Winchesters decided to follow the stranger, hoping he was, really there, to help.

The stranger led the Winchesters to an outhouse, drawing a sigil on the wooden door, with a piece of chalk. Once he was finished drawing, the stranger threw open the door and told them to hurry inside. They hurried inside after him, which Sam asked, "Wait, who are you?"

It was dark inside the hideout, but you can see the stranger take off the mask and toss it over his shoulder, along with the cape. "Buenos dias, bitches and runt."

Sarah recognized that voice, anywhere. "Ash?"

The stranger clapped his hands, together, the sound echoing throughout the room. The lights came on, to show, it was, indeed, Ash. He held his hands in the air, "Welcome to my blue heaven." He grinned at them and grabbed onto his belt.

 ** _*On Sarah's greatest hits with her father, I, honesty, could not decide on which memories to use. I even spent a full work night, at my job, thinking about it, and I could not choose. So, that's why there wasn't one. Dean's, with Sarah, was just as hard, too._**


	173. Chapter 173- Dark Side of the Moon (P3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 173

She couldn't believe she was seeing the guy, again. Sarah never thought they would. But, here he was. She felt herself walk over and hug the guy, wrapping her arms around his waist. Sarah expected to be shoved away. To her surprise, Ash wrapped an arm around her head, holding it to him.

Sarah let go and backed away as Sam and Dean stepped towards them, stepping down the steps. "My God," said Dean. "The Roadhouse. Even smells the same."

Ash picked up his cape and mask, tossing it in the opposite direction he had thrown it, the first time. "Bud, blood, and beer nuts," he said. "It's the best smell in the world." Ash walked around the bar, going behind it. He snapped his fingers, "how 'bout a cold one? Up here, no hangover."

The Winchesters walked over, grabbing a stool. Sarah was thrilled when she didn't have to struggle, pulling herself up on one.

Ash handed two beers, he pulled from behind the bar, to Sam and Dean. "Man, can't believe how much you've grown, runt," he commented. "I can, barely recognize ya."

Sarah couldn't help, blush.

Dean grinned over at his daughter, popping open his can of beer. He could see that crush Sarah admitted to having, on Ash, hadn't gone anywhere. He nodded at her, teasing Sarah.

Sarah noticed, looking over at her father and gave him a warning look, that told him, to cut it out.

"So," Sam began, changing the subject, "I mean, no offense..."

"How's a dirtbag like me, end up in a place like this?" Ash finished for the middle Winchester, nodding towards the ceiling. He, barely, shrugged, "been saved, man. I was my congregation's number one, snake handler."

His eyebrows rose at that. "And, you said, this was your heaven?"

"Yep," Ash was, now, cracking open his own can of beer, but not the way, intended. "My own," he stabbed a hole in the side, "personal." and chugged down the whole can from the hole he made, crushing it in, one hand. Ash let out a belch.

Dean looked from Ash, down at his own beer, that he hadn't even taken one drink from.

Ash looked over at Sam. "And, when the angels jumped us, we were..." Sam continued.

"In your heaven," he finished.

"So, there are two heavens?"

Ash looked between, "No, more like a hundred billion. So, no worries. It'll take them angel boys a minute to check up."

Dean shared a look with his daughter.

"See, you got to stop thinking of heaven as one place. It's more like a buttload of places," he explained, using his hands to emphasis what Ash was trying to convey. "All crammed, together. Like, Disneyland, except without all the anti-semitism."

Sarah stared at the guy, her eyebrow raised. "Disneyland?" she questioned.

"Mm-hm," he nodded. "You see, you got Winchesterland." Ash held his hands, halfway up, "Ashland," and waved them around, as he said, "a whole mess of everybody else lands. Put them all, together." Ash closed his fists. "Heaven, right?" He looked between the three of them. "At the center of it all, is the magic kingdom. The Garden."

"So, everybody gets a little slice of paradise," Dean said.

"Pretty much. Few people share. Special cases, what not."

"What do you mean, special?" he asked.

"Oh, you know," Ash looked up at him, looking to Sam and Sarah, next, "like, soul mates." Ash, quickly dropped it. "Anyways. Most people can't leave their own Idahos."

Dean pointed at him, "But, you ain't most people," with the same hand that was holding his beer.

"Nope," he shook his head. "They ain't got my skills. Hell, I've been all over. Johnny Cash. Andre, the giant." Ash looked over at Sam, "Einstein. Sam, that man can mix a White Russian."

Sarah's eyebrow lowered, again. "Einstein is fighting Russians, now?" she asked, confused.

Ash stared at Sam, for a moment, chewing on his tongue. He finally looked over at Sarah. "It's an adult drink, not a person," he explained to her.

"Oh." She looked down at the bar, in front of her.

"Glad to hear you still got some kid in ya," he admitted.

Sarah looked back up, at the guy, which he smirked at her. She forced one for him.

"So, how'd you find us?" Sam asked.

" _I_ rigged up my very own," Ash took his laptop out, from under the bar, setting it on top, "holy rollin' police scanner. He stabbed at a key, on the keyboard, turning on the sound. The ear-screeching sound of angels howled, loudly. Sarah shoved her fingers in her ears. "That's angels, blabbin' Enochian, okay? I'm fluent." He pressed the key, again, turning the sound off.

Sarah unplugged her ears.

"I heard that you were up," Ash put his laptop away. "'Course, I had to come find you," he looked at Sam, " _again_."

Sam looked over at Dean.

"Again?" Dean questioned.

"It ain't the first time you been here," Ash told only the brothers. "I mean, you boys die, more than anyone I have ever met." He looked over at Sarah, "As far as I know, this is a first for you."

"I've had a few close calls, but I had an angel looking out for me," she admitted, quickly, added. "A nice one."

"So, we've been here, before?" asked Dean.

Ash looked over at him, "Ah, yeah. You don't remember." He turned his head away, "God, angels. Must have windexed your brains," and turned back to the brothers.

"So, uh," Sam changed the subject, "I mean, have you found anybody else? Ellen and Jo?"

Ash stared at Sam, like it was news to him. He looked from him, to Dean. "Ellen and Jo are dead?" When Dean looked down at his beer, Ash switched back to Sam.

He dropped his gaze, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, a few months, now." Sam looked back up at Ash, to apologize, sincerely.

"Um," Ash cleared his clear, holding tough. "Uh, they went down, fighting?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "To the end."

Sarah dropped her head, when the subject of Ellen and Jo dying, came up. She heard her father mumble, out loud, "Yeah, a lot of good it did." She looked over at him, which Sam did, as well.

This time, Dean changed the subject. "What about our folks?"

Ash leaned his elbow on the bar, "Been lookin' all over for John Winchester. Mary, too." He looked between the brothers. "So far, nada. I'm sorry."

So, the Winchesters explained to Ash, they were trying to get to the Garden, which he told them, he may be able to help reach it, faster, instead of getting there, by the Road of Memories. Ash took a seat at the bar, with his laptop, with the brothers on either side of him. That is, until Sarah cleared her throat at them.

Sam and Dean looked over at her, confused.

She nodded her head, to the side, which got a head tilt from her father. Sarah dropped her arms, limply, on the bar, tilting her own head, as if to ask, "Really?" Sam finally got the message, she wanted a private word, alone, with Ash, standing up, off the stool.

When Dean stood up, off his stool, he winked and smirked at Sarah, teasing her.

"Dad, will you, please, stop? That was three years ago. I am over it," she hissed at him.

"Sure," he nodded, with a grin. Dean wasn't buying it, but he and Sam left the other two alone, to talk.

"So," Sarah began when they were out of earshot of the brothers, looking at the can of soda she had in her hands.

Ash glanced over at the preteen, out of the corner of his eye. "What's up?" He looked back at his laptop screen.

"I, uh..." Sarah turned the tab on top. "Miss Ellen told me, I met you all, before I met my dad."

"Yep."

Sarah looked up. "You know, already?"

"It's one of my memories, here," he told her.

"It is?"

Ash looked over at the preteen, fully, this time. "Used to follow me around. Kind of annoying, really." He shrugged, "At first, anyway."

"She said, I idolized you. Anywhere you went, I had to go, too," she said.

Ash leaned on his arms. "You were the smartest tot I have ever met."

"And, how many have you met?" she asked, glancing up at the ceiling, at first.

"Not much," he admitted. "Never cared for the kiddos... Until you."

Sarah shrugged. "What made me so special? Besides me being smart like you?"

Ash stared back at his laptop, silent.

She dropped her gaze, back down at her soda. "I'm sorry," thinking she had touched a sensitive spot. Things were quiet for a moment, until Sarah continued. "Emily says everyone falls in love with me. Guess, maybe, even you're not immune to it," she shrugged, not looking up.

"Your mom." Ash grumbled at the thought of Emily.

"Miss Ellen also said, you and her used to get into it, like Emily and Miss Ellen did," she looked up at him. "If it makes you feel better, everyone winds up, getting into it, with her. Emily has that effect on people."

He stared over at the preteen. "You don't need to make excuses for her."

"I'm not," Sarah shrugged. "Just saying, my mother was a hard one to get along with. Not that people haven't tried. She, just didn't want to. Emily wanted attention and when she didn't get it, she flips."

"And, like a coward, takes it out on those who can't defend themselves," he added, referring to Sarah.

"Pretty much."

"You, at least, remember the advice I gave you, once?"

"I was two. The only thing I remembered, was the pool table," she motioned over at the pool table, nearby. "Not much else. Why, what did you say?"

Ash glanced between his laptop and Sarah, "Not to let anyone bully you, especially her."

Sarah couldn't help snicker into her soda.

"What?" he asked, confused.

She took a swig, swallowing it, before she answered, "I may not remember you telling me, but, it's the reason I get ornery, at times, like when people used to call me, short. Sorry 'bout the way I treated you, back when I met you..." Sarah looked up at the ceiling. "The second time, that is. I was quite the dick, back then."

Ash scoffed at his laptop. "That you were."

Sarah rubbed at the back of her head, staring at nothing.

"But, you want to know something?" he looked back at Sarah.

She looked up at him.

"That night Ellen left me, in charge of you. And, you grinned that crooked smile of yours..." Ash stared, intently at her. He shook his head, once, "I swore, I thought I saw that familiar look, again."

Sarah's face, softened. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Ash stared at his keyboard. "For one," he said, "it seemed to good to be true."

Sarah watched his expression. He was remaining firm, as he could and continued his search. Glancing away, she said, "I heard you locked yourself up in your room. Why?" she shrugged.

Ash didn't respond. Instead, he messed around on his laptop. His watch caught her eye.

"Did I really give you that?" Sarah nodded at it.

He looked over at her, glancing down at his watch. Ash removed it, to hold it in his hands. "I only removed it for two reasons. To shower, and..."

Sarah waited for the guy to continue. "And?" she encouraged him.

Ash stared at the watch. "...The day you left. Didn't put it back on, not until a couple days, later." Things grew quiet, again. After a moment, he said, "No body had ever done anything like this, for me." He looked over at Sarah. "It blew my mind."

"I wish I could remember," she told him, looking down at her soda.

"You can," he said and motioned, back, over his shoulder. "It's your heaven."

Sarah looked up, at him, with just her eyes.

Something popped up on Ash's laptop, interrupting their conversation. "Bingo," he said.

"You find the Garden?" she asked.

"Yup."


	174. Chapter 174- Dark Side of the Moon (P4)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 174

Ash drew another sigil, on the inside of the door, this time. "All-access pass to the magic kingdom," he said.

Dean stood behind, watching him. "Good."

He looked back at Dean.

"Not good?"

"That Zach fella's gonna be watching every road to the Garden," Ash pointed two fingers at his eyes. When he finally finished the sigil, Ash stood up, facing the Winchesters, and let out a long sigh. "Gentlemen," he nodded over at Sarah, "miss," and switched between the three of them. "I don't mean to be a downer or anything, but, uh..." he shrugged up his shoulders. "I'm sure I'll see you, again, soon." Ash stared over at Dean, "Watch out for that kid of yours. She's, definitely, a fighter."

He couldn't help smile. "I know."

Ash grew serious. "No, seriously. I got kneed in the groin, by her, once. Couldn't feel anything for two whole minutes."

"Tell me about it," Sam agreed, with his own half smile, remembering back to when he first met his niece.

Dean stared over at his daughter. "When did you..." Before Sarah could defend herself, Ash spoke up, again.

"Relax. She was only two, and I had told her to do it."

He stared over at Ash, dumbfounded. "You told a two-year-old to knee you, in the groin?"

"I was teaching her how to defend herself. The kid felt sorry afterwards. No big deal."

Dean's eyebrows were raised. "Um, okay, then. We'll be hitting the road, then."

Ash opened the door, with his back still facing it. The brothers went through, first. When Sarah followed behind, she stopped in front of Ash, her hands shoved into her pockets, as she stared at the floor.

She looked up at the guy, with just her eyes.

"Come here." Ash pulled the preteen in, with one arm, hugging it to him. Sarah latched onto him, again.

"At least this time, we get a goodbye," she tried to look on the bright side, looking off to the side.

"Yeah," was all he managed to mutter, trying to hold it, together. Ash pushed away. "Stay gold, Ponyboy."

Sarah considered on that. "Did you just quote _The Outsiders_?"

Ash just shook his head, a grin forcing its way out. He shoved her head out the door, "Get out of here." Sarah stumbled out of the door, catching herself. When she looked back, Ash and the Roadhouse was gone.

She turned back around, facing forward, where Sam and Dean stood. They were back in the brothers' old house, talking to their mother, again. Only, things got darker, this time around, and not literally, either.

"Then, how about I tell you _my_ nightmare, Dean?" Mary was saying. "The night I burned." Suddenly, blood appeared, dripping down the front of her nightgown.

Sarah stared at the scene. "What the hell?"

Dean was staring, too. "Baby Girl, Sammy, let's get out of here," he told them. He turned and started walking. Mary stopped him in his tracks.

"Don't you walk away!" she ordered Dean. He, slowly turned around, to face her, again. "I never loved you. You were my burden." Dean couldn't believe what his mother just told him. "I was shackled to you." Suddenly, her eyes flashed yellow. "Look what it got me."

"Don't listen to her, Dad," Sarah told her father. "It's probably a sick prank, Zachariah's probably playing on you." Right as she said that, bright light shined through the windows, grabbing their attention. When the Winchesters looked over, the windows was barred up, with brick walls.

Dean looked back at his mother, as her eyes flashed back to her normal, green ones.

"The worst was the smell," she continued, walking to the side, as Mary watched him. "The pain, well... What can you say about your skin bubbling off? But, the smell..was so..." Mary had looked to the floor. She looked back up with just her eyes and smiled, "you know, for a second, I thought I left a pot roast, burning, in the oven."

Dean tried to speak, but his mother's words were getting to him.

"But," she tilted her head, to the side. "It was my meat. And, then, finally, I was dead."

He backed up, slowly, towards the window, closest to him, and touched it.

"The one silver lining is..." she paused for a second. "At least, I was away from you." Mary sighed as Dean turned around. "Everybody leaves you, Dean. You noticed? Mommy. Daddy." She smiled over at Sam, "Even Sam."

Sarah spoke up to her grandmother, or the memory of her grandmother. "Not everyone."

She looked over at the preteen and tilted her head, a little, this time. "Actually, you did. Last summer."

Sarah remained quiet. She couldn't deny it. After their huge fight, Sarah needed a break and ditched her father, for the ones she had tried so hard to avoid. Her gaze dropped to the floor. "I just needed some time away," she muttered. "I planned to come right back."

Mary looked back at her oldest son. "You ever ask yourself, why? Maybe, it's not them," she nodded. "Maybe, it's you." She smiled, evilly, chuckling to herself.

"Easy now, kitten." Sarah looked up to see Zachariah enter the room.

"You did this," Sam glared at the angel.

"And, I'm just getting started," he replied. "I mean, guys. Did you really think you could sneak pass me, into mission control?"

Sam tried to march towards him cursing Zachariah in the process, but was held back. In fact, three more angels, in suits, appeared, each one grabbing a hold of a Winchester.

"You know, I'd say the same thing about you, Sam. But, I have, actually grown, quite fond of your mother." Zachariah looked over at Mary, switching between them, "or, at least, the blessed memory of her. The angel caressed her hair back, away from her neck, reaching over to kiss it, passionately.

Sarah closed her eyes, looking away, as her grandmother allowed it.

"I think we're gonna be logging a lot of quality time, together. I've discovered she's quite the," he looked over at the brothers, "Milf."

Sarah's eyebrows scrunched, together, in confusion. "What does a dairy beverage have to do with my grandmother?" she asked.

Dean sighed under his breath. Of all times, to be focused on something as stupid as that. "Not milk, Sarah. I'll explain when you're older," he rolled his eyes, up towards the ceiling. He glared over at the angel. "Gloat all you want, you dick. You're still bald."

"In heaven, I have six wings and four faces," Zachariah shot back with. "One of which is a lion." He grinned around at each one of them and held up his hands, looking down at himself. "You see this, because you're," Zachariah caressed Mary's arm, up and down, gently, before looking back at them, "you're limited."

When Mary looked back at him, Zachariah snapped his fingers, sending her away. "Let's brass-tack this, shall we?" and took a step towards Dean.

Dean came back with a smart remark. "What? You're gonna ball-gag us until we say, yes? Huh? Yeah, I've heard that tune." It earned him a punch in the gut.

"I'm gonna do a lot more than that," he told him. "I've cleared my schedule." Zachariah told the angel goon to get Dean back up, punching him, again. Sarah struggled to break free, rage building up, inside. "Let me tell you, something." His tone was softer, but colder. "I was on the fast track, once. Employee of the month, every month. Forever. I'd walk these walls, and people would avert their eyes!" It grew louder, at the last part. He looked over at Sam. "I had respect!"

Sarah was staring the angel, down, breathing through her nose as the angel turned back to her father.

"Then, they assigned me, you." His tone was softer, again, switching between the brothers. Zachariah chuckled, turning around and walking away. "Now, look at me. I can't close the deal on a couple of pathetic, flannel-wearing maggots?" He shrugged, his hands folded behind his back. "Everybody's laughing at me."

Zachariah had turned away. He looked back, as he said, softly, "And, they're right to do it. So... Say, yes, don't say, yes. I'm still gonna take it out of your asses. It's personal, now, boys, and, the last person, in the history of creation, you want as your enemy is me." Zachariah was switching his gaze, between the brothers. "And, I'll tell you, why. Lucifer may be strong, but, I'm..." he stopped on Dean, "petty."

Dean stared back at him.

"I'm gonna be the angel on your shoulder, for the rest of eternity," Zachariah looked over at Sam, as he continued.

Someone interrupted the angel. "Excuse me, sir."

Zachariah turned his head around. "I'm in a meeting," he told him, perturbed at the sudden interruption.

"I'm sorry," the newcomer apologized. "I need to speak to those three." He pointed at Dean, Sam, and Sarah.

Zachariah looked back at Dean, before turning back to the guy. "Excuse me?" he asked of him, turning fully around.

"It's a bad time, I know. But, I'm afraid I have to insist."

He scoffed. "You don't get to insist jack squat."

"No, you're right," the newcomer agreed. "But, the Boss does. His orders."

Sarah finally loosened up, raising her head. Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

Zachariah stared at the guy. "You're lying."

The angel stared, right back. "Wouldn't lie about this."

He raised his head, smirking.

"Look. Fire me if you want. Sooner or later, He's gonna come back, home. And, you know how He is, with that whole 'wrath' thing."

Zachariah shot back, to stare at the Winchesters. When he turned back around, he and his henchmen, disappeared, freeing Dean, Sam, and Sarah.

The Winchesters stepped towards the new angel who had just save them, staring at him. The angel stood there, not saying a word. Suddenly, the house had changed.

Sarah noticed, looking around at her new surroundings. Her eyebrows scrunched, together when she saw, she was in the forest from the anime movie, _Pokemon 4-Ever_.

"This is heaven's Garden?" Sam questioned, seeing something, completely different than Sarah.

Dean was looking around at the place. "It's nice...ish," he complimented. All three were walking towards the angel. "I guess."

"You see what you want to, here," he told them. "For some, it's God's throne room. For others, it's Eden. For you two, I believe, it's the Cleveland Botanical Gardens. You came here, on a field trip." The angel looked over at Sarah, who was expecting to see Celebi fly by, any minute now. "For Sarah, I believe, it's the forest from the movie you saw with your cousin, that introduced you to Pokemon."

Sarah suddenly stared over at the angel.

Sam asked him, "You're Joshua?"

He looked over at the giant and nodded, "I'm Joshua."

"So, you...talk to God?"

"Mostly, He talks to me," Joshua corrected him.

The three of them exchanged looks, before Sam told him, they needed to speak with God.

Dean asked, "Where is He?"

"On earth," he replied.

"Doing what?"

"I don't know."

Sam asked, "Do you know where on earth?"

"No, sorry," Joshua apologized. "We don't exactly speak, face to face."

He nodded.

Dean spoke up. "I'm sorry. I-I-I don't get it. God's not talking to nobody, so..."

"So, why is He talking to me?" Joshua finished, sticking his neck out. "I, sometimes, think it's because, I can sympathize, gardener to gardener, and, between us, I think He gets lonely."

"Well, my heart's breaking for Him," he smirked, sarcastically and dropped his gaze.

"Can you, at least, get Him a message for us?" Sam pitched a last ditch-effort.

"Yeah, please," Sarah agreed, hopeful.

Joshua looked over at them. "Actually, He has a message for you." He looked over at Dean, "Back off."

Dean stared back at the angel, glancing over at his brother and daughter. "What?" he questioned.

"He knows, already," Joshua explained. "Everything you want to tell Him."

"But-"

"He knows what the angels are doing. He knows that the apocalypse has begun." He looked between the Winchesters, "He just doesn't think it's His problem."

Dean stared, his mouth, barely, hanging open. "Not His problem?"

"God saved you, already," he told him, firmly. "He put you on that plane. He brought back Castiel. He granted you, salvation, in heaven," Joshua looked over at Sam, "and, after everything you've done, too." He looked back at Dean, "It's more than He's intervened, in a long time.

Joshua let out a sigh. "He's finished. Magic amulet or not, you won't be able to find Him."

"But, He can stop it," Sarah pointed out.

He looked over at the preteen. "I suppose He could, but, He won't."

Dean demanded, "Why not?"

"Why does He allow evil, in the first place? You could drive yourself, nuts, asking questions, like that."

Dean glanced over at his brother, before raising his tone, "So, He's just gonna sit back and watch the world, burn?"

"I know how important this was to you, Dean," Joshua told him and shook his head, "I'm sorry."

He nodded, repeatedly, as Dean mumbled, "Well, forget it. Just another deadbeat dad, with a bunch of excuses, right? Nah, I'm used to that. I'll muddle through." Sarah looked over at her father, with concern.

"Except...you don't know if you can, this time."

Dean stared at the angel, confused how he knew that. No one but he knew that.

"You can't kill the devil, and you're losing faith. In yourself, your brother, and now, this. God was your last hope. I just," Joshua paused. "I wish I could tell you, something different."

Sam shifted on his feet, staring at the ground. "How do we know you're telling the truth?"

"You think I would lie?" he asked of Sam.

"It's just," Sam's voice was breaking, a little. He got it, together. "You're not exactly the first angel we've met."

"I'm rooting for you, boys. I wish I could do more, to help you. I do. But," Joshua sighed. "I just trim the hedges."

"So, what now?" Dean demanded.

Joshua turned around, walking away, "You both go home, again." He turned back to face them, "I'm afraid, this time, won't be like the last."

Dean looked over at the angel.

"This time, God wants you," he raised his hand, "to remember." A bright light illuminated, engulfing Sam and Dean. All three shielded their eyes until the light was gone and Sarah was the only one who remained there.

She looked over at Joshua. "Wait. I'm still here," she called out to him, as he was walking away.

"I know."

"Aren't you gonna send me, back, too?"

Joshua turned around, a second time. "I'm afraid not. God feels it's safer if you remained in heaven."

"Safer?" she questioned. "Since when is God concerned about my safety? He let the demon help locate my dad. He let me become a hunter, at the age of seven. Heck, He was the one who's been having Cas bring me, back when I was dying, before."

"No," he shook his head. "God was not the one, who ordered Castiel to bring you, back. He just...allowed it. But, now, He feels it is time you were able to rest. Believe me, Sarah. It's for the best."

Sarah stared at the angel, in unbelief. She couldn't believe this was actually happening, now. Her fears were right.

Meanwhile, Dean and Sam woke up, back in their motel room. They, greatly, inhaled as their souls were sucked back into their bodies.

"You all right?" Sam asked of his brother.

Dean looked up and over at him. "Define all right," he replied.

Sam looked over at his niece. "You all right, Peanut?" he called over to her.

No response.

Dean's head shot over at where his daughter still laid, motionless. "Baby Girl?"

Nothing.

Dean scrambled over to her, moving to the other side of her body. He dropped to his knees, lifting Sarah into his arms. "Baby Girl, can you hear me?"

Sam stared, in horror as he watched his brother shake his niece.

"Baby Girl! Sarah! Come on! We're back! We're alive! Come on, Baby Girl. Wake up, damn it."

"Dean-"

Dean looked up at his brother, but did not say anything. Instead, he whipped out his cell phone and called Castiel, telling him to get there, now. Castiel appeared in the motel room, with them. "Cas, you gotta bring her, back. Just like before. Please, do it." He was finding it, hard, to contain himself, the anxiety rising, deep inside.

Castiel squatted to his level. "I don't think I can, Dean."

"Just try, damn it!"

Castiel looked at Dean. His gaze dropped down to Sarah's lifeless face, that was once full of life and innocence. Humoring his friend, Castiel reached over and touched her forehead, with two fingers. Nothing happened. Sarah remained, still.

"No, no, no, no, no, no." Dean pulled his arm out from under Sarah's knees, to brush some loose hair from her freckled face. "Sarah, please wake up. Please. I can't lose you, Baby Girl." Tears filled his eyes and a single tear broke loose, falling down one side of his face, as Dean held his little girl in his arms.

Castiel gave his friend a sympathetic look.

Dean shut his eyes, lifting Sarah closer to him, as their foreheads touched. He sniffed in, but more tears sought through.

Sam sat over, on the edge of his bed, facing the other one. His face was in his hands, pushing his hair, back. He couldn't help let a tear or two fall, either. They had finally lost Sarah, for good.


	175. Chapter 175- A Hunter's Burial

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 175

Sarah sat on one of the stools, in the Roadhouse, in one of her memories. She held her head up, with one hand, as she stared at the floor, on the other side. They had come so far, only for this to happen. The place was quiet and deserted, because Sarah wanted it, that way. She didn't feel like reliving any of her memories.

The swinging door to the kitchen was pushed open, and in came Ash. "What's up, neighbor?" he greeted, upbeat. But, Sarah didn't perk up. She acknowledged the guy, at least.

"Hey, Ash," she replied, dejectedly. Sarah turned forward, again.

Ash wandered over and leaned his arm on the bar. He stared at her, in a serious manner. Finally, he said, "you know, you're in heaven, right?"

She let out a sigh. "Yup."

He stared off to the far side of the Roadhouse, before turning back to the preteen. "Then, why are you looking like Ol'Yeller died? You're supposed to be reliving your happiest memories. You're supposed to be happy! You can finally live!" Ash held his hands up, to emphasize his point.

Sarah looked over at him. "I know, Ash. But, I don't feel like reliving my happiest memories." She shrugged, "I already tried to rewatch that Carrie Underwood concert, Uncle Sam took me to. I just couldn't get into it." Sarah turned forward, again, dropping her head on the bar, and wrapped her arms over the top of it.

Ash watched her. He leaned forward, more, placing his other arm on the bar, for extra balance. "Hey, look at me," he told her.

Sarah looked up, at him, with just her eyes.

"What is it, you're worried about? You're up here, where nothing can reach you, now."

Her eyes shined with sadness. "It's not me, I'm worried about. It's Dad."

Meanwhile, Sam and Dean were putting together the wood, that surrounded Sarah's body. Bobby sat, nearby, watching, as Castiel stood next to his wheelchair. Things were quiet, except for the occasional bird, somewhere in a tree, or flying overhead. No one said anything as the hunter's burial was prepared.

A silver SUV pulled into the salvage yard, parking right next to the Impala. Sam, Bobby, and Castiel looked up to see who it was. Greg Holden stepped out of the driver's side, followed by his wife, on the passenger side. He waved over at them. Sam was the only one who returned the wave, holding up his hand, towards him.

Sam had suggested calling them, on the way there, after he called Bobby, to inform him, they were coming, and the reason.

"Oh, no," Bobby had moaned once he heard Sarah was gone. "How's Dean?"

"About as you would except," he shrugged, in return.

Greg got Mark's wheelchair out of the back, and helped the young man out, joining the hunters.

Sam had caught a glare from his brother, who had noticed they were there. Dean just remained silent about it.

Greg and Beth offered a comforting hug to Sam. Beth tried to hug Dean, but he refused, focusing on tying the wood, together, so it held a body.

"I really wish you would let us bury her in our family's cemetery," Beth told Sam.

Greg placed a hand on his wife's shoulder, getting her attention. When she looked over at him, he shook his head.

"But, it's been our family's tradition-"

"Beth, they're her family, too. Remember? They also have traditions and this is how they do things," he told her.

Beth gave in, understanding they shouldn't be arguing about final resting places, when they should be grieving. Her husband wrapped an arm around Beth. The two of them noticed Castiel standing there. Beth was the first to acknowledge him. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. I'm Beth, Sarah's grandmother," she held her hand out to the angel.

Castiel accepted the handshake. "Pleased to meet you, Beth," he nodded.

Greg held his hand out, next. "I'm Greg. Pleasure to meet you, as well," he smiled at him. "Sarah's grandfather." Greg nodded over at Mark, "This is our nephew, Mark."

Mark held up, his hand, exchanging handshakes, as well.

Sam was the one who introduced Castiel, to Greg and Beth. "Um, Greg, Beth. Mark. This our friend, Cas."

Beth looked from Sam, over to Castiel. "Cas? You mean, your guardian angel friend?" she asked.

"I'm not a guardian. Just an angel," Castiel explained.

"Can you heal me out of this chair?" Mark asked, eagerly.

"If he could, you think I'd be sitting in one?" Bobby snapped at the younger man.

He shrugged, "Just asking."

"And, I'm just saying."

Sam rubbed at the back of his head. "Uh, he's a little touchy about his legs," he told them, keeping his voice down, so Bobby wouldn't hear.

"I heard that," the old man still called out.

Beth changed the subject. "So, you boys, saw heaven?"

Sam nodded. He told them everything Ash had explained to them, about how heaven was like. Greg and Beth smiled at one another.

"Sounds like we have eternity, together, Gregory," Beth stared into her husband's eyes.

"Sounds good," he replied and leaned down to kiss her lips, passionately.

Dean was walking back to the group, carrying his daughter, who was wrapped in a white sheet, held on by twine, just as the two finished, kissing. He rolled his eyes, and continued over to the wood pile they built.

Greg tried to go over and help, but Dean shoved away from his reach, walking around him. "I was trying to help," he tried to assure him, watching Dean.

Dean didn't say a word. Instead, he laid his daughter, down, on top of the wood. He couldn't help let a tear fall, as he looked at her lifeless body. What he wouldn't do, to see her smiling face or hear her laughter. Hell, even her smartassness.

He reached over and touched the spot where her forehead was, rubbing it with his thumb. Out of nowhere, the group heard Dean sing, softly, to himself. It was barely audible, but they caught words from the song, Sarah used to sing, to Sam or Dean, when she was younger, _Baby Mine_. A lone tear escaped from his eye. The group realized he was singing it, to his little girl.

Greg, Beth, and Mark watched him, but, the rest couldn't. Their eyes watched the ground, instead. Finally, after Dean finished, singing, Sam went over to grab the salt containers, picking them up, in each hand. He carried them over, handing one to his brother.

"Dean," Sam got his attention.

Dean pulled himself away from her, to look over at his brother. They shared a look, before he took the salt from him. The brothers poured the salt all over Sarah, coating her body, well. Dean did the same with the gasoline, tossing it to the side when he was done.

The brothers joined the rest of the group, as Dean took out a matchbook. His hands started to shake as he tried to light one of the matches. Bobby was the one to notice, since he was right beside him. He tried to offer to do it for him, but Dean assured Bobby, he had it. When he did manage to light it, Dean hesitated, throwing it.

This was it. Dean knew this was inevitable, as it happens to all hunters at some point. He had just tried so hard, to prolong Sarah's, for as long as possible. He tried so hard, to protect her. But, he knew Sarah loved him, too. That was why this happened. It was all his fault.

"Dean, you're gonna burn up the match and your fingers," Bobby warned him.

Dean snapped out of his thoughts. He hadn't realized he had been staring at the flame.

He looked up at where his daughter laid, and finally tossed the match over to her. It landed on her chest. The moment the flame connected with the gasoline, it spread all over the rest of her body, and the wood. The flames were burning, high, soon.

Dean slid the matchbook into his jacket pocket, keeping his hand there, also sliding the other one into its pocket, as he stared into the fire that engulfed his little girl. He didn't think nothing could be worse than having to do this with his father. Having to do it with his daughter, was ten times, worse.

A lone tear escaped down his cheek.

Greg held his wife in his arms, as she cried.

Mark sat on the end, holding his eyes in his hand, some tears escaping from them, as he leaned his elbow on the arm of his chair.

"Sarah was a smart, beautiful child, full of hope and love," Beth broke the silence and sniffed in. "She could always brighten a room."

"Amen," Mark agreed, not lifting his head.

She started singing, _Amazing Grace_. Everyone remained quiet as Beth sang the words, keeping her voice from cracking. Dean really did not want to hear a song like that, at the moment and wanted to tell her, to shut up. But, instead, he just tuned the woman out, as memories of the last five years played in his mind.

The rest of the group stood there, thinking about how much Sarah had touched their lives.

Once Beth finished singing, Sam was the next to speak. He had to sniff in, first. "You were a great kid, Peanut. You were strong. Stronger than I was. You held on, even when..." Sam paused, staring at the ground. He held his own hands in his jacket pockets. Sam shifted on his feet, as he glanced at the ground. "I'll never forget what you tried to do, Peanut. I'll never forget you. How can I?" he forced a smile at the ground and looked back up. "Ash was right. You're a fighter, and you fought right up to the end. You always stand up for what's right. Even though, you held things no kid should never have to deal with, you did it anyways." His voice cracked as Sam's eyes started to water. "And, I am so proud of you. I love you, Peanut."

Sam felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at Greg, who was offering comfort and returned it, with a forced smile, to thank him.

The group was surprised to hear Bobby speak, or, at least Sam and Dean was, who knew Bobby usually didn't do the touchy feely thing.

"I tell ya, the first day your daddy brought you to my door step, I couldn't believe it. I never thought another Winchester kid would be running around my house. It was like having him and your uncle there, again, but in one body, asking questions and looking out for your loved ones, with a smart word thrown in, for good measure." Bobby paused.

Finally, he continued. "Never could beat ya, at that battle thing," he couldn't help chuckle. Bobby frowned, staring at the ground. "Gonna miss you, kiddo. Don't know how we're gonna get by without ya."

Castiel stood there, staring over at Sarah's lifeless form. He finally asked Sam what it was, Joshua had said. Sam told him, everything, especially about God not helping them. "Maybe..." the angel didn't want to believe it. "Maybe Joshua was lying."

"I don't think he was, Cas," said Sam. "I'm sorry."

Castiel turned away, looking up towards the sky. "You son of a bitch," he cursed towards heaven. "I believed in..." After a moment, he pulled out Dean's amulet from his coat pocket and moved over to where Dean stood. "Here," he got his attention. "I don't need this, anymore." Castiel tossed it over to Dean. "It's worthless." The angel then turned and disappeared before anyone could stop him.

" _You see, deep down, I, kind of, known we wouldn't find God. And, I knew He might not help us,"_ Sarah was telling Ash, as Dean looked down at the amulet in his hands. He dropped it, letting it hang from the string. _"Because, of free will, God wants us to make choices. He wants us to do what He can do all Himself. He'll pave the road, but it's us who follows it into battle. I mean, He'll help, a little, like he did, with saving us and bringing back Cas, but what are we gonna learn if God fixes all our problems? Joshua's right. He's one hundred percent right. In fact, my Gram used to teach me, that."_

Sam looked over at his brother, catching him, staring at the amulet. "We'll find another way, Dean," he told him. "We can still stop all this."

"How?" Dean asked of him.

"I don't know. But, we'll find it. You and me. We'll find it. We'll do it for Sarah."

Dean stared back down at the amulet in his hand, and with some hesitance, tossed it into the fire. He then, slid his hands back into the pockets of his leather jacket, and walked away, in the direction of the house.

Sam let out a sigh, when he saw his brother do it, catching a look from Bobby.

" _I never wanted to die. Especially, not now. Not when my dad's gonna need me the most. He's gonna lose it, I know it. Dad is already dead inside, and I didn't do anything about it. I'm probably the only one holding him, together. That kept him, going. Now, with me out of the way, what's going to happen?"_

" _Your dad's a tough dude. I'm sure he'll hang in there."_ Dean walked across the yard, staring at the ground as Ash said that.

" _I'd like to believe that, but no body knows my dad, like I do. I know he probably figured out I didn't come back with them, and it's probably eating him up, inside. He needs me, Ash."_ Her voice cracked.

Dean got to the house, stepping onto the porch. He headed inside and up the stairs, stopping at the top, to stare at the closed door of Sarah's room. She had a sign on the door, that read, _Sarah's room. When door is closed, knock first._ Dean continued, heading towards the door. He took a hold of the doorknob, turning it in his hand, and opened the door.

He stood in the doorway, peering around, inside. Sarah had decorated it all, herself. From the posters and photos on the wall, to the knick knacks scattered everywhere. There was even a couple shotguns leaning up, again the wall, beside the door.

The posters were of various classic rock bands and even a couple of Carrie Underwood. There were also, posters of _Pokemon_ characters and even one of the _Mario Bros_. Across the room was a bookcase, crammed full of books, on the supernatural and even regular reading books. Sarah had the whole series of _Harry Potter_. In fact, Dean remembered seeing the final book in the backseat of the impala. Guess, she'll never get to know what happened to the young wizard.

Sam had been up there, earlier, so Sarah's stuffed wolf was sitting over on the made bed, next to where Chimchar sat, against the pillow. He told Bobby they would pack up her room, so he could have his guest room, back, but Bobby refused, stating it could stay that way. Like a museum or something. Dean moved, closer, standing to the bed. His eyes scanned across the two walls, that surrounded it, focused on his daughter, over the years. They stopped on one, of him and Sarah, sitting in a diner booth, having dinner. Sarah was seven years old in that photo, leaning against him, wearing that old, black sweatshirt, that always needed to be washed.

His eyes moved on, across the other photos. He stopped on another, this time, of the one they took, just a few months ago, with Ellen and Jo. Dean stared at it, thinking about how much they had lost, so far.

"I'm so sorry, Baby Girl," he managed to say, out loud. A tear floated, gently, down his cheek. He looked down at the _Pokemon_ bedspread. Finally, Dean removed his hands from his pockets, pulling out his and Sarah's DSes and set them on the bed, in front of the stuffed animals, one by one. His, he set down, first. Sarah's, he lingered, for a moment.

Dean stared at the hand-held video game, Sarah spent hours of time playing. He ran his fingers over the DS logo, on top. He remembered always yelling at her, to put it down and focus on her homework. Now, what Dean wouldn't give, to see her play this, one more time.

Eventually, Dean set the DS, down, on the bed, beside his. After one last look at the photos on the wall, Dean left the room, closing the door behind him.


	176. Chapter 176- 99 Problems (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 176

Not long after the funeral, Sam and Dean found themselves, back on the road, hunting. Time was running out, on how to stop the apocalypse. Dean tried his best to focus on the job, finding himself in the same rut, he dug himself, in, when his father died. No parent could, easily pull themselves, together, after losing a child. Grief didn't stay for a Sunday afternoon visit.

He tried to drown his grief in whiskey, or whatever else Dean could get his hands on. His brother worried about how their loss was affecting the guy. Sam wasn't taking it, any better, but had a little bit more of a grip on his grief. Or, tried, harder, at least.

That was his niece, they had lost. Not just a niece, but, Sarah was the closest Sam thought he would have, to having his own kid. In fact, it felt like he had lost his own kid. He didn't think it was a good idea to get back to hunting, right away, but Dean had insisted. Dean needed it.

Since they were still recovering, Sam and Dean never even saw the horde of demons coming, when they attacked. They tried to fight back, but Sam ended up, hurt, in the process. There were so many, Sam and Dean had to retreat, in the impala, soaring down the highway, eventually coming to a roadblock, near Blue Earth, Minnesota.

The brothers were surrounded and outnumbered. Thankfully, a group of Lutheran militia came to their rescue, drowning the demons with holy water, they squirted from a tank and exorcised them, straight back to hell.

The group took the brothers, back to their town, after they showed them their own arsenal. The town looked like an army base, with everyone busy at work. Once they arrived, the group took the brothers to an church, where a preacher was marrying off a few couples. One of the guys in the group, explained there had eight more, that week.

After the weddings, the preacher met with Sam and Dean. He showed them around, explaining how everyone pitched in. Dean looked over to see a twelve-year-old girl packing salt rounds. The age was what grabbed his attention, the most. Sarah was going to be twelve, in just three months. Not that she would have made it to her twelfth birthday, anyway, when the whole world would be gone.

Sam noticed the look in his brother's eye and knew, exactly, what Dean was thinking about.

The preacher asked them, if anything was wrong. Dean shrugged it off, not wanting to share his feelings with anyone, at the moment. So, they moved on.

Sam asked why the town didn't call the National Guard. The preacher explained that they weren't allowed to and that he couldn't discuss it with them. That was when his grown, young daughter interrupted them, stating she knew who they were. She told them that the angels were talking to her and taught them all they knew, with dealing with demons. Dean guessed that the preacher's daughter was a prophet.

So, Sam and Dean headed to a bar, to discuss about what they had learned, while Sam tired to reach Castiel, whom they hadn't seen since the angel ran off from the funeral.

Sam only got his voicemail. _"You reached the voicemail box of..."_ There was a beep and Castiel's voice, stating, _"I don't understand. Why... Why do you want me to say my name?"_ then, there was the sound of the angel hitting buttons, before it beeped, again. Sam left a brief message, stating they could use his help.

Afterwards, the bartender passed them, two beers, stating the first round was on him, and carried them back to their table, where Dean was waiting. Sam and Dean swapped theories. Sam did not like the idea of angels making the townspeople do their dirty work, while Dean didn't seem to have much care, since the world was ending in like a month. Sam reminded his brother that they were going to save them. That was when they were interrupted by the church bell.

Everyone in the bar stood up, to leave. Sam asked the bartender what was the commotion about. He told them, that the preacher's daughter, Leah, had, had another vision. The brothers checked it out, in curiosity.

The preacher explained that Leah foreseen another demon attack, asking for men to help. The same two guys, one being the bartender, volunteered, as well, as Dean, for him and Sam. The preacher said a prayer before they headed out, which Sam noticed the bartender not participating. In fact, he even had a flask with him.

Sam and Dean followed in the impala, to an old, abandon-looking house, where the demon horde was. Working together, the group took care of them. Sam had brought the Knife with him, using it, as the group exorcised them back to hell. It had seemed like a win on there part. While everyone else went on ahead, the youngest of the group, stayed back with Sam and Dean, celebrating over a beer. There ended up, being one more demon left, hiding under the impala. Dean tried to get and pull the boy out, on time, while Sam yanked it out, killing the demon with the knife. Unfortunately, it had killed the boy, first.

The town held a funeral service, back at the church. It was bad enough, Dean had to see another funeral, shortly after his daughter's, but the boy's mother blamed him, for it happening.

During the memorial service, Leah had another vision, right as her father was saying a few words. This time, she told them, the townspeople would see their loved ones, again, in heaven, on earth, as long as they follow the angels' commandments. According to Sam, they, basically outlawed ninety percent of Dean's personality.

Sam and Dean split up. Dean went to go have a chat with Leah, about what the angels were telling her. She explained that there would be a prize fight, and afterwards, the planet would be handed over to the winner. There wouldn't be any monsters, disease, or death. Only peace.

Dean scoffed when she reminded him, that he was chosen. "More like cursed," he mumbled out lout, as he stood up to leave.

"Must be hard."

He turned back around, to face her.

"Being the vessel of heaven and having no hope."

Dean stared at her.

She spoke once more before he left. "I know about Sarah." He looked up from the floor, at her. "Don't worry. You'll see your daughter, again, one day."

Dean got back to the motel, long before Sam did. He dropped onto his bed and stared off, into space. He thought about Sarah, again and how much he missed her. Dean also wondered what Sarah would think about all of this and what she would say. He recalled the look of disappointment on her face while Joshua was talking to them and wondered if that was the last straw on the kid's faith. It, certainly, seemed like it, with Castiel's.

Leaning to the side, Dean pulled out his wallet, opening it up. He kept two photos in there. One was of him, when he was very little, with his mother. The other was one of him and Sarah, together, when she was seven. Both of them were smiling at the camera, as Dean held his head against hers, holding Sarah, around the waist as she had an arm wrapped around his neck.

"Wish you were here, Baby Girl," he said, out loud, holding the photo in his hand. His thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and Sam walked in. "Where you been?" Dean asked of his brother, putting the photo back into his wallet.

Sam wandered in, as he replied, "Drinkin'."

Dean chuckled to himself. "You rebel," as he leaned his head back, against the wall.

"I'd have had more, um," Sam also gave a chuckle, "but, it was curfew."

"Right."

He fixed his shirt sleeve. "You hear they shut down the cell towers?"

Dean looked at his brother, and rubbed at his eyes, in one hand, "No. That's, uh, news to me." He folded his hand into his other arm.

"Yeah. No cable, internet. Total cutoff from 'the corruption of the outside world," Sam used air quotes as he said that last part.

"Hmm," Dean said, and looked to the side.

Sam held his hands on his sides. "Don't you get it? They're turning this place into some kind of fundamentalist compound."

By now, Dean had closed his eyes, his head against the wall, again. "I get it."

"And, all you got is a 'hmm?'" he questioned. "What's wrong with you?"

Dean rolled his head. "I get it. I just don't care." He sat up, putting his feet on the floor, throwing up his hand when his brother asked, "What?"

"What difference does this make?" he asked, in return.

"It's makes a hell of a..." Sam started to say, but stopped himself, mid sentence.

Dean stared up at his brother.

Sam scoffed. "I'm miserable, too, Dean, but at what point does this become too far for you?" He went over to sit on his own bed, facing his brother. "Stoning? Poisoned kool-aid? The angels are toying with these people."

He rubbed at his eyes, again and shrugged at Sam. "Angel world, angel rules, man."

This time, Sam stared at Dean, his mouth open. "And, since when is that okay with you?"

"Since the angels got the only life boats on the Titanic," Dean admitted, nodding at him. He stood up, to head over to the coffee pot. "I mean, who, exactly is supposed to come along and save these people?" Dean turned halfway, around, holding a mug and the coffee pot. "It was supposed to be us," he forced a smirk at Sam, "but, we can't do it."

Sam looked over at his brother. "So, what, you - you want to - You want to stop fighting, roll over?"

Dean poured himself some coffee, returning the pot to it's place, before turning around to lean against the counter. "I don't know. Maybe." He took a drink of his coffee.

Sam looked from his brother, forward, looking away. "Don't say that," he scoffed, shaking his head.

"Why not?"

"'Cause you can't do this."

Dean stared at the floor. He looked up to say, "actually, I can."

"No, you can't," Sam stood up, and, slowly turned to, fully face his brother. "You can't do this to me." Things got quiet as the brothers held a staring match. Eventually, Sam was the one who broke it, looking away, for a second. "I miss her, too, man." His voice cracked, a little when Sam admitted it. "I got one thing..." he, repeatedly, shook his head, slowly. "One thing keeping me going. You think you're the only one, white-knuckling it, Dean? I can't count on anyone else."

Dean looked away.

"And, I can't do this, alone."

He stared down at the floor, holding the mug, loosely in his hand. Dean fidgeted, before he couldn't handle it, any longer. Setting the mug back on the counter, he headed for the door.

"Dean," Sam tried to stop him.

"I got to clear my head," he told him, and grabbed his jacket on the way out.

"It's past curfew." But, his brother wasn't listening, or just didn't care. The door closed behind him. "It's past curfew," Sam mumbled, under his breath, this time, looking at the clock, on the nightstand.

The tall giant sat back down, on the edge of his bed, running his hands down his face and pushed back his hair. His own memories of his niece, came rushing to his mind and he, too, pulled out his wallet and a photo Sam carried of him and Sarah. Sarah was also seven, in his, laying on a motel bed, with her chin in her hands. Sam was sitting on the floor, beside her, leaning his head, against hers. One arm was up and around Sarah, laying on the bed, on her other side.

Sam found himself, smiling, a little, looking at his niece. No one could frown when that girl smiled, it seemed to him. "Wish you were here, Peanut," he muttered, out loud, to himself, just as Dean had done.

Some time later, Sam decided to do some research. That was when Castiel finally showed up, looking in the fridge.

"I got your message," he said, his words slurred, getting Sam's attention. "It was long, your message."

Sam let out a breath. He had jumped when Sam heard the angel speak, catching him, off guard.

"And, I find the sound of your voice, grating." He closed the fridge.

Sam watched him, confused. "What's wrong with you?" Castiel stumbled. "Are you...? Drunk?"

He denied it, at first, but when Castiel stumbled, again and had to use the wall to catch himself, he admitted he was.

"What the hell happened to you?"

Castiel leaned against the metal railing decoration. "I found a liquor store."

"And?"

"And, I drank it." The angel pushed himself forward, towards Sam, as he asked, "Why'd you call me?"

Sam reached out, to catch him, laughing. "Whoa. There you go. Easy. You okay?"

Castiel stared at Sam. He took a step forward, motioning for Sam, to lean in, the rest of the way, before he told him, "Don't ask stupid questions." Sam moved his head away, afterwards. "Tell me what you need." Castiel sat down on one of the beds.

"T-there have been these demon attacks," he explained. "Massive, right on the edge of town, and we can't figure out why they're..."

"Any sign of angels?" Castiel interrupted him.

"Sort of. They've been speaking to this prophet."

He looked at the floor. "Who?"

"This girl, Leah Gideon," Sam said.

"She's not a prophet."

"I'm pretty sure she is," he argued. "Visions, headaches. The whole package."

Castiel looked towards the ceiling, "The names of _all_ the prophets, they're seared into my brain." He looked over at Sam, "Leah Gideon is not one of them."

"Then, what is she?"


	177. Chapter 177- 99 Problems (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 177

Dean walked around the motel, thinking about everything that had happened the past year. So much so, that time passed more than he expected. Since the town started its curfew, things were quiet, which Dean preferred, anyway.

He remembered back, during the year, leading up to him going to hell. Back when Sarah was nine years old. Dean was laying on the motel room's bed, or one of them, laughing with his daughter, as Sarah laid on his stomach. They were just talking. Nothing really. Dean couldn't even remember how the conversation started.

" _Have you ever owned a bike?" he had asked her._

 _Sarah shrugged, looking up at the ceiling, with just her eyes. "I did, once. I got one for Christmas, when I was five. Mark tried to teach me, but I couldn't get the hang of it. I kept falling off. Papa gave me lectures about not giving up, but I just got too overwhelmed and stopped trying."_

" _For once, I have to agree with the guy. You shouldn't give up. It's riding a bike, for Pete's sake," he told her._

" _It was too difficult for me, I guess," she said. Sarah got up, onto her hands and knees, wanting to wrestle. She tried to tackle him, landing on his chest. Dean lifted her up, and got up on his knee, throwing Sarah down, onto the bed, where he pinned her._

 _Sarah struggled to break free from his grip, laughing. She used her bare feet to push on his chest, and twisted around to grab at the comforter, tugging on it, for help. Her foot manged to push on Dean's upper arm, loosening his grip on her, giving Sarah the opportunity to crawl away._

 _At the edge of the bed, she jumped down, landing on her feet, to face her father. Sarah grinned at him._

" _I'm gonna win, this time," she taunted her father._

 _Dean smirked, nodding once, "Oh, really. You think so."_

" _Yup." Sarah placed her toes on the edge of the bed. At the ready, she sprung towards him, knocking Dean backwards, onto the pillows. However, she let her guard down, and Dean grabbed her around the waist, pinning her onto her stomach, that time._

 _He leaned on his elbow, over her, starting the countdown. As he counted, Dean gave Sarah, a playful swat on her bottom._

" _Dad!" Sarah tried to break free. Since she was wearing a pair of shorts she wore on lazy days, when the Winchesters weren't hunting, Sarah was feeling each swat. Neither one hurt, physically, just her pride was hurting. Her feet kicked and her toes pushed against the bed._

" _You better do something, Baby Girl," he told her, after the sixth swat. "Time's running out." Dean wasn't intending on making them hurt, either. It was all for teasing. "Seven." He landed another one. "Eight."_

 _Sarah pushed up, on her hands. She wasn't about to let her father win, again. She looked back over her shoulder and slammed her elbow into his back. Sarah didn't intend for it to hurt, but it ended up that way. Dean stopped, letting go, as he groaned in pain. While he was trying to reach back to rub where she had elbowed him, Sarah took the opportunity to roll away, back, onto her feet._

 _She watched him, rub at the spot. "Are you okay, Dad?"_

" _Yeah." He noticed the look of concern in her eye. "Hey, don't worry about me. That was a good solution. Sometimes, throwing an elbow is the only option for getting away, when someone grabs you." That was mostly the the reason Dean wrestled with his daughter, to teach her how to defend herself during a real fight. And, also, because the two of them always had a great time, doing it, too. It was a bonding moment for them._

 _Sarah climbed back, onto the bed, crawling over to her father. She tried to pull off his overshirt. When Dean questioned what it was, she was trying to do, Sarah told him, she wanted to check to make sure her elbow didn't leave a bruise. Dean removed his arm from the sleeve, and pulled up the sleeve of his T-shirt, far enough, back, Sarah could see a little of a bruise forming._

" _I'm sorry, Dad," she apologized, as Dean pulled the sleeve down and put his arm back through the other sleeve. Sarah sat on her legs._

" _Hey, all is forgiven if I say, don't worry about me. I'm your dad. I'm supposed be tough, right?"_

 _She nodded, slowly._

 _Dean smiled for his daughter. He reached over and picked her up, in his arms. Since this was before she got her growth spurt, Sarah was still the size of a little kid, getting mistaken for one. So, even at nine, Dean was able to lift his little girl into the air, sideways._

 _Sarah squealed out, excitedly._

 _He stood up, leaning his knee on the bed, before throwing her down on the bed, again, gently, and pinned her. This time, while Sarah was pinned, Dean started tickling her all over, getting her ribs and stomach, mostly._

 _Sarah laughed out loud. "Dad! Stop!" She realized she could roll over, so Sarah did, getting away. Dean, quickly, grabbed her, around the waist, holding her in place as he continued to tickle her. Sarah's feet kicked, from underneath her father, from the constant tickling. After awhile, Dean started feeling the kicks and one got him, good, right in the center of his stomach, forcing him to stop._

 _She took the opportunity, to roll away, not knowing why he had stopped. Sarah jumped onto her father's back, holding onto his neck, as she swung her foot over. Dean only held his stomach for a moment. When his daughter jumped on him, he tried to reach back for her. Sarah wrapped an arm around his neck and tried to pin him, down._

 _Dean tried to find Sarah's side, to try and tickle her, so she'd loosen her grip. Sarah flinched away from it, using her foot to push his hand away. That was a big mistake! Dean grabbed it, in one hand and used his fingers to tickle the bottom of her foot. Sarah found it hard to resist and tried to tug her foot out of his reach, but her father held on._

" _Dad, no fair!" She held onto his neck, as long as she could, but it was hard, when her foot was being tickled. Sarah gave one hard tug, and yanked it out of her father's grip, sliding off the other side of him. She landed onto her bottom, almost falling off the bed, but she, quickly grabbed on to the comforter and saved herself. "Why won't you ever let me win?" she pouted to her father, crossing her arms across her chest._

 _Dean sat back on his legs, moving them, out from under him. He looked over at his daughter. "If I went easy on you, and let you win, it won't teach you anything. Out there, on a hunt or anywhere, for that matter. No one's gonna go easy on you. You have to figure it out on your own. You can pin me, I know you can. You just haven't figured out, how. So, no, I'm not going to let you win. I want you to learn how to win."_

" _But, I can't. I'm too small, and you're so much more larger than I am," she pointed out._

" _Size doesn't matter, Baby Girl," he told her. "Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Like I said, you can pin me, and I want you to. Just keep at it. Okay?"_

 _Sarah nodded._

" _I don't want you quitting at things, just because they get hard. Life is hard. That's life."_

"' _Life is hard? That's life?'" Sam had been in the bathroom, the whole time, showering and getting ready for bed. He had finally come out._

" _Shut up," Dean told him. "I'm trying to give my kid, a life lesson, here."_

" _Sor-ry," Sam replied back, holding up his hands, in defense and went back to what he was doing._

 _While Dean was dealing with his brother, Sarah took the opportunity, to tackle him, or tried to, at least. She pushed him over, now, laying on his side. Dean was caught off guard. She started the countdown, counting all the way to ten._

" _I got you, Dad!" she exclaimed, excited._

 _Dean smiled up at her. "See. I told you, you could pin me."_

" _Yeah!"_

" _But, your opponent isn't always gonna be caught off guard," he told her. "Most of the time, they're gonna be facing you, face to face. What would you do then?"_

 _Sarah shrugged. "I don't know. You told me, I can kick them in the back of the knee, to bring them down."_

" _But, what if you can't?" he pointed out. "You have to be quick, to do that. And, if someone sees you about to kick them, they can do," Dean, then suddenly grabbed his daughter, flipping them both over, where he was now hovering over her. He had Sarah pinned, yet, again. "Always keep your guard up. No matter what. Watch your opponent's every move. You never know what they're gonna do. Got it?"_

 _She nodded. "Got it, Dad. Can I get up, now?"_

 _Dean shook his head. "I want you to break free like you've been doing. No one's gonna let you up, just 'cause you asked, nicely."_

 _Sarah started to use her feet. It worked before. But, the moment Dean felt her push on his stomach, he used his knee, to pin down, both of her legs._

" _Now, what are you going to do?"_

 _Sarah squirmed, trying to break loose._

" _Come on, Baby Girl. Think," he encouraged her. "When someone or something has you, fully pinned, what would be the best solution to break free?"_

" _Call for back-up?" she asked. "Like, maybe Uncle Sam can come help me?" Sarah raised her voice, looking over in her uncle's direction, hinting for him, to help._

 _Dean warned him, not to, and turned back to his daughter. "What if you get separated, or one of us can't get to you, either? It was all on you. What would you do, then?"_

 _Sarah struggled to break loose. Nothing was coming to mind. "Dad, I can't. Let go!"_

" _Nope," he shook his head. "I want you to figure it out, yourself." Dean held onto his daughter, tightly, but was not trying to do it in a way that would hurt her. He held each hand on her wrists, pinning them to the bed, and still held his knee on her legs._

" _Let me go, Dad," her eyes started to water, in frustration._

 _It was difficult to watch his little girl, start to cry, but he wanted to teach her a hard lesson, so Dean steeled his heart. "Come on, Baby Girl. You're not thinking, straight. Do you think someone's gonna listen to you, just because you're crying? They will only laugh. You can do this."_

" _I can't!"_

" _Stop saying, you can't. Yes, you can. What can you do? Think, Baby Girl! Play dirty, if you have to. I got you, fully pinned. Do whatever you think is best. Whatever thought crosses your mind, don't think, twice. Just do it."_

 _Sarah continued to struggle against her father's hold, making it hurt. "You're hurting me," she cried._

" _No, I'm not. You are making it, hurt, by moving. If that's not working, then stop doing it," he told her. Dean remembered, hoping he wouldn't have to give in. That Sarah would figure it out. "Stop crying. You can't think when you cry. Stop, take a deep breath and think, Baby Girl."_

 _But, Sarah continued. Her sobs getting louder._

" _Sarah Lynn, what did I just say?" he scolded her. "I'm not letting you give up. Calm down and stop crying."_

 _Sam tried to speak up. "Dean-"_

" _Stay out of this, Sam." Dean watched his daughter. In a minute, he was going have to get off, before she hyperventilated. He leaned more, over where her head was. "Sarah, look at me." Suddenly, the moment he moved his head even with hers, she headbutted him. Dean got off, quicker than Sonic, the hedgehog after a hotdog, grabbing onto his head. "Damnit, sonofabitch!" His curses slurred, together. It hurt so badly._

 _But, Dean also noticed Sarah was rolling around, in much more pain than he felt. Ignoring his own pain, he lifted Sarah onto his lap and tried to push her hands out of the way, to look at her head. "Let me see, Baby Girl," he said, over her cries. "Let me see." Dean coaxed his daughter into letting him see it, pushing some of her hair, back. A small knot was forming, but it didn't look serious. He asked his brother to get some ice, which Sam collected from the freezer and brought it over, handing it to Dean._

 _Dean took it from his brother, and placed it, gently over the knot, who was trying his best to calm Sarah down. Sam stayed there, watching, making sure his niece was alright. "You're okay, Baby Girl," Dean was assuring her, gently, as he held the ice on the top of her forehead._

 _It took a few minutes before Sarah finally stopped crying. Her face was drenched in tears and snots, and when the ice started to melt, the water from it, as well. Dean ended up using the wet towel Sam had wrapped around the ice, to wipe at Sarah's face, cleaning it off._

 _Sarah sniffed._

" _You good, now?" he smiled for her._

 _She nodded, rubbing at her eyes. "Did I do good? Or, am I in trouble, now?"_

 _Dean shook his head. "No, you're not in any trouble. You did fantastic," he assured her and admitted, "though, I didn't think you would do that."_

 _Sarah sat up, sliding off of her father's lap, onto the bed. She got up, onto her hands and knees, flipping over, to sit back on her legs. At that point, Sam had made another ice pack, bringing it over for Dean, before his got bad. Dean took it, thanking his brother, and held it to his own head._

" _I'm proud of you, Baby Girl. That was quick thinking you did there," he told her._

" _I didn't want to hurt you, Dad." Sarah leaned on her hands, between her knees, like a frog. "But, you wouldn't let go, and when I saw you over me, I panicked and headbutted you."_

" _That's the point I was trying to make. Whatever chance you get when someone has you pinned. You better take it, or the worse will happen. Plus, headbutting them, stuns the person, for a brief period, for you to get away, or come to our aid, so we can help," he nodded towards Sam._

" _I still don't like that you made me, hurt you," she told him, bitterly._

 _Dean reached out, with one hand, wrapping his arm around her waist, and pulled her towards him, in a hug, kissing the back of her head. "I'm okay, Baby Girl. I know you would never, intentionally, hurt me." Sarah held onto him, hugging her father, close._

At that moment, a noise coming from the bar, broke into Dean's thoughts and grabbed his attention.

He hurried over, barging inside the bar, to find some of the townspeople, the preacher included, were trying to run the bartender out of town, since he wasn't a believer. Dean tried to break the fight up, but the boy's mother, ended up shooting the guy, stating no one was going to keep her from seeing her son, again. Dean may have understood where the mother was coming from, but shooting a guy, just because he wasn't believing with them, wasn't the right thing to do.

Dean finally returned to the motel, the next morning, finding Castiel there.

Sam was the first to speak. "We went out looking for..." He noticed Dean had blood on his hands. "You all right?"

Dean looked down at his hands. "Yeah. It's... It's not my blood. Paul's dead." He took a step further, into the room.

"What?"

"Jane shot him.

"It's starting," Castiel finally spoke.

Dean looked over at the angel, "What's starting? Where the hell have you been?"

Castiel looked over at him. "On a bender."

"Did he...?" he asked Sam, and turned back to the angel, "did you say, 'on a bender?'"

"Yeah," replied Sam. "He's still pretty smashed."

"It is not of import," Castiel assured them, wanting the subject dropped. "We need to talk about what's happening here."

"Well, I'm all ears." Dean walked away.

"Well, for starters," said Sam, sitting back down, on the couch, he had been sitting on when Dean walked in. "Leah is not a real prophet."

Dean was washing his hands in the sink. He turned off the water when he was done, shaking the water off, as he looked back, over his shoulder. "Well, what is she, exactly?"

"The whore," Castiel blurted out, catching Dean, off guard.

"Wow, Cas, tell us what you really think."

"She rises when Lucifer walks the earth," he explained. "and, she shall come, bearing false prophecy," reading from an ancient textbook. "This creature has the power to take a human form, read minds." Castiel turned the book around, to show Dean, who joined them. "Book of Revelation calls her, the Whore of Babylon."

Dean looked down at the book, his head, sideways, a little. "Well, that's catchy."

"The real Leah was probably killed, months ago," Sam figured.

"What about the demons attacking the town?" he asked.

"They're under her control," replied Castiel.

"And, the Enochian exorcism?"

"Fake," he nodded, once. "It actually means, 'you, um, breed with the mouth of a goat.'" Castiel smiled at it.

Sam and Dean just remained silent, looking at the angel.

"It's funnier in Enochian."

"So, the demons smoking out," Dean changed the subject, "that's just a con? Why? What's the end game?"

Castiel just shook his head. "What you just saw, innocent blood spilled in God's name."

Sam reminded his brother, "You heard all that heaven talk. She manipulates people."

Dean stood up from his chair, "To slaughter and kill and sing peppy, little hymns." He walked back over to the sink, to dry his hands. "Awesome."

When Dean mentioned the hymns, Sam couldn't help think of the memories he had of Sarah, singing them, when she was younger. She would be doing something as washing her hands, or playing with her toys, or even cleaning guns, and she would bust out a chorus of, _Jesus Loves the Little Children_ or some other hymn. Sam always thought it was cute, and had missed hearing them, the past couple years. Hearing the townspeople sing them, hurt, as it flooded Sam's mind of those days.

"Her goal is to condemn as many souls to hell, as possible, and, it's," Castiel paused for a moment, "just beginning. She's well on her way, to dragging this whole town into the pit."

"All right," said Dean. "So, then, how do we go pimp of Babylon all over this bitch?"

Castiel looked over, and shared a look with Sam. He set a rotted-looking stick from a tree, on the coffee table. "The whore can be killed with this," he explained. Dean picked it up. "It's a stake made from a cypress tree, in Babylon."

"Great," said Dean. "Let's ventilate her."

Now, Castiel went over to get a drink of water from the sink. "It's not that easy."

"'Course not."

"The whore can only be killed by a true servant of heaven," he told them.

"Servant, like...?"

"Not you. Or me. Sam, of course, is an abomination." Castiel paused, staring at nothing. There would have been someone who, Castiel knew, could have done it. "We'll have to find someone else." He took a drink of the water.

Sam and Dean noticed the hesitant pause. They understood what Castiel was getting at.

So, later, that evening, after discussing it, Castiel went to fetch the preacher, since he was a servant of heaven. At first, he didn't believe Castiel was an angel, but, the preacher, shortly came around when he took them back to the Winchesters' motel room. They told the preacher, everything and how it had to be him, who plunged the stake into his daughter.

"No," he refused. "She's my daughter."

"I'm sorry, but, she's not," Dean told him. "She's the thing that killed your daughter."

"That's impossible."

"But, it's true," said Sam, "and, deep down, you know it." The preacher rubbed a hand over his face. "Look, we get it. It's too much. But, if you don't do this, she's going to kill a lot of people, and damn the rest to hell."

"It's just..." Dean handed him, the stake. "Why does it have to be me?"

"You're a servant of heaven," Castiel explained, from where he was standing.

The preacher twisted around to look at him, "and, you're an angel."

"Poor example of one."

So, he, reluctantly agreed.

Later, Dean was out, packing the trunk of the impala. When he closed it, he noticed Castiel sitting there, on the curb, still recovering from his first hangover. Dean went over to pull a bottle of aspirin from the backseat. "Heads up," he told Castiel and tossed it, underhand, to him.

Castiel took it, reading the label. "How many should I take?"

"You?" said Dean. "You should probably down the whole bottle."

The angel thanked him.

"Yeah, don't mention it." Dean was leaning against the hood of the impala. "Yeah, I've been there. I'm a big expert on deadbeat dads, so..." he nodded at him, in agreement. "Yeah, I get it. I know how you feel."

"How do you manage it?"

Dean glanced at Castiel, out of the corner of his eye, staring at the ground. He swallowed. "Usually, I just love on my own kid until she finally tells me, to back off. But, on a good day, you get to kill a whore."

Castiel looked up at him, which Dean smiled for him.

They all headed over to the church, where they hid out in the preacher's office, waiting out for Leah. She walked in, heading for the mirror, where her reflection showed a horrible monster. Leah closed it, revealing Castiel's hiding spot.

Castiel grabbed and turned her around, where the preacher came up, behind her, holding the stake in two hands. The preacher froze when Leah begged him not to hurt her. The brothers encouraged him to do it. When he looked back at them, Leah said a spell, making Castiel release her, and waved her hands up, to send the rest of them, flying. Leah hurried from the room.

The preacher grabbed the stake and ran after her, while Castiel laid on the floor, in pain. Sam and Dean hurried after him. Leah convinced some of the men out there, that her father was a demon, so they grabbed him, and started punching the poor guy, while Leah told the others to light the kerosene.

Sam and Dean got there in time, to get the men off of the preacher. Sam also stopped one of them from lighting the kerosene that would have destroyed several people, including children.

Dean went after Leah, who waved her hands up, again, knocking him onto his back. She dropped on top of him, grabbing Dean around the neck. Looking over to the side, he noticed the stake laying there, and tried to reach for it.

"Please," Leah scoffed at him. "Like you're a servant of heaven. This is why my team's gonna win. You're the great vessel? You're pathetic, self-hating, and faithless. It's the end of the world, and you're just gonna sit back and watch it, happen."

Dean continued to try and reach for the stake as she taunted him. Finally, he managed to get a good grip and hit her with it, before plunging the stake into her torso. To everyone's surprise, especially Sam's, it killed her. As soon as she was off of him, Dean got to his feet, plunging it even further in. He, then backed away.

Sam and Dean helped the preacher and Castiel, outside, to the impala. On the way, Sam asked how Dean was able to kill Leah, when she could only be killed by a servant of heaven. Dean told his brother, it must have been luck. The brothers helped the other two into the backseat of the impala.

"Are you gonna do something stupid?" Sam asked of his brother.

Dean replied, "Like what?"

"Like, Michael, stupid."

He just stared at his brother. "Come on, Sam. Give me a break." Dean opened his door, and slid in, under the wheel. He started the engine, letting Sam slide in on his side, before backing out of where he had parked. They drove back to the motel, where the brothers tended to Castiel and the preacher. Sam did, anyway.

After making sure they were alright, Dean said he was going to fetch some more bandages out of the trunk. That was the last they heard of him, before the roar of the impala sounded.

Sam tried to run after his brother, but it was no use.

Dean drove all night, in silence. He thought about everything. The apocalypse, the angels, Michael, Lucifer. Their friends. Sam. But, most importantly, he thought about Sarah. Dean could picture her smile in his mind. Hear her laughter.

He drove all the way to where Lisa Braeden lived, finding out she had moved. Dean looked up, where she had moved to, driving there, pulling up in front, some time that afternoon. Dean stepped out and walked up to the front door, where he knocked, hesitating, at first.

Lisa opened the door, surprised to see Dean standing there.

He smiled, "Hi, Lisa. I didn't have your number, uh, so..."

"No. No, it's okay," she assured him. "I'm- I'm...just surprised. Sarah told me you were dead."

"It's a long story," Dean explained. "How's Ben?"

"Good," she nodded. "Good. He's at baseball. How's Sarah?"

Dean's smile vanished, and his gaze dropped towards the ground. Lisa took the hint.

"I'm sorry, Dean," she told him, sincerely.

"It's, uh..." He decided to change the subject. "You moved. It's a...nice house."

"Dean, you didn't come here to talk about real estate." She eyed him, carefully. "You alright?"

He forced a chuckle, at the ground. "No, not really."

Lisa shook her head, at him. "What is it," she asked, softly. It was almost a whisper.

Dean looked up, to the side and looked at Lisa, from the corner of his eye. "Look, I have no illusions, okay? I know the life that I live. I know how that's gonna end for me. Whatever. I'm okay with that. But, I wanted you to know, that when I do picture myself, happy," he took a hard breath in, "it's with you. And, the kids." Dean smiled, his voice, cracking, a little. He looked down.

Lisa let out a smile, as well, flattered. "Wow," was all she was able to say.

"I mean, you don't have to say anything."

"No, I," she paused. "I mean, I know. I know."

Dean looked straight at her, surprised, himself.

"I want to. Come inside. Let me get you a beer." Lisa turned to head back inside. Dean stopped her.

"I wish I could."

She turned back to stare at him, confused.

Dean stared back at her, until he finally said, "Take care of yourself, Lisa." He, then turned to leave.

This time, Lisa stopped him. "No. No, wait, wait." She stepped out of the doorway, towards him. "You can't just drop a bombshell like that and then leave."

"I know," Dean turned back to her. "I'm sorry." He shook his head, slowly, now turning fully back to face Lisa. "But, I don't have a choice."

"Yeah, you do," she argued. "You do. You can come inside, and let me get you a beer. We can talk." Lisa tried to head back inside the house, until Dean reached out to stop her.

"Lisa, wait a minute." She turned back to face him. "Things are about to get really bad."

Lisa folded her arms, "Like how?" She looked from the ground to Dean. "Like, your kind of bad?"

"Worse. Next few days, the crap you're gonna see on your TV, it's gonna be downright trippy. Scary. But, I don't want you to worry, because I'm making arrangements for you and Ben."

She looked at Dean, confused. Lisa shook her head, "arrangements?"

Dean shook his head, once, "Whatever happens, you're gonna be okay."

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"The people that I'm gonna see next, they're not gonna get anything from me, without agreeing to a few conditions," he explained.

Lisa was shaking her head, trying to understand what it was, Dean was about to do, "Just...just come inside. Please. And, whatever it is, you're thinking of doing, don't do it."

Dean looked down. He had taken a hold of her hands, holding them in his, as he stroked them with his thumb. "I have to."

"Just stay an hour," she continued to plead. "At least, say bye to Ben."

Dean smiled at that. He looked at the ground, again. He would have liked to stay and see the kid. But, decided against it. "Naw," Dean replied, looking off, into the distance. "It's better if I don't." He looked back at her.

Lisa nodded, in understanding.

Dean watched her for a moment, before he reached in and kissed her on the side of the forehead, holding it for a long time. Finally, he let go and turned to leave. "Bye, Lisa." Dean didn't see the tear on her face as he walked back to the impala.


	178. Chapter 178- Point of No Return (Part 1)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 178

Sarah had finally started cheering up, a little. She was in heaven. There wasn't a reason to be sad. Every now and then, she would relive a happy memory, but most of the time, Sarah just hung around the Roadhouse. To her, that was Sarah's heaven. If only it could be filled with people passing through, and her friends and family. Ash had done some research and found out why Sarah's main heaven was the Roadhouse and that it had to do with family. Hers was a special kind of heaven.

Every now and then, Ash would stop by. So, Sarah had someone to actually hold a conversation with.

As Sarah was throwing darts at a dart board, on the wall, someone came up behind her, covering her eyes. The moment they them, Sarah shoved her elbow right into their stomach, right as the person said, "Guess who," and realized too late, it was only Ash.

She spun around as Ash dropped to a knee, holding his middle. "Ash, don't ever sneak up on me, like that." Sarah dropped, beside the guy. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he replied, painfully. "Geez, kid. You have a mean hook." The pain subsided, quickly, since they were in heaven. Both of them stood up. "How you feel?"

Sarah shrugged and turned back to the dart board. "Better, I guess. I still think about Dad and Uncle Sam, but..." Her voice trailed off. She looked down at the dart in her hand. Finally, she aimed it at the board, and threw it, "What good would worrying do, if there's nothing I can do? It's my time, and some day, I'll see them, again. Hopefully, after they save the world. I just have to accept it." She turned back to Ash.

Ash leaned on the pool table. "That's a safe bet," he told her.

"Have you found anyone yet?"

"Nope, not yet. Are you guys sure they died?" he asked.

"It was an explosion. Plus, Jo had her guts ripped out,"she reminded him, of what she had told Ash, before. "Pretty sure." Ash watched as Sarah threw the last dart, which he stood up, to go fetch all three.

"Here, let me show ya how it's done," he told her, walking back to take Sarah's spot.

"And, then you end up hitting the wall, next to it," Sarah snickered, teasing him. Ash gave her, a hard look. "Just messing with you."

He continued to stare at her. "Just, watch and learn." Ash turned back to the dark board. "The trick is to line up where you want it to stick." He, then lined it up and threw the dart, getting a bull's eye. The second one hit, the center, as well, but the third ended up being a little off.

"Did you mean to aim there?" Sarah asked.

Ash glanced at her, out of the corner of his eye. "Yes," he lied. "I was trying to prove a point."

Sarah smirked. "Okay, big shot."

With that said, Ash, suddenly grabbed Sarah around the neck, rubbing the top of her head, with his fist. Sarah tried to yank free, pushing on his side.

"Dude, let me go!" she yelled.

Ash released her, smirking. "Don't be a smartass," he told her.

Sarah scowled at the guy, flatting her hair, back, now that it was sticking up. "First Jo, now you. Is this what having older siblings are like? 'Cause I don't recall Mark ever doing that."

"Just wait 'til I find her. Then, we'll really have some fun."

Sarah took off her hair tie, slipping it onto her wrist, so she could fix her hair, back into a ponytail. "Oh, boy, I can, hardly wait," she said, sarcastically. Sarah used her hands to smooth her hair, pulling it all into her other hand, before wrapping the hair tie around it. Under her breath, she muttered, "ass."

Ash caught it. "What was that?"

"Nothing," she replied, quickly.

As soon as Sarah was done, Ash jumped her, wrapping Sarah back into a headlock, no intention of letting go, unless Sarah admitted, uncle. At first, she struggled against him, until she realized, she could knee him in the back of the knee. Ash dropped, giving Sarah a chance to get back at him. She grabbed the guy around the neck, pulling him down.

Suddenly, Ash managed to grab a hold of the preteen, flipping Sarah onto her stomach, holding her arm against her back.

"Had enough yet?"

Sarah breathed, heavily. She looked up at him, out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah, I give." The moment Ash let go, Sarah flipped over and shot up like a rocket, knocking Ash back, pinning her knee into his torso and held his wrists, above his head. "Jo taught me that."

Ash looked up at her. "I see that," remembering the many times the young woman had pinned him, the same way.

"Am I interrupting something?" A voice startled the two of them, alerting their attention over towards the bar. Zachariah was sitting over on one of the stools, wearing that smirk of his.

Ash and Sarah got to their feet, quickly.

"What are you doing here?" Sarah demanded. "You're trespassing in my heaven."

Zachariah continued to smirk at her. He looked over at Ash, with just his eyes. "You're not a memory," he realized. "So, technically, so is he." Zachariah looked back over at Sarah.

"It's not trespassing if I allow it."

"Oh, so, you think since it's your heaven, you get to make the rules." Zachariah frowned. "It doesn't work that way, sweetheart. Unless the two of you are soul-mates, he's trespassing."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Ash told him.

Zachariah looked over at him. "Excuse me?"

"I did some checking," he explained. "See, Sarah's heaven is family. I don't have to do anything. Whoever Sarah considered family, on earth, can, freely waltz right in. That's why she was with her dad and uncle, when they were here. I realized that the first time I noticed she was still here."

Sarah had folded her arms. "Feeling stupid, yet?" she told Zachariah, an eyebrow raised.

The angel said nothing.

She changed the subject. "So, why are you, here, anyway?"

Zachariah stood up, off the stool, moving closer to them. He watched the ground as he did so. "I'm here, because your dad hasn't said, yes, yet."

"What do you want me to do about it?" Sarah shrugged. "I can't do anything about it, and even if I could, I'm dead, remember?"

"Actually, there is something you can do," he said.

"What?" she eyed Zachariah, carefully.

"Look, I know you, more than likely don't trust, easily, especially me," he said, bluntly.

"You are correct."

"So, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We need you to step up to the plate."

Sarah looked from the angel, over towards Ash. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking back at him, unfolding her arms, slowly.

"You're the next in line that can say, yes, to Michael, and we need you to," explained Zachariah.

"What makes you think I'd say, yes, to him?"

The angel shrugged, "It's either Michael or Lucifer."

"I'd rather say, yes to Michael."

"Perfect," he lit up.

"Hold up, halo boy," she told him. "I said, I'd rather say, yes to Michael, over Lucifer. I didn't say, I would."

Zachariah grinned, "Even if I were to do this?" He held up his hand and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, Ash dropped, grabbing his stomach. He yelled out, feeling his insides twist in ways they shouldn't. It caught Sarah's attention. She dropped beside Ash, "Ash!"

"So, your decision?" Zachariah asked, still grinning.

Sarah glared over at the angel. "You, dick."

"Look, Sarah, you can call me any names you want, but we both know this is what you've been hoping for ever since Michael told you, you're his vessel."

Sarah looked over at Zachariah. "That's a lie," she told him.

"Is it?"

She just stared at him. Sarah looked from the angel, down at Ash.

"You want us off your dad's back, right? Leave him alone. Well, here's your chance," Zachariah said. "Plus, we'll let your friend, there, go and we won't punish him, eternally, for the stunts he's been pulling since he got here, like he should be."

"And, how do I know you're telling the truth?" she looked back, up at the angel. After Yellow Eyes and Ruby trying to make deals, that end up being lies and backfiring, Sarah wasn't about to trust another, even if it were an angel.

Zachariah looked back at her. "Does it look like I'm lying? I mean, look at me. I've been reduced to asking a child, for help. _A child._ Believe me, kid. We wouldn't be asking if it wasn't a desperation."

Sarah looked down at Ash, who was still howling in pain.

"So, what's it gonna be?"

Meanwhile, Dean had checked into a motel room, in Indiana, alone. He had stopped at a liquor store on the way. He wanted to be alone for what he was about to do, since he knew they would try and talk him out of it and Dean felt there wasn't any other choice. Inside the room, Dean opened the bottle and took a swig. There was some final things he had to take care of before he said, yes.

Dean had stopped by a post office, for a box. He set it on the bed. First, he folded up his favorite leather jacket, John had given him. The same one Dean was going to pass along to Sarah, one day. It reminded him of when Sarah used to wear his old one, that he had when he was a kid. Dean still couldn't believe Bobby still had the old thing. Sarah never took it off. Well, except for that one time, she was pissed at him. But, that was the only time. Dean recalled, she even wanted to sleep in it, she loved it, that much. Then, the kid outgrew the jacket and she couldn't wear it, anymore. They never could replace it.

Dean set the jacket inside the box.

Next, he held his car keys in his hand. Another thing Dean was going to pass down to Sarah. He had planned, if they lived that long, to start teaching Sarah, how to drive, as soon as the kid turned fifteen. If she was tall enough, that is. Dean already showed Sarah, a little, rememering when she was younger, sitting on his lap and showing her the different gears and even letting her steer around Bobby's place or a vacant lot while he controled the pedals.

Dean couldn't help let out a smile, thinking about it. He gripped the keys in his hand, before dropping them inside, on top of the jacket.

Sitting at the desk, Dean wrote out a long, heartfelt letter, to both Sam and Bobby:

 _Sam and Bobby_ _—_

 _Given what's about to happen, I'll be surprised if this package ever finds you. But if it does, I want you both to know that what I'm doing isn't about giving up. John taught us better than that_ _and I taught Sarah better than that, too_ _. This is about time. We've run out of it._

 _Left the Impala in Cicero. Where I'm going, we don't need roads. I know you'll look after her for me. Bobby_ _—_ _you've taken more for the team than anyone could ever ask_ _, and you looked after my daughter when I couldn't_ _. That makes you an honorary Winchester in my book._

 _Sam. You told_ _us_ _once that you pray every day_ _, like Sarah did_ _. Not sure if that's still true. Probably isn't, but if it is, give it one last try for me. And Sammy_ _—_ _two_ _Winchester_ _s_ _lost to this fight is enough. When it's over_ _, let us go._

 _-Dean_

After Dean finished the letter, he picked up his favorite gun, standing over the box, again. It was the one, he, first, taught Sarah how to shoot with. He was so proud when Sarah finally hit the beer can, they were using as targets. It felt like the day John had taken him, shooting, the first time. John had written in his journal, he was just as proud as Dean was, of Sarah, when he hit his first target. Guess, that's a feeling fathers should have.

He removed the magazine from the handle of his gun, and looked it over, before shoving it back in, placing it on top. Dean, also dropped the letter, now sealed inside an envelope, inside the box, as well. Dean, then, closed the flaps, sealing the box, shut, with duct tape and wrote, _Robert Singer_ on top, with a permenant marker.

Dean poured himself a drink and was about to drink it, when he heard, "Sending someone a candy gram?" He looked up, into the mirror, to see Sam standing there. Dean turned on his heel, to face his brother and stared at him, dumbfounded. "How'd you find me?"

Sam placed the keys he was holding, into the pocket of his jacket. "You're gonna kill yourself, right? It's not too hard to figure out the stops on the farewell tour," he shrugged. "How's Lisa doing, anyways?"

Dean was staring at the floor, with just his eyes. He dropped his head for a moment, before he said, "I'm not gonnna kill myself."

"No? So, Michael's not about to make you his muppet?"

He took a drink.

"What the hell, man? This is how it ends? You just," Sam shook his head, scrunching up his face, "walk out?"

Dean grabbed the bottle from the desk, pouring himself another glass. "Yeah, I guess."

"How could you do that?" he demanded of his brother.

Dean looked over at Sam and questioned, "How could I?" He raised his voice, "All you've ever done is run away! Even after your kid niece ran after and begged you to stay!"

"And, I was wrong, every single time I did. Especially that night." Dean stared at his brother. Sam let out a deep exhale. He never could get that image out of his head, of Sarah breaking down to him. "Just...please. Not now. Bobby is working on something."

"Oh, really," he nodded. "What?" Dean walked towards the bed.

Sam looked away, at the floor.

"You got nothing, and you know it."

Sam took another breath, letting it out, as his brother took another drink. "You know I have to stop you." He was staring at the floor.

Dean sniffed in some air, setting his glass on top of the box and moved back, towards the desk. "Yeah, well, you can try." He stopped to fully turn back to Sam. "Just remember, you're not all hopped up on demon blood, this time. "

He nodded, "Yeah, I know," and let out a sigh. "But, I brought help."

Dean stared at his brother. He, then, felt someone behind him and turned around, in time, to see Castiel standing there. Before Dean could do anything, Castiel zapped him away, to Bobby's place. Sam grabbed the box and allowed the angel to zap him there, as well. Dean was not a happy camper about it.

He paced around the room as Bobby, Sam, and Castiel tried to come up with a better plan than Dean's. "Yeah, no, this is good, really. Eight months of turned pages and screwed pooches, but, tonight," Dean pointed down at the floor. He turned on his heel, and leaned on a table, "tonight's when the magic happens." Dean folded his arms across his chest.

"You ain't helping," Bobby told him.

"Yeah, well, why don't you let me get out of your hair, then?"

Both Sam and Bobby, slowly, lifted their heads, towards Dean.

"What the hell happened to you?" Bobby demanded of him.

Dean stood up from the table, towards the old man. "Realty happened. Nuclear's the only option we have left." Bobby dropped the newspaper article he was reading, onto his desk. "Michael can ice the devil, save a buttload of people."

"But, not all of them. We gotta think of something else." Sam looked over at Bobby, not saying anything.

Dean scoffed, turning away. "Yeah, well, that's easy for you to say, but, if Lucifer burns this mother, down, and I could have done something about it, guess what," he slammed his hand down on the table he was leaning on, before, "that's on me."

"You can't give up, son," Bobby told him, his heart breaking for the guy.

Dean scoffed at the ceiling, dropping his head, to shake it at the floor. He looked over at Bobby. "You're not my father." Bobby frowned when he heard that. "And, you ain't in my shoes."

Bobby looked away, heartbroken, staring at the desk, which Sam gave his brother, a disproving look. Dean caught the look he was giving, as Sam just shook his head. If there was any time for Sarah's two-sense to be given, it was now, and Dean needed it. Both men knew Sarah would have let him have it, right then and there, for that remark.

Dean knew it, too, as he swallowed a lump forming in his throat. He regretted saying it, there was no doubt about it. The room was silence as Bobby pulled out a gun, from the desk drawer and a single bullet from his shirt pocket, looking at it. No one understood why.

"What is that?"

"That's the round I mean to put through my skull." He slammed it down on the desk, never taking his eye off it. "Every morning, I look at it, and, I think," Bobby gave a slight nod, "maybe today's the day I flip the lights out. But, I don't do it," he looked over at Dean. "I never do it. You know why? Because I promised both you and Sarah, I wouldn't give up!" His voice rose high as he reminded Dean of their lecture they gave him.

Things were quiet from there. No one could say a thing, until suddenly, Castiel felt a pain in his head.

"Cas, you okay?" Sam asked, looking back at the angel, as Castiel groaned, holding onto his forehead.

"No," he replied.

"What's wrong?"

Sam's question was followed up, by a loud explosion, from somewhere, nearby, that shook the whole house. The men looked around, confused. They looked out the window, where there should have been some trees, off in the distance, but, was now, bare sky.

"Something's happening," Castiel admitted, staring at nothing.

Dean asked, "What?" But, the angel vanished, blowing papers across the room.

 _ ***Dean's letter is actually what he was writing, in the episode. I just tweaked it, by adding the parts about Sarah. I'm guessing, anyway. I could only make out a few words, so, I looked it up on the Supernatural wiki for "Point of No Return." Thought I would point that out.**_


	179. Chapter 179- Point of No Return (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 179

While Castiel was gone, Sam and Bobby continued doing their research, trying to find something that might help, and keep them from saying, yes. Dean continued to pace around, thinking it was a waste of time. But, the other two wasn't about to give up.

Sam read in the kitchen, keeping an eye, to make sure Dean wouldn't try and sneak out the back door. He ended up, blocking the fridge.

Dean wandered over, wanting inside. "I'm gonna get a beer. You mind?"

Sam removed himself from the fridge, stepping to the side, so he could.

Castiel returned, by that point, yelling for help.

Bobby was sitting at his desk, when the angel appeared, holding someone in his arms. He, too, yelled for the brothers.

Sam and Dean came, hurrying into the room, just as Castiel laid the person on the bed, beside the window. They couldn't believe who it was. Dean's heart skipped a beat when he recognized his daughter. She was covered in dirt, but it was her, whole and all.

"Is that...?" Sam's mouth hung open. He had never felt so anxious, in his life. A good kind of anxious.

Bobby wheeled himself from around the desk, as the men all circled around where Sarah laid, still out.

Dean turned on the angel. "Cas, what the hell?"

Castiel slammed two angel blades down, on the desk. "Angels," he replied, staring over at Sarah.

"Angels?" Sam questioned. "Why?"

He shook his head, once. "I know one thing for sure," Castiel marched over to Sarah. With being resurrected, Sarah was healed of every scar she ever received, and was including the marks Castiel had embedded onto her ribs, several months ago. "We need to hide her, again, now." He pressed a hand to her torso. Light ignited as he recarved the markings. Her eyes shot open, feeling the whole thing, making Sarah groan out, in pain. When Castiel was done, he stepped back, as she bolted into a sitting position.

"What the hell?!" Sarah wrapped an arm around her middle, rapidly, inhaling and exhaling. She looked around, realizing where she was. Her eyes scanned around, between the men, stopping on her father. "Dad?"

Dean stared back her, swallowing back the tears. "Baby Girl..." The guy couldn't hold back any longer, and sprung past Sam and Castiel, kneeling in front of his daughter and wrapping his arms around her.

He held onto Sarah, for a long time, with a firm grip. Dean never thought he would ever get this chance, again. At least, not on earth.

Sarah held on to him. Both of them found they couldn't hold back the tears.

Sam, Bobby, and Castiel did not speak, allowing the moment to last as long as Dean needed. They watched the scene play out, relieved for him. They, too, wanted to hug the kid, but, their time had to wait.

Dean did not want to let go, either. He wanted to hold on, forever and never let go. Eventually, it was Sarah who let go, first. She had to, gently, nudge him away, so she could look down at her father. Dean, reluctantly, let go, placing a hand on the side of her head, giving his daughter a smile through his tears.

"It's great to have you back, Baby Girl."

Sarah forced a smile for her father, as well. "Yeah. Glad to be back, too." She, then looked over at her uncle. "Hey, Uncle Sam."

"Hey, Peanut." Sam smiled back at her. He never thought he would ever say that nickname, ever again. Sarah stood up and grabbed onto her giant of an uncle. Sam wrapped his arms around his niece, squeezing her, tight. In fact, he ended up, lifting her off the ground, having her dangle as he hugged Sarah. "We missed you so much. Things weren't the same without you, Peanut."

Sarah squeezed back, switching to Sam's neck. A tear escaped his eye as he held her for a long time, before setting Sarah back down. She looked up at him.

"You ain't forgotten me, have ya?" She turned around, to over at the oldest hunter. Sarah, then bolted over to him, jumping onto his lap. It pushed his wheelchair back, a bit. The desk stopped them, from going back, even further. Sarah wrapped her arms around Bobby's neck, squeezing him as she done with the other two. Bobby held his arms around her middle, squeezing right back. Like Dean, he didn't say anything, either. Instead, he savored the moment.

When the two of them finally did let go, Sarah turned towards the angel, who looked back at her, confused.

"You think I've forgotten you, too, Cas?" she told him. Surprising the angel, Sarah grabbed onto him, hugging Castiel around the waist. The angel couldn't help hug the kid, in return.

Once the warm hugs and precious moments were over with, the men got right down to the reason why Sarah was back.

"How did you come back?" Sam was the one who asked, and, quickly, added, "don't get me wrong, I'm glad you are. But, it just seems strange the angels would bring you back." Everyone was sitting as they discussed the matter, at hand.

Sarah shrugged, "Ash and I were goofing around, when Zachariah showed up, telling me Michael needed me, since Dad wasn't saying yes."

"But, why would the archangel, Michael want to use a kid as a vessel, for?" Bobby asked.

"Desperation, was what Zachariah said. I could tell he hates it, but, Michael did say I'm part of the bloodline. Plus, with the demon blood running through my veins, I'm a sure-win for heaven."

Sam had his arms crossed. "Even without drinking the stuff?" They looked over at him. "I mean, I'm pretty sure Michael's not gonna want his vessel drinking the stuff if heaven's naming me, an abomination."

"I don't think I need to get hyped up on the stuff," she admitted.

"What do you mean? Since we killed Azazel, I can't use my powers unless I'm on it."

"Don't you remember how strong my powers were?" Sarah reminded him. "I shot a wardrobe across a room. I busted open a locked cellar door. Not to mention, I shattered a whole glass door into a million pieces. If Michael joined me, an archangel, just think of the power I could give him. That's why him and Lucifer are saying I'm a sure-win, and why the angels are unsure of me."

Dean couldn't help think of what could happen if Sarah had gotten on demon blood, like Sam had. The outcome could be disastrous for both her and the planet. And, Dean was not going to let that happen.

"It doesn't matter if you're a sure-win or not, because you're not saying, yes, to either of them," he said, out loud.

"Dad, that's why I'm back. To say, yes, to Michael. I have to. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here," Sarah told her father.

"Yes, you're back. You used that S.O.B for something good. Now, I can take it from here."

Sarah looked at her father, confused. "What do you mean?"

Sam sighed at the carpet. "Your dad has decided he wants to say, yes, to Michael."

Sarah switched from her father, to her uncle, then back at her father. "When did you decide this? I thought-"

Dean cut her off. "We're out of time and ideas, and I'm the only one who can stop this."

"No, you're not, Dad. I can stop this, too, and make sure the good guys win."

"I don't care, Sarah. You're not going in my place," he argued. "End of discussion."

She stood to her feet. "No, this is not the end of discussion. Last I checked, you did not want Michael riding inside of you, controlling you."

"Times have changed," he shot back. "You're not saying, yes."

"It's my choice!"

Sam jumped into the argument. "Hold up, Sarah. Your dad is right about one thing. There's no way you're saying yes. And, besides, after all that crap about destiny, now they've suddenly have a plan B? Does that smell right to anybody?"

Sarah shrugged. "Did you not hear me the first time? Zachariah doesn't like the idea, Michael doesn't like it, neither. They couldn't get Dad to say it, so I'm stepping up."

Now, it was Sam who argued with her."No one is stepping up. We are still working on a plan. Give us some time, Sarah."

She folded her arms. "Oh, yeah, and, uh, how's that going? Because, last I checked, that's all we've been doing, the past year since _you_ set Lucifer free!" The words had come out before Sarah could stop them.

Sam remained silent, as his niece's words sunk in.

But, upset, the words just kept right on coming. "We wouldn't even be in this mess if you had just listened to me, in the first place. If you had believed me when I said, Ruby was trouble. All of this would never have happened if you both had just listened to me, and maybe our friends would still be alive!"

His head dropped, as Sarah said those words.

Dean came to his brother's defense. "Sarah Lynn, that is enough," he scolded her, firmly. "That was uncalled for and you know it. You're not taking my place and that's final."

"Why?" she questioned him.

"Because, I said, so!"

Sarah stared at her father, remaining silent for a moment. Finally, she said, "Sorry. Didn't know I was speaking to Grandpa." Sarah stormed passed the brothers. Dean tried to grab her arm, to stop her, but Sarah pulled it out of his reach. She, briefly, glanced at him, before leaving the room, storming upstairs.

Once upstairs, Sarah headed for her room, shoving the door, open and slammed it, shut.

Dean had watched his daughter storm from the room, and up the stairs. When he heard her door, slam, he closed his eyes. His daughter wasn't even back, for an hour, yet, and already, things weren't going as well as they should be. He looked over at his brother to ask, "you okay?"

Sam nodded at the floor, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." But, the truth was, he wasn't fine. The things Sam had beaten himself over, about, his favorite and only niece reminded him of.

To make sure Dean didn't sneak off, again, Sam and Castiel locked him up in the panic room, for the time being. After a few hours, Sam went down to check on him, and told Castiel to keep an eye on Sarah.

"Is this really necessary?" he asked of Sam.

"Well," Sam gave a short chuckle, "I mean, we got our hands full, Dean. A houseful of flight risks."

Dean shook his head, "I'm not letting her do it."

"Sarah? No, I'm not, either."

"No, you're not getting me." He turned around, to sit down, on the other side of the room.

"Oh, no, no, no, I get you, perfectly," said Sam. "But, I'm not letting you do it, either."

Dean turned back, around, sitting on the edge of a table that they left in there. "My kid's not taking a bullet for me," he told Sam, shaking his head, again.

"Dean..."

"I'm serious. I mean, she's right. Think about how many people we've gotten killed, Sam." Sam looked back at his brother. "Mom, Dad... Jess, Jo, Ellen. Not to mention Sarah's mom and aunt. Should I keep going?"

Holding his hands on his sides, Sam stared at the floor. "It's not like we pulled the trigger," he pointed out.

"We might as well have."

Sam swallowed, at that statement.

"I'm tired, man." Dean shook his head, for a third time. "I'm tired of fighting who I'm supposed to be."

He looked away, nodding, in understanding. "You think maybe, you could take half a second, and stop trying to sacrifice yourself for a change? Maybe we could actually stick, together?"

Dean dropped his head. "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

He did not respond.

"Dean, seriously. Tell me, I-I want to know."

Dean shook his head, a fourth time. "I just," he looked away, off to the side, before he shrugged, looking ahead, still at the floor. "I-I don't believe."

This time, Sam shook his head. "In what?"

He finally looked back up at his brother. "In you."

Sam stared back at him, swallowing back tears and looked away.

"I mean, I don't..." Dean shook his head. "I don't know whether it's gonna be demon blood, or some other demon chick, or what, but," he looked at Sam, his voice low and breaking. "I do know they're gonna find a way to turn you."

"So, you're saying, I'm not strong enough." Sam forced a grin, at the floor. He looked up at Dean.

"You're angry, you're self-righteous. Lucifer's gonna wear you to the prom, man. It's just a matter of time."

Sam shook his head, "Don't say that to me. "Not you. Of all people." With another shake, he looked away, again.

Dean watched his brother, painfully. "I don't want to," he shook his head and shrugged, "but, it's the truth. And, when Satan takes you over, there's got to be somebody there to fight him, and it ain't gonna be your peanut."

Sam forced a smile when Dean called Sarah, his peanut. That's what she was, and always will be.

Dean gave a chuckle. "So, it's got to be me."

That got to Sam, causing the guy to walk out of the panic room, leaving Dean alone, once again.

Sarah was laying on her bed. Her head was at the foot, propped up by her pillow, folded in half, as she stared at the photos on her walls. She wished she could take those words back, she had said to her father and uncle. But, Sarah couldn't. What was said, was done.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

"Who is it?" she called, not removing her eyes from the photos.

"Castiel," Sarah heard the angel from the other side of the door. "Bobby told me, to bring you up this sandwich."

Sarah was holding both of her stuffed animals on either side of her, stroking their soft material. "Come in," she told him.

The door opened.

Castiel walked in, taking a plate, with a turkey and cheese sandwich on it, over to her. Sarah told him, to set it on the nightstand, which he did.

"Um." Castiel was still new to the whole conversation thing. He searched the floor for what to say. "Are you okay?"

Sarah raised her eyebrows. "Peachy."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

Sarah stared at her stuffed animals, not saying a word.

Castiel looked at what she was staring at, tilting his head at Chimchar. "Why is that monkey's butt on fire?" he questioned.

"It's a fire-type Pokemon from that video game I like to play," she explained to the angel. "It's the way he was designed by the game's creators. I don't know why." Sarah noticed Castiel still did not understand. Then, again, most adults never really could grasp Pokemon's concepts. "You mind if I could be alone, for a while?"

"Actually, yes," he finally said. "Sam sent me up, here to keep an eye on you."

Sarah let out an annoyed breath of air, towards the ceiling.

"Why do you want to take your father's place?"

She looked up, at the angel, from the corner of her eye. "First of all, I had to when Zachariah threatened to punish our friend, Ash."

"But, when your father said, you didn't need to, anymore, you still wanted to do it. So, what's the other reason?"

Sarah stared at a photo of her and her father, together. "I have to. For Dad."

"I don't understand."

Things were silent, at first, until Sarah finally sat up, rolling onto her side. "All his life, Dad has been taking care of someone else. My grandfather, Uncle Sam, and now, me. He's always had this great burden he had to carry, including this thing with Michael. When Michael told me I was also his vessel, it hit me. If I ever got an opportunity to give back to my dad and lift this burden off of him, I told myself I would take it. So, when Zachariah came to me, even though I said, no, at first, I knew. Dad has sacrificed too much, already, that I feel I need to do this. For him. For all of my family. Now, don't stand there and tell me, that's not a legit reason."

"I didn't. That does sound like a reason to say, yes," Castiel said.

"Thank you," she replied. "Because, I'm not changing my mind." Sarah looked away.

Castiel's eyes dropped to the floor. He tried to figure the girl out. He thought the brothers were stubborn. Neither of them had nothing on Sarah. "What if it's a trick?"

She shrugged. "Maybe it is, maybe not. It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"This seems like a whole lot for one child to take on. What if accepting Michael, destroys you in the end? It would have been a waste of time."

Sarah looked up at the angel. "I'm not changing my mind. I know the risks, and I know it may seem selfish." She shook her head. "I'm not doing it for Michael or any of the other angels. I'm doing it for Dad, and..." she dropped her head, her words trailing off.

"What is it?" Castiel urged her to continue.

"It wasn't just their fault the apocalypse happened."

"What do you mean?"

"Ruby wouldn't have gotten out with the rest of them, if I hadn't of opened the gate to hell, in the first place. I was a nieve kid, who believed they could save everyone, or at least, my grandfather. So, now, I have to fix it," she admitted. "It's just as much my fault, and it was Dad's and Uncle Sam's."

"You were doing what you thought was right." Sarah and Castiel heard Sam in the doorway. He had come up to check on his niece, after he finished with Dean. "Plus, you were just a kid. Still are."

Sarah looked away. She felt she couldn't look her uncle in the eye, after the things she said to him, earlier. "I knew what I was doing, though. You said it, yourself, it doesn't make things right"

"No, you didn't," he shook his head and stepped, further into the room. "Azazel told you, you could save our dad. That was why you did it. Any of us would have done it, if given the chance. This isn't your fault, and you, certainly, don't need to fix anything, Peanut."

Hearing him, still call her, peanut, made Sarah's eyes, water. But, she held it in. "I'm still doing it."

"No, you're not," he argued.

Sarah turned her head over to Sam, glancing up at him. "Why? Because, you and Dad say so?"

Sam shifted on his feet, sucking in air, as he held his hands on his sides. He looked up at his niece. "Because, we don't want to lose you, again. Once was hard enough, Peanut."

Tears fell, on either side as Sarah held onto the edge of the mattress. "I know," she said, barely.

"Know, what?"

"What that's like. One after another, we've lost people. I even lost you and we had to watch Dad, die, over and over, again. My stomach still gets queasy, thinking about it."

"Then, please, let Bobby and me, handle it," he pleaded with her, once more. But, Sam saw Sarah shake her head. "Peanut, please. Don't do this. Your dad's not gonna let you. Neither of us will."

"Then, you're gonna have to kill me. Because, my mind's made up."

Sam swallowed as he listened to how broken his niece was. Before he broke down, completely, Sam walked out of the room. On the way, he heard Sarah call out, "I didn't mean to snap at you, before." Sam stopped in his tracks, just outside the door. He twisted back around, to look over at her. "I know, Peanut."

Sarah looked at her uncle. When their eyes met, she, quickly, dropped her head.

Sam watched his niece, for a moment, before he headed downstairs, where he met Bobby. Castiel had followed behind, leaving Sarah, alone.

"How's both of them, doing?"

The middle Winchester watched the floor, walking towards the older man. All Sam could do, was shrug.

Bobby switched the question. "How you doing?"

He still said nothing.

Bobby let out a sigh.

Castiel watched Sam, for a moment, before he headed, down to the basement, to check on Dean, himself. When the angel noticed it was, strangely quiet, he, carefully made his way over to the panic room's door. He placed an ear to it, listening for any kind of movement, before opening the latch. Castiel peered inside, looking everywhere. Dean was nowhere to be seen.

So, Castiel opened the heavy, metal door, stepping inside. A chair and some things were knocked over, on the floor, but no sign of Dean.

Suddenly, Dean called out to him, from behind. Castiel turned around, in time to see Dean standing there, next to an angel sigil he had drawn, on the inside of a locker door. Dean pressed his hand to it, sending the angel away, in a bright light.

Now free, Dean grabbed his jacket and took off, out the cellar doors, that led outside.


	180. Chapter 180- Point of No Return (Part 3)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 180

When Sam realized what had happened, he rushed back from the panic room, grabbing his own jacket, letting Bobby know what had happened. "Look, I'll get Dean. He couldn't have gotten too far." he assured the old man. "Just...watch Sarah."

Bobby questioned, "How? You may have noticed she's got a slight height advantage."

"Then, cuff her to your chair," Sam said, sarcastically. "I don't know. Just watch her." With that said, he headed out the door.

Bobby looked from the direction Sam had gone, to up the stairs, where he could see Sarah's door, still open. He knew she was asleep, though. Sam had checked on her, again, noticing she had fallen asleep, and turned off her light. Bobby was glad her bedroom window had gotten stuck, closed, years ago. He would bet Sarah would try to climb out of it. Bobby also wished Sarah wasn't so sacrificial as her father was.

Sarah was staking through the woods, trying to track down a wendigo. She held a flare gun that was positioned in her hand, like a regular gun. Keeping quiet, Sarah made sure not to be detected. It was dark out, so she knew it would attack any minute, and Sarah had to be ready.

"This is what you dream about?" Sarah turned on her heel, pointing the flare gun where the voice had come from. When she saw it was only Zachariah, Sarah lowered it, letting out a sigh.

"I almost wasted the only shot I had, you dunce."

Zachariah ignored the insult. "You weren't where you were supposed to be," he told her, instead.

"I guess, Dad and them, found me, first."

"Guess so. You're not gonna back out on me, are you?"

"Nope. I said, I would say, yes, and I will. So, when can we do this? Can I just say, 'Michael, I choose you?'"

"Tell me where you are and I can come grab you," he said.

"I'm at my uncle Bobby's place," she told him.

Suddenly, Sarah woke up in her room. Before she could blink, Sarah disappeared.

It was Castiel who found Dean, doing quite the number on him. He wasn't pleased both Dean and Sarah wanted to say, yes. When it was over and Dean was lying on the ground, he egged Castiel to kill him. It looked like the angel might, but, instead, just poked him, knocking Dean out. Castiel took him back to Bobby's house, where Sam had returned and learned that Sarah was gone.

He had come running back down the stairs, yelling, "Bobby! Sarah is gone!" Sam spent several minutes, pacing around the kitchen, while Bobby sat in his wheelchair, watching him. He ran his hands along his hair, holding them on the back of his neck. "What the hell, Bobby?!"

"Watch your tone, boy!" Bobby scolded him. "She was upstairs where I can't go. That window of hers, has been broken since ever, and I would have heard that bottom step, creak, no matter how much pressure you put on it. A mouse could make a noise on those stairs."

"The angels must have taken her," Castiel said, when he appeared with Dean, holding him on his shoulder.

Sam and Bobby stared over at the condition Dean was in. "What the hell happened to him?" Sam was the one to ask.

"Me." Castiel took Dean over and tossed him down on the bed.

Bobby wheeled into the den. "What do you mean, the angels took Sarah? You branded her ribs, didn't you?"

He turned back around, to face them. "Yes. Sarah must have tipped them."

"How?"

"I don't know." Castiel looked away. "Maybe in a dream."

Sam shook his head, "Well, where would they have taken her?"

Castiel stared at the floor until it dawned on him. He, then looked up at the men, knowing, exactly where they had taken her.

Sarah looked around the room she had appeared in. It looked like a room in her grandparents' house. It had gold-painted framed paintings, expensive vases on columns, and a long table, with a platter of cheeseburgers and a fancy, large bowl, full of ice and containers of chocolate milk.

She wandered over to the table, taking one of the cheeseburgers, recognizing the wrapper that was covering it. Unwrapping it, Sarah took a bite. It tasted the same as she remembered it. Sarah thought it was the perfect burger, and was never able to find a better one and she had tried, in almost every state her family had been through.

"Chester's Burger Grille's famous bacon cheeseburger. Your second cousin used to take you, every Saturday afternoon, when you were five, right?"

Sarah zipped her head around, landing on the angel.

He smiled. "I see, you and your dad, share, almost, the same refined palate. Seriously, though, how do you have all that sugary food and still remain thin? I eat half a cookie and this vessel gains five pounds."

"I have a fast metabolism?" she shrugged. Sarah took another bite, before setting the burger down on the table. "So, where's Mikey boy? Let's get this over with. The faster I say, yes, the faster we can call it, a day," she said, as she clapped her hands, together, and rubbed them.

"Oh, right," he said. "About that. "Look, this is never easy, but I'm afraid we've had to terminate your position at this time."

The corners of her mouth, dropped. "Wait, what?" she questioned.

"Hey, don't get me, wrong. You've been a hell of a sport, really," Zachariah clicked his mouth, holding up a finger and thumb in the shape of a circle, "good stuff. But, the thing is, well, we're not that desperate."

Sarah looked away at the floor, feeling a lot of stupidity. How could she have fallen for another trick, yet again. What made it even worse, was remembering all those things she had said to the people she loved and cared about.

"Come on, kiddo," he continued. "Did you really think we would go to a child, to save the world?"

"Ash Ketchum saved the world, multiple times, and he's only ten."

"That's a cartoon. This is real life, and your dad has that role. You're just a clammy scrap of bait. "

Sarah looked back at the angel, staring up at him. "First of all, it's anime, not a cartoon. Second, I know it's not real, I was making a point, that kids are tougher than adults give them credit for. And, third, don't you want to insure a victory?"

"Sure, we do, and Michael will win. We just need your dad, to say, yes." Sarah looked away, again, fuming. "Look, as you know, your dad and uncle have one blind spot, and, it's family. See, they're gonna put aside their differences and they're gonna come get you, and that is gonna put Dean right," Zachariah poked down on the table, "here. Right where I need him." He, then turned around to walk away, as he yelled out, in excitement, "This is the night, kid!" Zachariah looked back over his shoulder. "Our night." He turned, fully around. "Michael's seen it. The tumblers finally click into place, and it's all because of you. And, me. But, who's keeping score?"

Sarah glared up at him. "I'll score you, with my foot up your ass," she threatened.

"Cool your jets, corky," he told her, holding his hand out to her. "Sit down. We're doing it, together. Plus, you still get your severance. Your friend, Ash will still go, unpunished, okay?"

"And, why should I believe you, now?"

Zachariah stared down, at the preteen. "You know what? I keep hearing this," he raised his hand, flapping it like a mouth, talking, "but, what I want to be hearing, is this," he closed his fingers against his thumb.

Sarah scrunched her eyebrows, together. But, before she could make a reference, Sarah, suddenly threw up, blood.

"That's better," he smiled.

Meanwhile, Dean had finally awoke, cuffed to the bed, in the panic room. He looked around the place, finding his brother sitting, nearby.

"How you feeling?"

Dean sat up, groaning from the pain he could still feel from Castiel. "Word to the wise," he said, to the floor, moving his head. He shut his eyes, "don't piss off the nerd angels."

Sam glanced at the floor.

"So, how's it going?"

He took a deep breath in, readjusting his elbows on his legs. "Sarah's gone. The angels have her."

Dean's head shot up, so fast, Sam thought his brother might have whiplash. "Where?" he questioned, full-on mother hen mode.

"The room where they took you."

"You sure?"

"Cas did a recon," Sam explained.

"And?"

"And, the place is crawling with mooks. Pretty much no-shot-in-hell, hail-Mary kind of thing."

"Ah, so the usual. So, what do you gonna do?" Dean figured they weren't going to let him go save her. So, he had to hold it, together and hope Sam and Castiel could go save his little girl. He was surprised by his brother's response.

"For starters, I'm bringing you with us." Sam stood up, heading over to him.

"Excuse me?" Dean stared up at his brother.

Sam bent over, to unlock the cuffs. "There are too many of them," he explained. "We can't do it, alone, and, uh, you're pretty much the only game in town." Sam went back, over to the desk, throwing the key down on it.

"Isn't that a bad idea?" he asked.

"Cas and Bobby think so." Sam retook his place on the edge of the desk. "I'm not so sure."

Dean stared over at him. "Well, they're right," he nodded, once. "Because, it's either a trap to get me, there, to make me say, yes, or, it's not a trap and I'm gonna say, yes, anyway." Sam turned his head, a little, towards the ceiling. "And, I will. I'll do it. Fair warning."

He shook his head. "No, you won't." Sam got another stare from him. "When push shoves, you'll make the right call."

Dean looked away, out of the corner of his eye, thinking on his brother's statement. "You know, if tables were turned, I'd let you, rot in here," he nodded his head, repeatedly. "Hell, I have let you rot in here."

Sam scoffed, turning his head, away. He inhaled, sharply. "Yeah, well," he shook his head, "I guess, I'm not that smart."

"I-I don't get it. Sam, why are you doing this?"

He shrugged. "Because. You're still my big brother."

Dean dropped his head. A small smile appeared, as he thought on it.

Once they were ready, Castiel zapped the three of them, outside where Sarah was being held. Dean looked around as a plane was heard, from somewhere, nearby.

"Where the hell are we?" he asked.

"Vans Nuys, California," Castiel said.

"Where's the beautiful room?"

"In there."

"The beautiful room is in an abandoned muffler factory, in Van Nuys, California?" Dean questioned.

Castiel asked, "Where'd ya think it was?" They were walking along the building.

He shrugged, stuttering, a little. "I-I don't know. Jupiter? A blade of glass?" He looked up at the building, as they neared the entrance. "Not Van Nuys."

Castiel stopped, to turn and face the brothers.

Sam finally spoke up. "Tell me, again, why you don't just grab Sarah and shazam the hell out of there?" he questioned the angel.

Castiel was scanning the area, around them. He looked at Sam. "Because, there are, at least, five angels, in there."

"So? You're fast," said Dean.

"They're faster," Castiel told him and looked away, removing his tie, from around his neck. "I'll clear them out. You two grab the is our only chance." He folded it, in his hand, shoving the tie into the pocket of his trench coat, before heading inside.

Dean stopped the angel. "Whoa, wait," he said. "you're gonna take on five angels?"

Castiel turned back to Dean, and nodded, "Yes."

He glanced over at Sam, then back to him. "Isn't that suicide?"

"Maybe it is. But, then, I won't have to watch you, fail." Dean stared at the angel, surprised to hear him say that. "I'm sorry, Dean." Castiel shook his head, "I don't have the same faith in you, that Sam does." Pulling his hand out, from where he had it in his coat pocket, Castiel pulled out an exacto knife, pushing it up with his thumb.

"What are you going to do with that?" asked Sam. His question was answered when Castiel, then proceeded to carve an angel sigil into his flesh.

Once carved, Castiel headed inside the abandoned factory. It was dark, dank, and quiet. Too quiet. The angel wandered over to, what used to be, a head boss' office. The windows were boarded up, where he couldn't see inside. Suddenly, one of the angels attacked, pitting Castiel in a fight. It was edgy, but he managed to take care of it. Before, anyone could breathe, four more appeared, surrounding the trench coat-wearing angel.

Castiel taunted them to attack him, before he ripped his collared shirt, open, as if he were Clark Kent, revealing to them, the sigil. He pressed his still bloodied hand he had also cut, to it. Light shot from it, sending the other angels away, including himself.

Sam and Dean, who were waiting outside, was impressed that actually worked. Dean, very carefully, opened the door and headed inside. He stared forward, scanning the place with just his eyes.

Dean walked forward, towards the center of the large room. He looked around the corner, of the small office, moving further, before looking over at the angel Castiel had killed. Dean looked back at the office, noticing the door, there.

Very carefully, again, he went over to it, stopping outside, looking around, to make sure no more angels attacked, before taking a hold of the door knob. He turned the knob, pushing the door, open. Light peered out, from inside. It was, in deed, the same room he was taken to, a year ago.

Dean walked further, inside the room, letting the door shut behind him. One of the first things his eyes landed on, was his little girl, sitting on the floor. Her back was up against the wall, asleep. He hurried right over, kneeling beside his daughter. Dry, faded blood covered her chin and under her lower lip. "Hey, Baby Girl," he whispered, trying to wake her.

Sarah shot awake and looked up at her father. "Dad?"

"Yeah, it's really me, Baby Girl. You okay?"

"I'm so sorry for what I told you and Uncle Sam. Honest," she told him, anxiously.

"I know, I know, it's alright." Dean lifted Sarah to her feet, as she held onto her stomach.

Sarah struggled to stand, at first. "Dad, it's a trap."

Dean looked down at her and muttered, "I figured." He was about to walk her out of there, when he heard Zachariah's voice.

"Dean, please." The angel was standing right in front of them. "Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Dean shrugged. "Did you?"

Out of nowhere, Sam came charging in, clutching an angel blade. He tried to plunge it into Zachariah. Unfortunately, the angel saw it coming and twisted around, in time, to send the giant, flying across the room. The angel blade flew out of his hand, as well.

Dean called out to his brother, as Sam crashed into some kind of fancy fencing, knocking him out for a moment.

"You know what I learned from this experience, Dean?"

"That...you're...a...dick?" Sarah cracked out, weakly.

Zachariah frowned. Even in pain, the kid was sarcastic. It resulted in her, tossing up more blood, dropping to her knees.

Dean looked from his daughter, over at Zachariah. "Let her go, you son of a bitch!"

The angel ignored the demand, as if he hadn't of said anything. "Patience, Dean, is what I learned. I mean, I thought I was downsized for sure, and for us, a firing- pretty damn literal," he nodded at him.

Dean looked over when he heard Sam groan.

Zachariah chuckled. "But, I should have trusted the boss man. It's all playing out like he said." He moved over to sit on the edge of the table. Dean looked down as Sarah tossed up, blood, again. "You, me, your hemorrhaging family." Zachariah raised a fist, back at Sam, making him, throw up, blood, as well, without looking back. All while, holding a stupid grin.

Dean's eyes dropped.

"You're finally ready, right?" He stood up again as Dean looked between his brother and daughter, helpless. "You see things our way. You know there's no other choice. There's never been a choice."

It was the hardest to watch his daughter, struggle, as she held her arms around her stomach. It felt much worse than the time Sarah had gotten the flu. She squeezed her eyes, shut, as more blood appeared, pouring onto the wooden floor.

"Stop it," Dean ordered of the angel. "Stop it, right now!"

"In exchange for what?" he asked.

Dean closed his eyes, at that and shook his head. "Damn it, Zachariah. Alright. Stop it, please." His lower lip, quivered, a little. "I'll do it."

Sarah tried to reject, with a no, but, it only came out as a moan, tugging her father's heartstrings. More like, yanking them, actually. Her heart raced as she tried to catch her breath, in between spurts. It seemed like she was breathing through a straw.

"I'm sorry," Zachariah raised a hand to his ear. "What was that?"

He stared at the angel, breaking down. "Okay, yes. The answer is yes."

It was Sam, who managed to get a word out. "Dean."

"Do you hear me?" Dean yelled. "Call Michael down, you bastard!" He dropped his head, sharing a look with his daughter, who stared up at him. The moment their eyes met, Dean gave her a sorrowful look, while Sarah gave him, a pleading one, not to do this.

Zachariah looked sideways, at him. "How do I know you're not lying?"

Dean shot his head up, at the angel. "Does it look like I'm lying?" he demanded of him.

Zachariah turned around, his back to the Winchesters and began, chanting in Enochian.

Sam looked over at his brother, disappointed, and looked away. When he looked back, he saw his brother, smirk and gave him a wink. Sarah couldn't see the wink, but could see the corner of her father's mouth go up.

"Of course, I have a few conditions," said Dean.

The angel looked back, over his shoulder, before turning all the way, around. "What?"

"A few people whose safety you have to guarantee before I say, yes."

"Sure, fine. Make a list," he replied.

"But, most of all," Dean nodded, "Michael can't have me, until he disintegrates you."

Zachariah stared over at him, sideways. "What did you just say?"

"I said," he took a step towards him, "before Michael gets one piece of this sweet ass, he has to turn you into a piece of charcoal."

The angel chuckled, nervously. "You really think Michael's gonna go for that?"

"Who's more important to him, now?" said Dean. "You? Or, me?"

Zachariah lunged for him, grabbing a hold of the front of his shirt. "You listen to me. You are nothing but a maggot inside a worm's ass. Do you know who I am? After I deliver you to Michael?"

"Expendable."

He chuckled, shaking his head. Michael's not gonna kill me."

"Maybe not." Dean pulled out his own angel blade, from inside his jacket sleeve. "But, I am." He, then shoved the blade, up, into Zachariah's jaw. The point came out of the middle of his forehead. White light shot out of the angel's eyes, as he cried out. When Dean pulled it out, Zachariah fell back, against the wall. The force of the impact, knocked him, onto his back, as well.

By that point, the room was starting to shake, as the familiar, ear-piercing screech erupted. Dean, quickly got to his feet and went to Sarah, first, grabbing a hold of her arm. Now, with Zachariah gone, the hemorrhaging ceased.

"Can you walk, Baby Girl?" Dean asked over the loud screech.

"I think so," she replied. 

Dean pulled his daughter to her feet, which she was able to stand. With Sarah able to walk, he hurried over to help his brother up, telling Sarah, "Okay, come on." He half carried Sam towards the door, opening it. He looked back to make sure Sarah was following behind, but she hadn't moved from that spot. "Sarah, let's go!"

He carried Sam out of the office, setting him down, on the floor. Dean looked around for his daughter, to see her nowhere in sight. He hurried back, inside, in time for the door to slam, shut, in his face.

Dean pounded on the door, like a lunatic. "Sarah! No! Sarah! SARAH!"

Sarah remained in the same spot. She could hear her father, through the door, pounding on it. "I'm sorry, Dad," she said, softly, and looked up, towards the ceiling as the light grew brighter. It engulfed the entire room.

Dean had tried to grab the door knob, but it was like touching a really hot light bulb. He stepped back and tried to slam his entire body against the door, as the light was emitting through the cracks of the boarded up windows. Dean tried it, several times until the whole door burned him. He watched, in horror, unsure on what to do. His little girl was still in there and he couldn't do anything to save her.

"Sarah, we'll get you out," he tried to yell, but knew it was effortless.

Eventually, the screeching stopped and the light faded. Dean, carefully touched the knob, feeling the temperature back to normal. He shoved the door, open, looking around. The room was an old office, again.

Dean looked back, at his brother, who could, also see it was too late. They exchanged worried looks. They had lost Sarah, once again.

Sometime later, after Dean had hot-wired a pick-up truck that was sitting nearby the factory, they drove down the highway, headed back to where the Impala was still parked.

After a while of complete silence, Sam let out a breath of air. "You think Sarah's okay?" he asked Dean.

"I doubt it," he muttered, out loud, keeping his eye on the road. "Cas, either. But, we'll get 'em."

There was a short pause.

"So," Sam looked down at the floorboards, at his feet.

Dean looked over at his brother, waiting for more. "So, what?" he asked.

"I saw your eyes," Sam said, looking over at him. "You were, totally, rocking the yes, back there." Dean's head moved to the other side, towards his window. "So, what changed your mind?"

Dean drove with one hand, staring ahead, until he looked over at Sam. "Honestly? The damnest thing," he shook his head. "I mean, the world's ending, the walls are coming down on us, and I look over at you and all I can think about is, this stupid, son of a bitch brought me, here."

Sam snickered, looking down.

"I just didn't want to let you, down."

"You didn't," he smirked and added, with a finger, raised, "You, almost did. But, you didn't."

Dean stared ahead, at the road, again. "I owe you an apology."

"No, man," he shook his head, ahead. "No, you don't."

"Just," Dean paused. "Let me say this." He could hear Sam let out a sigh. "I don't know if it's being a big brother or what, but, you know, to me, you've always been this snot-nosed kid that I've had to keep on the straight and narrow. Which, you know, has gotten harder, what with me, becoming a dad and all, and having me, make difficult choices, at times. I think we both know that, that's not you, anymore." Dean tried to hold it, together. "I mean, hell, if you're grown up enough to find faith in me, the least I can do is, return the favor." He looked over at Sam, who shared a look with him. When Sam looked away, Dean returned his focus, to the road. "So, screw destiny, right in the face. I say we take the fight to them. Do it our way." He looked back at him.

Sam smirked, nodding at the sound of that. "Sounds good," he said.

They both looked forward, at the road. The brothers were going to end this whole mess, and get their little girl, back. That was a promise Dean was sure to make good on.


	181. Chapter 181- Hammer of the Gods

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 181

After driving for several hours, and through a storm, no less, Sam and Dean stopped at a hotel, for the night. It was fancier than they were used to, too. They checked in, at the front desk, which Dean filled out the pay information. The guy at the front desk, also informed him of a shaving cut, on the side of his neck and offered him, a tissue. Dean dabbed at it, noticing it was bleeding. How, he wasn't sure. Dean hadn't shaved, recently.

The guy handed him, their room key, and directed the brothers to an all-you-can-eat buffet, where there was the best pie in the whole tri-state area. Dean was elated to hear that news.

Dean grabbed as much pie as he could carry, going up for seconds, while Sam spent the time, texting Bobby. During his last run, Dean tried to score with a good-looking woman, but was shot down. He walked away, defeated, back to their table.

"Sam, unpucker, man," he scolded his brother. "Eat something."

"We should hit the road, Dean," Sam told him, staring at his phone.

"In this storm? What? I-it's..."

"It's biblical. Exactly," he finished. "I-it's, friggin' Noah's ark, out there, and we're eating pie."

Dean stared back at his brother. "How many hours of sleep did you get, this week?" he asked. "What? Three? Four?" Sam turned his head, away, in annoyance. "Bobby's got his feelers out, okay? We have talked with every hoodoo man and root woman in twelve states."

"Yeah, well, I'm not giving up," Sam argued, stubbornly.

"Nobody's giving up," Dean told him, firmly. He paused, before Dean added, "especially me." Sam searched down, at the table, until he continued. "We're gonna find a way to beat the devil, okay? Soon. I can feel it. And, we will find Cas, we will find Sarah. But, you are no good to me, burnt out."

Sam considered that, and nodded his head, in agreement. "Yeah," he finally said. "Yeah, okay."

"Come on. We, actually have the night off for once. Let's try and enjoy it." The brothers finished with dinner, before calling it, a night and headed for their room. On the way, they caught sight of a couple, who were very passionate about each other, they could, barely wait until getting inside their room, in private.

The brothers' room were the nicest they have ever stayed in, complete with chocolate on the pillows. Sam thought it seemed strange for a four-star hotel to be on a two-star highway.

About that time, the couple next door, could be heard, through the walls, ending with a loud explosion, that shook the wall. Sam and Dean ran to check it out, finding the room, completely empty and the couple, no where to be found. The brothers asked the man, at the front desk, about the couple, who told them, the couple had just checked out. It seemed odd the couple would check out, right as they were in the middle of something. Suspicious, the brothers split up and checked around the hotel. Sam kept an an eye on the front desk guy, while Dean scoped around.

Sam followed the guy, down a hall. He remained on his trail, until the guy rounded a corner, and disappeared. That was when Sam felt a cut on his own neck, touching his fingers to it and found it was bleeding.

Dean took the elevator upstairs, using his EMF reader. As he walked along the hallway, he passed an open doorway of someone's room. Dean could have sworn he heard an elephant, from inside the room, and backed up, to check. When he looked inside, it was a naked man, with a towel around his middle. When the naked man saw Dean looking in on him, he, immediately closed his door, stating, "this isn't a peek show."

The brothers met back up, downstairs, telling the other what they had seen. That was when they realized the whole place was deserted and the doors were locked. It seemed like they had been led there, for a specific reason.

They looked around some more, trying to find any of the other guests, finding them in the freezer, in the kitchen. Sam tried to break them out, but the brothers were nabbed themselves and taken to the dining hall, where they saw a convention of gods gathered, together, and Sam and Dean were the guests of honor.

While Sam and Dean sat there, confused as ever, the gods discussed the pending apocalypse. Things almost got out of hand, and there were a few quarrels between them, but the god who seemed in charge of the meeting, told the others that they had to put aside their differences and put an end to the apocalypse.

Suddenly, while Sam and Dean tried to sneak out, the doors opened behind them and in walked, Gabriel, who the other gods called, Loki. Gabriel silenced the brothers before they could reveal who the archangel really was and sent them away, back to their room.

Dean tried to wrap his mind around what just happened. "Okay. Did that..." He stuttered on his words. "Holy crap."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam said, in agreement. "By the way, next time I say, let's keep driving. Uh, let's keep driving."

"Okay, yeah. Next time," he also agreed.

Sam looked up at the ceiling, placing his hands on his sides. "Uh, all right. So, what's our next move?"

"I-I," Dean touched a hand to the top of his head, looking at the floor. He gave a short chuckle and looked up. "I don't know." Sam had walked away. "We grab those poor saps out of the freezer, I guess. Bust them out. Gank a few freaks along the way, if we're lucky."

"And, when are you ever lucky?" The brothers' heads turned in the direction of the sudden new voice in the room. Gabriel was sitting over on the couch, with his feet up, on the coffee table.

"Oh, you know what?" Dean asked of the archangel. "Bite me, Gabriel."

"Maybe later, big boy," he told him.

"I should have known. I mean, this had your stink all over it from the jump."

Gabriel looked, straight at Dean, "You think I'm behind this? Please." He stood up, walking around the coffee table, towards them. "I'm the Costner to your Houston. I'm here to save your ass."

Dean questioned, "You want to pull us us out of the fire?"

"Bingo. Those guys are either gonna dust you or use you as bait. Either way, you're uber-boned."

"Wow," he looked over his shoulder, at Sam, "'cause, a couple months ago, you were telling us that we need to play our roles. You were uber-boning us."

"Ohhhhh," Gabriel shook his head, "the end is still nigh." He walked away, passed the brothers. "Michael and Lucifer are gonna dance the Lambada," he turned back around to face them. "But, not tonight. Not here."

Dean glanced over at Sam, before he asked Gabriel, "And, why do you care?"

"I don't," he paused, "care."

Dean raised his eyebrows at that.

"But, me and Kali, we, uh...had a thing. Chick was all hands."

He looked away.

"What can I say? I'm sentimental. Like small fry." That's when Gabriel realized there were only two Winchesters in the room. "Where's the short one?" No one said anything.

Sam changed the subject. "Do they have a chance? Against Satan?"

Dean looked over at his brother. "Really, Sam?"

"You got a better idea, Dean?" he replied, towards him and turned back to Gabriel.

"It's a bad idea. Lucifer's gonna turn them into finger paint. So, let's get going while the going's good."

"Okay, great," said Dean. "Why don't you zap us out of here, then?"

Gabriel shrugged, "Would if I could. But, Kali's got you by the short and curlies." Sam looked at him, sideways. "It's a blood spell. You boys, are on a leash."

Dean asked, "What does that mean?"

"Means, it's time for a little of the old black magic." Gabriel, then sprayed a breath refresher inside his mouth.

"Okay. Yeah," he said. "Well, whatever. We're gonna take the hors d'oeuvres in the freezer, with us."

"Forget it. It's gonna be hard enough sneaking you mooks out of here."

"They called you, Loki, right? Which means, they don't know who you really are."

"Told you," said Gabriel. "I'm in witness protection."

"Okay, well, then, how about you do what we say," Dean stepped closer to him, "or, we tell the, uh, Legion of Doom about your secret identity? They don't seem like a real pro-angel kind of crowd."

Gabriel stepped towards Dean, as well, as he threatened, "I'll take your voices away."

"We'll write it, down," he came back, with.

"I'll cut off your hands."

"Then, people are gonna be asking, why are you, guys running around with no hands?"

Gabriel looked between the brothers, repeatedly, with only his eyes. He was backed into a corner. "Fine," he gave in.

While Gabriel distracted Kali, Sam and Dean hurried back to the kitchen. On the way, they witnessed one of the victims from the freezer, being dragged onto a table and slaughtered. Dean tried to help, but Sam stopped him, stating it was too late.

The brothers got back to the kitchen, to rescue the rest. While Sam tried, again, to break them out, one of the gods had attacked. Thankfully, Dean was able to stab him, from behind. They still managed to get captured for a second time, though, and taken back to the dining hall, where Gabriel had, also been captured, as well, and it, seemed like they already knew who the archangel was. Or, Kali did, at least. She revealed it to the other gods, right then and there, when she pulled out his archangel blade. After a few words, Kali used it to kill him.

Dean, thinking on his feet, jumped up and gave his own speech, winging it along the way. The whole time, Sam just sat there, nervously in his seat, hoping his brother would stop. Dean told the gods that since they all wanted Lucifer dead, he and Sam could get them, there. But, only if they let the ones in the freezer, go. The gods agreed, finally letting the people in the freezer, go. Sam and Dean made sure of it.

Once they were gone, Dean heard someone call to him, from the back of the Impala. He looked over to see it was Gabriel, who told him to get in. Dean hurried over and slid into the driver's seat.

"I thought you were dead," Dean told the archangel.

"You think I'd give Kali my real sword? That thing could kill me," he told him.

Dean, slowly, looked towards the hotel. "Then, what do they have in there?"

"A fake. Made it out of a can of Diet Orange Slice." Dean looked away, again. "So, uh...Go snag our blood, would ya?"

"What?" he shot his head, back at the archangel.

"I heard you in there. Kali likes you. You can get close. Lift the plasma, then we vamoose."

"No," Dean told him. "Hand over the real angel blade. Better yet, why don't you sack up and help us take down Lucifer?"

Gabriel glanced over at the hotel, before moving closer to Dean. "You can't be serious."

"Deadly."

"Since when are you butt-buddies with a bunch of monsters?" he questioned. "That's all they are to you, aren't they?"

"All right, you know what? Sam was right. It's nuts," said Dean. "But, it's the best idea I've heard. So, unless you have a better one."

Gabriel stared at Dean. He looked away, pounding on the back of the front seat, like a couple of drums, and turned back. "Well, good luck with that. Me, I'm blowing Jonestown. Those lemmings wants to run off a cliff, that's their business."

"I see right through you. You know that? The smartass shell, the whole _I-could-give-a-crap_ thing. Believe me, it takes one to know one."

"That so?"

"Yes. And, maybe those freaks, in there, aren't your blood, but they are your family."

"They just stabbed me, in the friggin' heart," Gabriel argued.

"Maybe, but, you still give a crap about them, don't you?"

He looked out the corner of his eye, as Gabriel muttered, "Dean..."

"Now, they're gonna die in there, without you."

Gabriel looked up at him, "I can't kill my brother."

Dean shook his head, at the archangel. "Can't or won't?" No answer. "That's what I thought. He made to get out of the car, but, stopped, to turn back and added, "You want to know something else? Out of all the winged dicks Sarah used to read and go on about, you were mentioned the most. My daughter idolized you. It got so annoying, I almost wanted to yank my hair out. You were her favorite, next to Michael. She already had her heart broken with that dick. Think about that, Gabriel." Dean shared one last look, before finally, getting out and headed back inside the hotel.

Inside, Sam was talking to Kali and Baldur. Dean told them that the angel blade was a fake and Gabriel was still alive, that they've been tricked. By that time, Lucifer showed up, killing most of the gods on the way in. He greeted Sam and Dean, pleasantly, noticing one Winchester missing, as well.

"The short one bite the dust?" he asked.

Neither one answered.

Baldur spoke up, facing Lucifer, "You think you own the planet?" He took a step towards the devil, "what gives you the right?!" Baldur stormed towards him, right into Lucifer's fist. It went right in.

"No one gives us the right. We take it," Lucifer told the god, and tossed him, aside. Baldur laid, dead, on the floor. He looked over at the other three, left in the room.

Kali's arms lit up in flames. She shot them over at Lucifer, which Sam and Dean ducked behind a table, for cover. The fire did nothing.

While Sam and Dean were hidden, Gabriel showed up and told them to guard a DVD, with their lives, before joining the fight. He sent his brother, flying across the room, out the doors, and into the hallway. The far wall, out in the hall, stopped him, from progressing any further.

Lucifer got back to his feet, stumbling, a bit.

"Lucy," Gabriel mocked. "I'm home." His brother barged right back in, which he stepped in front of Kali, to shield her. "Not this time." Gabriel backed up, towards her, helping Kali to her feet, and told Sam and Dean to get her out of there, circling around Lucifer, in case he tried anything else.

"Over a girl," Lucifer told his brother, towards the ceiling. He turned around, where Gabriel had stopped moving. "Gabriel, really? I mean, I knew you were slumming, but...I hope you didn't catch anything."

"Lucifer," he told him. "You're my brother, and I love you. But, you are a great big bag of dicks."

"What did you just say to me?"

"Look at yourself," Gabriel continued. "Boo-hoo. Daddy was mean to me, so I'm gonna smash up all His toys."

"Watch your tone," Lucifer muttered, in a low tone.

"Play the victim all you want. But, you and me. We know the truth. Dad loved you, best. More than Michael. More than me. Then, He brought the new baby, home, and you couldn't handle it. So, all this is just a great big temper tantrum."

Lucifer just stood there, smirking.

Gabriel raised his blade, in front of his face. "Time to grow up."

Sam and Dean led Kali, outside. She tried to refuse, getting in the Impala, but Dean wasn't having any of it. All three got in and Dean took off, down the highway. Getting as far away from that place, as possible.

As soon as they were clear across the state, the brothers and Kali parted ways. The first chance they got, Sam and Dean checked out the DVD, Gabriel gave Dean, watching it on Sam's computer.

"Gabriel wanted you, to guard _this_ with your life?" Sam asked, as they watched the opening of a porn.

Dean shook his head, at the DVD case. "Maybe, he's a fan. It is a good one. At that moment, Gabriel appeared on screen, entering the room the girl was in.

Sam's head, flinched as they started making out, caressing the other. "What the hell's going on?"

Gabriel stopped, and turned on his heel, to face the camera. _"Sam. Dean. You're probably wondering what the hell's going on."_ He ripped the fake mustache off. _"Well,"_ he moved to the side, _"if you're watching this, I'm dead."_ Gabriel stopped in his tracks. _"Oh, please! Stop sobbing. It's embarrassing for all of us. Without me, you got zero shot at killing Lucifer. Sorry. But, you can trap him. The cage you sprung Lucifer from, is still down there. And, maybe, just maybe, you can shove his ass back in. Not that, it'll be easy. You got to get the cage open, trick my bro back into it, and, oh, yeah, avoid Michael and the God Squad. But, hey,"_ he shrugged, _details, right?"_

Gabriel leaned in, towards the camera, _"And, here's the big secret. Lucifer, himself, doesn't even know. But, the key to the cage, it's out there,"_ he circled his finger. _"Actually, it's keys. Plural. Four keys_ ," and held up four fingers. _"Well, four rings. From the horsemen. You get them all, you got the cage. Can't say I'm betting on you, boys, but, uh, hey, I've been wrong before."_

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between each other.

" _And, Dean,"_ Gabriel got the eldest brother's attention. _"You were right. I was afraid to stand up to my brother."_ The girl was now behind him, messing with him, sexually. _"Not anymore. So, this is me, standing up,"_ he stood up from the bed. _"And, this is me, lying down."_ Gabriel turned back around, grabbing and biting onto the girl, falling back, onto the bed.

Dean looked on, until Sam was about to slam his laptop, shut, disturbed, when they heard Gabriel. _"Before you turn this off, I, also want to say this. That kid of yours. I, actually did like her. She was a real spunky kid. Hopefully, I redeemed myself for her."_ The DVD cut off there.

Things were silent for a moment. "Horsemen, huh?" Dean looked over at his brother.

Sam gave a slight nod.

"Well, we got War's. We nicked Famine's. That's two rings, down. Collect all four. All we need is Pestilence and Death."

"Oh, is that all?" he asked, sarcastically and gave a scoff.

"It's a plan," Dean told him.

Sam agreed. He grabbed his laptop from the roof of the Impala, and headed over to his side, getting in. Dean slid in, on his side. Once the brothers were both in, Dean took off, down the highway. At least they had something to work on.


	182. Chapter 182- The Devil you Know

_**Holy crap! I can't believe there are two episodes left of this story! It's been four years since I started writing season one! This month, actually, because I started writing "Family is Where the Heart is," the summer, right before, season eight of the show. If you've been with me through the whole, long road, this story has taken, thank you so much! I have the next chapter, half written, so, hopefully I can get it out, in the next few days.**_

Chapter 182

Pestilence, of the remaining horsemen the brothers had to deal with, seemed like a likely target. A serious case of swine flu had broken out, with seventy cases over the past week. Of course, no one knew why. Sam and Dean talked with a doctor about it, gathering as much information as they, possibly, could.

"Let me guess," Bobby was saying over the phone, as Dean drove down a highway, through Nevada. "Another steamin', hot pile of swine flu."

"Yep," said Dean.

"Doesn't make any sense, Bobby," Sam also said, holding his phone up, while Bobby was on speaker. "Pestilence touched down here. I'm sure of it."

"But, why is he dealing them, soft serve, like swine flu when he's got the Croatoan virus up his sleeve? I-I-I don't get it."

"Doesn't matter what the sick son of a bitch is doing," Bobby told the brothers. "What matters is, this is the fourth town he's hit, that we know of, and we're still eating his dust. Did you get anything? We got even a snowball at a probable next target?"

"Uh, no pattern we can see," Sam replied.

He sighed, "Okay. Hold on." Bobby set the phone down on his leg, and wheeled over to his desk, grabbing a newspaper. "Well, as far as I can tell, he's still heading east, so...head east, I guess."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks at the phone. "East?" they both questioned, in union.

"Bobby, we're in West Nevada," Dean told the older man. "East is, practically, all there is."

"Yeah, well, you better get to driving." The phone call ended.

Both brothers let out a sigh, as Dean stared forward. The car was quiet.

"Say," a sudden, new voice broke the silence, alerting their attention. "I've got an idea."

Dean slammed on his brake, shoving the wheel around, so the Impala came to a screeching halt. Sam pulled out the Knife and tried to stab at Crowley, who had appeared in the backseat, missing him. The Knife went right through the upholstery.

There was a knock on the window, surprising them. "Fancy a fag and a chat?" The brothers stepped out of the car, storming towards the demon. "You're upset. We should discuss it," he said, as Crowley backed away from them. "Not here, but-"

"You want to talk?" Sam told the demon, pissed and pointed the Knife at him, "After what you did to us?"

"After what I...? What _I_ did to you?! I gave you the Colt!"

"Yeah, and you knew it wouldn't work against the devil!" he shot back.

"I never!"

"You set us up. We lost people on that run. Good people! _You_ , basically, destroyed my niece's heart!"

"Who you take on the ride is your own business," Crowley told him, and switched behind him, towards Dean, "look, everything's still the same. W-we're all still in this, together."

"Sure we are," said Sam, still unconvinced and tried another stab at the demon.

"Call your dog off, please." The brothers spun around, to look behind him. Sam tried, a third time, when Dean held him, back, by the arm.

Dean told him, "Give me, one good reason."

"I can give you, Pestilence," he replied.

"What do you know about Pestilence?"

"I know how to get him."

Dean stared at the demon.

"That's got your interest, doesn't it?"

Sam stared at the demon, still not buying it. He looked back, over his shoulder, at his brother, to see the look on his face. "Are you actually listening to this?" Dean tried to cut him off. "Are you friggin' nuts?"

"Shut up for a second, Sam!"

"Shut up, the both of you!" Crowley told the brothers. "Look. I swear. I thought the Colt would work. It's an honest mistake. It's all part of the learning process. But, nothing's changed. I still want the devil, dead. Well," he remembered something. "One's thing's changed. Now, the devil knows that I want him, dead. Which, by the way, makes me the most buggered son in all creation."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Holy crap," he moaned and shook his head. "We don't care."

"They burnt down my house!"

He was still shaking his head.

"They ate my tailor!"

Dean glanced up, towards the night sky, with just his eyes, pondering on that last statement.

"Two months, under a rock, like a bloody salamander." Crowley looked between the brothers, "Every demon in hell and earth's got his eyes for me!" He looked up at Sam, "and, yet," he shifted on his feet, "here I am. Last place I should be, in the road, talking to Sam and Dean Winchester, under a friggin' spotlight!" Crowley pointed up, towards a streetlight and blew it up.

Things were quiet, as the brothers looked between the streetlight and Crowley.

The demon exhaled, sharply, grabbing on his bottom lip. "So, come with me. Please," he told them, quietly. Crowley looked at them. Not a word was said. The Winchesters still weren't convinced. "Do you want the Horsemen rings or not?"

Dean looked up, at that.

"Yes, I know all about that," he admitted. "Shall we?"

The demon took them back to the old, abandoned house he had been squatting in, on the down low. "Here we are," he said as they walked inside and looked around. "My life on the lam. How the mighty have fallen. Single-pane glass, used contraception in the fireplace." Crowley started a fire, with his hand and turned around, to face the brothers. "The water damage alone."

"My heart's bleeding for you," Dean told him, sarcastically. "Now, how do you know about the rings?"

"Well, now," Crowley glanced at the ground. "I've been keeping a close eye on you lot."

"We got hex bags," Sam told him. "We're hidden from demons."

"All but one," he raised a finger, and pointed at himself. "That night you broke into my house, our first date, my valet hid a tracking device in your car. A magical coin that easily trumps your little bag o' bones. It allows me to hear things, too, and my, the things I've heard." Crowley chuckled, while grinning. "By the way, Sarah was the one that ate the last slice of pie, you both argued over."

Dean turned on Sam, when he heard that. "I knew it," he stated.

Sam just rolled his eyes. It had been some night, listening to his brother and niece, and who took the last slice that Dean had called, "dibs" on. He thought it would never end.

"Anyways. So, you want to cram the devil back into the box?" Crowley continued, changing the subject. He clicked his tongue and nodded, "Cunning scheme." he suddenly grew serious. "I want in."

Dean stared at the demon, raising his head. "You said, you could get us Pestilence."

Crowley inhaled, sharply. "Well, now," he turned back around, to walk away, "I don't know where Pestilence is," and stopped, "per se. But, I do know the demon who does." Crowley turned around, facing them, again. "He's, what, you might call, the horsemen's stable boy. He handles their itineraries, their personal needs. He's who you want, believe me. He'll tell us where Sneezy's at."

"Well, how do we get him to spill?" he shrugged. "Rip out his toenails?"

"No. Nuts at his pay grade don't crack. We bring him, here, then I sell him."

"Sell him?" Sam questioned, nodding his head.

"Please. I've sold sin to saints, for centuries. Think I can't close one little demon?"

Sam just watched him.

"Alright," said Dean, "so, where's this demon of yours?"

Sam and Dean prepared to leave, to go after the horsemen's "stable boy." Sam did not like it, at all and still did not trust Crowley, and if Sarah was there, would probably be backing him up. Dean, on the other hand, seemed like he was going along with it, after the crap he had given his brother for doing the same. After Crowley announced that Sam wasn't invited, that set the giant off, even more. And, Dean was still okay with that. So, the demon and Dean took off, in the Impala, leaving Sam there, alone.

The two of them tracked the demon they needed, all the way to a company that was making the vaccine for the swine flu epidemic. The demon was using humans as shields, in the main lobby. Crowley went in, first, to kill them. Dean had to run in there, banging on the front doors, before hurrying in. He didn't think killing them was a great plan.

Once the human shields were taken care of, Crowley sent Dean up to the twelfth floor, to speak to the demon, Brady. It turned out, Brady didn't want the rings, he wanted Dean, as payback, for what the Winchesters had done to War and Famine. After a harsh beating, Dean escaped back to the elevator, back down to the first floor. He stepped out, cautiously, scanning around, to make sure the coast was clear. There was no sign of, not only Brady, but, Crowley, as well.

Suddenly, Dean was ambushed from behind. He got sent, sliding across the shiny, buffed floor. Thankfully, Crowley ambushed Brady, from behind, shoving a sack, with a devil's trap on it, and beat the demon over the head, with a crowbar, until Brady was knocked, unconscious. Crowley thought that went well. Dean, on the other hand, did not think so.

Crowley and Dean carried Brady, out to the Impala, setting him in the backseat. While Dean drove, Crowley carved a binding seal on Brady's torso, so, he couldn't ditch out, which Dean warned him, to watch the upholstery. Crowley also made the remark, asking why the backseat looked like a kid's bedroom, with figurines all over the floorboards. The demon wasn't sure on where to place his feet, having to kick some away when he had gotten in.

When Crowley told Dean to take another highway, stating they couldn't take Brady anywhere near Sam. Dean questioned why, and refused to go anywhere else until Crowley explained. Brady was a college friend of Sam's, who had even introduced him to Jessica. Once Sam found out, he was pissed. Actually, that may have been an understatement.

Dean had to shove his brother from the room, to try and convince him, that they needed Brady, to find Pestilence.

"Why?" Sam questioned. "Because Crowley said so? Because we trust him, now? Like I trusted Ruby? Like Sarah trusted Azazel? Or, like I trusted Brady, back at school?" He then went to cool off, while Crowley went to go have a chat with Brady, himself.

Dean had grabbed a beer when Crowley returned, stating Brady wasn't budging. So, Crowley decided to go do some business he didn't want to end up doing, in the first place and zapped out of there.

While Dean was in the bathroom, splashing water on his face, Sam closed the door, hooking a chair underneath the knob so, Dean couldn't get out. He tried pounding on the door, pleading for Sam, not to do this, but to no avail. Sam wouldn't let him out. Dean tried to listen in, on what was happening. He couldn't hear anything. Not until he heard Brady egging Sam on, to kill him, when his voice grew louder.

However, Sam didn't do anything. He wanted to, but he didn't. Brady was still in one piece. Sam let Dean out of the bathroom, which Dean bolted to make sure. That was when Crowley returned, looking torn up. There had been a little massacre, which Crowley let one live, to go running to the boss, that Brady was in league with Crowley, to take down the devil. One minor setback, though, was that, one of the demons had done to Crowley, what he had done to the Winchesters, with that coin he had mentioned before. A hellhound had followed him, there. Tossing the coin over to Dean, who caught it, Crowley disappeared. Sam played his brother, the _I told you so_ card.

Dean hurried and grabbed the salt from the kitchen, while Sam watched Brady. That was when the hellhound busted through the window. It went after Dean, who turned and ran, shutting the kitchen doors, and grabbed his shotgun. The hellhound busted through the glass on those, as well. He shot at the beast, backing away, towards the room, where they had Brady, trapped and tied.

Brady screamed for them to get him, far away as possible, only to be told, to shut up. The hellhound looked between the three of them, snarling. As Dean was reloading his shotgun, Crowley had returned, at that point, only he wasn't alone. He brought his own hellhound, that was bigger than that one. The Great Dane of hellhounds, basically.

As Crowley's pet fought the other hellhound, him, Sam, Dean, along with Brady, hurried out to the Impala and escaped, getting as far away, as possible.

The group negotiated in a back alley, and by negotiated, Brady told them where Pestilence could be found and Sam pulled the Knife on him.

Brady just scoffed. "I bet, this is a real moment for you, big boy. Gonna make you feel all better?"

"It's a start," he said.

"Gonna make up for all the times that we yanked your chain," Brady started backing up, his hands, casually in his pockets. "Yellow eyes, Ruby, me? But, it wasn't all our fault, was it? No, no, no, no. You're the one who trusted us. You and the kid."

Sam and Dean perked up when Brady mentioned Sarah, too.

"Not me, but, yeah, Sarah's had teachers, a coach, and even Yellow Eyes, himself, watching her. But, you're the ones who let us into your life, and let us whisper in your ear, over and over and over, again. Ever wonder why that is, Sammy? Ever wonder why we were so in your blind spot?" Brady had reached the wall, just a step away. "Maybe, it's because we got the same stuff in our veins, and, deep down, you know you're just like us. Even Sarah knew it. That's why she fights the hardest. It ain't you, or Daddy."

At that point, Sam drew the Knife of him, which Brady deflected. Sam managed to pull free and knick the demon, anyway. Brady swung around, using the wall, to catch himself. He turned back around, to continue his taunts. "Maybe, you hate us so much, because you hate what you see when you look in the mirror. You ever think of that?!" Brady let out a shaky laugh. "Maybe the only difference between you and a demon is right here." That said, Sam plunged the Knife, right into his torso, holding it there, for a moment, before pulling it back out. The light that had shown, bright from his mouth, vanished and Brady dropped on the ground, limp.

"Interesting theory," Sam muttered, out loud.

Dean had stood back, watching and listening. He watched as his brother killed Brady, or rather, the demon inside of Brady. They were sure, the real Brady was long gone, a long time ago. Dean wondered how much of that theory was true. That _could_ have been true for Sam, but his daughter? Sarah had been saying no to everything, since the past few years, after they finally killed Azazel, and doing such a good job at it. But, just how hard was she fighting? He knew how much his daughter loved him, but how much of him, was a part of Sarah's decision to say yes, to Michael, was there? Was there, totally, a different reason?


	183. Chapter 183-Two Minutes to Midnight (P1)

Chapter 183

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The boys were back at Bobby's place, discussing their next to move, before going after Pestilence. The topic of Sam saying yes to Lucifer and getting him to jump in the cage, happened to come up, and Dean was not happy about the idea.

Sam tried to reason with his brother. "Dean."

"No, don't 'Dean' me," he argued. "I mean, you have had some stupid ideas in the past, but this..." Dean turned his attention towards Bobby, who was in the other room, looking over their research they've been working on. "D-did you know about this?"

Bobby wheeled himself, over to where Dean stood, "What?"

"About Sam's genius plan, to say yes to the devil?"

Bobby remained silent, nodding his head.

"Well, thanks for the heads up!" exclaimed Dean.

"Hey, this ain't about me," he defended.

Dean pointed over at his brother, "You can't do this," he objected to Sam.

Sam just shrugged, "That's a consensus."

"All right. Awesome. Then, end of discussion," he also shrugged. At that point, Dean's phone started ringing. "This isn't over." He, then answered it. "Hello?"

" _Dean."_ It was Castiel.

Dean looked back at Sam, as he said, "Cas?" Sam stood up from where he was leaning against the counter, asking if he was okay? "We all thought you were dead. Where the hell are you, man?"

" _A hospital."_

"Are you okay?"

" _No."_

Dean shrugged, waiting for more. "You want to elaborate?"

" _I just woke up, here. The doctors were, fairly, surprised. They thought I was brain-dead."_

"S-so, a hospital?" Dean questioned, also letting Sam and Bobby know where the angel had been, and also wanted Castiel to tell him, more.

" _Apparently, after Van Nuys, I suddenly appeared, bloody and unconscious, on a shrimping boat, off Delacroix. I'm told, it upset the sailors,"_ he explained.

Dean searched for words. "Uh, well, I got to tell you, man, you're just in time. We figured out a way to pop Satan's box."

Castiel asked, weakly, _"How?"_

"It's a long story, but, look," said Dean. "we're going after Pestilence, now. So, if you want to zap over here," he looked back, over his shoulder, at Sam.

" _I can't zap, anywhere_."It sounded like Castiel was in, extreme pain.

"What do you mean?"

" _You could say, my batteries are... Are drained."_

"Wait, you're out of angel mojo?" he asked.

" _I'm saying, I'm thirsty and my head hurts,"_ Castiel explained. _"I have a bug bite that itches, no matter how much I scratch it, and I'm saying that I'm just, incredibly,"_ he forced a chuckle.

"Human," Dean finished for his friend, in realization. "Wow." He, slowly, lowered himself, down on the table, behind him. "Sorry."

" _Well, my point is,"_ Castiel continued, _"I can't go anywhere without money for...an airplane ride. And, food. More pain medication, ideally."_

"All right," Dean told him, and ran a hand over his eyes. "Look, no worries. Uh, Bobby's here, he'll wire you, the cash."

Bobby tried to object to that, as Castiel said, _"Dean, wait. You said no to Michael. I owe you, an apology."_

"Cas. I-it's okay," he assured him.

" _You are not the burnt and broken shell of a man that I believed you to be."_

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Dean wasn't sure how to respond to a statement like that.

" _You're welcome."_ With that said, Castiel hung up.

Once the money was sorted out, for Bobby to wire to Castiel, Sam and Dean prepared for their mission, to go after Pestilence. They drove to Davenport, Iowa, to a nursing home, where the horsemen was supposed to be at work.

Not sure, how else to find out who was who, especially Pestilence, the brothers broke inside, heading for the security guard's room. Dean improv'ed getting in, knocking the guard out, before Sam came in. They checked the security cameras, to catch anything suspicious. The brothers waited, for what seemed like an eternity. Dean had even started to doze off until Sam snapped him out of it. He tried everything to stay awake, even getting up, to walk around the room. Sam remained sitting, the whole time, keeping an eye on the screens, until something caught his view. A man walked out of an office, whose face was fuzzed out, on had to have been Pestilence.

Sam and Dean headed, straight for the room Pestilence headed into, hoping to get there before anyone got hurt, or worse. They made sure to remain undetected from the doctors and staff. When they got close, Pestilence's power started to affect them. The brothers started coughing and their vision became, unstable, but they pressed forward, holding onto the walls and furniture, for balance. Dean even thought of Sarah, to help press forward. A fever broke out, in both of them, heating up their heads, as the brothers sweated it out. The front of their hair, sticking to their foreheads.

Dean stopped, leaning on a table. He felt dizzy and terrible, Dean could, barely stand. Sam tried to help his brother, along, until the both of them, collapsed on the floor. Sam happened to look up at the door Pestilence had went into. Mustering up what little strength he had left, Sam held a grip on the Knife, and stumbled over. Right as he was about to open the door, a demon inside one of the nurses, opened it, for him. Sam collapsed right then and there. Dean had already passed out.

The brothers came to, inside the room. Pestilence was sitting over on the bed. "Hm. You boys don't look well," he told them as Sam and Dean moaned there, on the floor. "Might be the, uh, Scarlet Fever." Pestilence stood up, walking across the room. "Or, uh, the Meningitis. Oh!" he stopped to look down at the brothers, chuckling to himself. "or, the Syphilis." He clicked his tongue, repeatedly, as Pestilence shook his head as they looked up at him. "That's no fun."

Pestilence went over, to grab a hold of Sam's hair, forcing him to look at him. "However you feel, right now, it's gonna get so very, very much worse," and smiled, "questions?" He, forcibly let go of his hair, and walked back to the bed, squirting some hand sanitizer into his palm, before lathering the stuff in.

"Disease gets such a bad rap, don't you think?" Pestilence continued to rant, as he turned around. "For being filthy. Chaotic. Uh, but, really, t-that just describes people, who get sick." He walked back to stand over the brothers. "Disease, itself...very..." he looked up, towards the ceiling, "Pure. Single-minded. Bacteria have one purpose, divide and conquer."

Dean saw the Knife laying there on the floor, and tried to reach for it. Pestilence noticed and stepped on his fingers, crushing them. He moaned in extreme pain.

"That's why, in the end," the horseman continued. "It always wins." Pestilence kicked the Knife away, taking his foot off Dean's fingers. Dean released a breath of relief, rolling onto his back, to cradle his fingers.

"So," Pestilence walked away. You've got to wonder why God pours all His love into something so messy. And, weak!" he yelled out.

Sam groaned, as he, constantly rolled around on the floor.

"It's ridiculous." He went into his coat pocket, on his chest, pulling out his glasses. "All I can do is show Him, He's wrong, one epidemic, at a time." Pestilence adjusted his glasses on his face. "Now. On a scale of one to ten, how's your pain?"

Suddenly, the door flew open, as Castiel came barging in.

Pestilence removed his glasses, staring over at the limp angel. "How'd you get here?" he demanded.

"I took a bus," Castiel replied, staring back at the horseman, still a little shaky. He looked over at Sam and Dean, "Don't worry, I..." Castiel paused as he started to cough, gagging up blood, as the angel dropped to his hands and knees.

Pestilence smiled, as he squatted to his level. "Well, look at that. An occupied vessel, but powerless." He shook his head. "Oh, that's fascinating." Pestilence looked at Castiel, turning his head, sideways, horizontally. "There's not a speck of angel in you, is there?"

Out of nowhere, Castiel mustered up some strength, to jump to his feet, grabbing the Knife and grabbed onto Pestilence, cutting off his ring finger.

"Maybe just a speck," he told him.

Pestilence screamed out, in pain, backing away. His power was lifted just as the demon cohort attacked Castiel, tackling him. Castiel stabbed it, killing the demon. Dean, back to his normal self, jumped to his own feet and made a break for the ring, grabbing the finger where it laid on the table, after helping his brother up.

"It doesn't matter," Pestilence smirked, one last time. "It's too late." With that said, the horseman disappeared, leaving the three of them, alone.

The brothers and Castiel headed back to Bobby's, showing him, they succeeded, for once.

"Well, it's nice to actually score a home run for once, ain't it?" he said, as they sat in his study.

Dean sat on a chair, backwards. He had been twirling Pestilence's ring around, on the desk. He finally just tossed it, on there, his chin on his arm.

"What?" Bobby questioned, looking between the brothers.

It was Sam who answered, sitting next to Dean. "Last thing Pestilence said. It's too late."

He shrugged, "He get specific?"

Sam shook his head, glancing over at his brother. "No."

"We're just a little freaked out he might of left a bomb, somewhere," said Dean. "So, please tell us, you have actual good news."

"Chicago's about to be wiped off the map," Bobby replied. "Storm of the millennium. Sets off a daisy chain of natural disasters. Three million people are gonna die."

Sam looked over at Dean, who just said, "Huh," and buried his face in his arm.

Castiel, on the other hand, did not understand. "I don't understand your definition of good news." Dean raised his head, looking up towards the ceiling with just his eyes, in irritation.

"Well," Bobby explained. "Death, the horseman, He's gonna be there. And, if we can stop him before he kick-starts this storm, get his ring, back."

"Yeah, you make it sound so easy," Dean agreed, with sarcasm.

He threw up his hands. "Hell, I'm just trying to put a spin on it."

"Well," said Sam. "Bobby, h-how'd you put all this, together, anyways?"

Bobby's eyes switched between the brothers before he answered, "I had, you know...help." A glass clinked, grabbing their attention towards the kitchen. Crowley had appeared there, pouring himself, a drink.

"Don't be so modest," he said. "I, barely, helped at all." Dean looked from the demon, back at Bobby. Crowley headed inside the study and greeted them all. "Pleasure, et cetera." He leaned against the door frame, giving his drink, a whiff and set it down on a table, nearby. "Go ahead. Tell them. There's no shame in it."

Sam and Dean looked back at the older man. "Bobby," Sam said, firmly and turned, fully, around. "Tell us, what?"

Bobby glared over at the demon. Finally, he gave in. "World's gonna end. Seems stupid to get all precious over one little," he shrugged, "soul."

"You sold your soul?" Dean demanded.

Castiel dropped his head, at that.

"Oh, more like pawned it. I, fully, intend on giving it, back," Crowley admitted.

Dean turned on him, "Then, give it, back!"

"I will," he assured him.

"Now!"

Sam felt he had to ask, "Did you kiss him?"

"Sam," Dean scolded him.

"Just wondering," he said.

"I would expect that from Sarah, if she were here. Not you." Dean, then looked over at Bobby, along with Sam. Admittingly, he was curious, himself. Things were silent as Bobby looked between the brothers, who waiting for a response.

"No!" he lied, defensively. Sam gave him, an _I-don't-believe-you_ look.

Crowley cleared his throat, holding up his phone. Sam and Dean looked over at the iPhone.

Bobby sighed, under his breath. "Why'd ya take a picture?" he asked, afterwards.

The demon looked at it, and asked him, in return, "why do you have to use tongue?" At that, the brothers switched, immediately back at Bobby.

Dean got to his feet, "All right. You know what? I'm sick of this." He moved towards Crowley, demanding for him, to give Bobby, his soul back.

"I'm sorry. I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

"I won't, all right?" Crowley admitted. "It's insurance."

He questioned, "What are you talking about?"

"You kill demons. Gigantor over there," Crowley nodded towards Sam, "has a temper issue about it. But, you won't kill me. As long as I have that soul in the deposit box," he pointed over Bobby.

"You son of a bitch," Bobby cursed.

Crowley returned his hand to his coat pocket. "I'll return it," he said. "After all this is over, and I can walk, safely, away. Do we all understand each other?!"

Dean glared over at the demon.

No one else said a word.


	184. Chapter 184-Two Minutes to Midnight (P2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 184

Dean was out in the yard, packing up the trunk, making sure they had everything they needed for going after the fourth and final horsemen, Death. While he did, Dean came across Sarah's shotgun she had used since she was seven, back before Dean let his daughter have her own pistol, with bullets. He knew it was Sarah's, for the _Spongebob_ sticker on the side of the barrel. Dean picked it up, looking over the weapon, including inside. Sarah still had one salt pellet, left.

He closed the barrel, back. His eyes stopped on the sticker. _"You don't put stickers on a shotgun,"_ Dean's memories ran through his mind, like a tape player.

" _Well, excuse me, for trying to accessorize,"_ a seven-year-old Sarah replied, in sarcasm.

" _Whatever you say, squirt,"_ Dean teased her, playfully.

" _Who you calling, squirt, giant?"_ Obviously, that was before Sarah met her uncle Sam, in person, and how much taller he was than her father.

Dean couldn't help, smile, at both the sticker and the memory. Sam coming over, to lean against the Impala, and let out a sigh, broke his thoughts. He looked over at his brother, looking away, at the ground, from the corner of his eye. Dean set the shotgun back in the trunk, and walked over to him. "Let me guess. We're about to have a talk."

Sam looked over at Dean, and turned back, forward, chuckling to himself. He stood up, straight, to fully, face him. "Look, Dean, um," he started to say. Sam cleared his throat, before continuing. "For the record," he took a breath in, "I agree with you. About me. You think I'm too weak to take on Lucifer. Well, so do I." Sam shrugged.

Dean shifted on his feet, listening.

"Believe me, I know exactly how screwed up, I am. You, Bobby, Cas...even Sarah. I'm the least of you."

He turned halfway, around, as Dean moaned, "Oh, Sam."

"No, it's true. It is," Sam pressed on. "But..."

Dean leaned against the Impala and folded his arms, as he stared at the ground.

"I'm also all we got. If there was another way, but, I don't think there is. There's just me," he shrugged. "So, I don't know what else to do. Except, just try to do what's got to be done."

Dean finally looked up at his brother, again.

Suddenly, Crowley interrupted the brothers' conversation. "And," the demon drove on for a moment, and waved a hand over his face, "scene." He walked over to them, around the car. Sam rolled his eyes as Crowley grew near. "There's something you need to see." Crowley handed them, a folded up newspaper.

Sam took the newspaper, unfolding it, and read the front page. "Niveus Pharmaceuticals is rushing delivery of its new swine flu vaccine to quote, 'stem the tide of the unprecedented outbreak.' Uh, shipments leave Wednesday."

Niveus Pharmaceuticals," Crowley told them. "Get it?"

Sam and Dean looked between each other, clueless.

Crowley sighed. "You two are lucky you have your looks." He looked over Sam, "your demon lover, Brady? V.P. of distribution, Niveus."

It finally clicked on, for Sam and Dean, looking at each other, in realization.

"Ah, yes. That the sound of the abacus, cracking?" Dean looked back at the demon. "We all caught up?"

"So, Pestilence was spreading swine flu," Sam said.

"Yeah, but, not just for giggles," Dean added, at the newspaper. "That was step one. Step two is the vaccine," he looked over at Crowley, "and, you think..."

"I know. I'll stake my reputation," he replied. "That vaccine is chock-full of grade-A, farm-fresh Croatoan virus."

Sam looked up at the twilight, cloudy sky, "Simultaneous, countrywide distribution." He nodded. "It's quite a plan."

"They don't get to be horsemen, for nothing. So, you boys better stock up on," Crowley gave a shrug, "well, everything. This time, next Thursday, we'll all be living in zombie land."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks between themselves.

The brothers, along with Bobby and Castiel loaded up, everything they could think of, into Bobby's van. It was well into the night, by now, when they finished.

"All right, well, good luck stopping the zombie apocalypse," Dean told the rest of them.

Bobby smirked, giving a silent chuckle, as Sam replied with, "Yeah. Good luck killing Death."

He nodded, "Yeah."

The group was quiet for a second.

Sam was the one who, shortly, broke it. "Remember when we used to just," he shrugged, "hunt wendigos? How simple things were?"

Dean nodded at the ground, his hands in his jacket pockets. "Not really," he smiled up at Sam.

Sam let out a breath of air, smiling at earlier times, of him, Dean, and Sarah. "Well, um," he said, taking out the Knife. He grabbed a hold of the end of the blade, handing it to Dean, so the handle was pointing out. "You might need this."

Dean looked at it.

"Keep it." Crowley had appeared at that point. "Dean's covered." The demon held up a small, rusted iron scythe, and handed it to him. "Death's own. Kills, golly, demons, and angels, and reapers, and, rumor has it, the very thing, itself."

Dean looked the scythe over in his hand.

"How did you get that?" Castiel asked of the demon.

"Hello," he stared over at the angel. "King of the crossroads. So," Crowley switched to the scythe, "shall we?" He looked from Dean, over to Bobby. "Bobby, you just gonna sit there?"

"No," Bobby shook his head. "I'm going to river dance."

"I suppose if you want to impress the ladies," Crowley cracked towards the brothers, who glared at him. The demon dropped his head. "Bobby, Bobby, Bobby. Really wasted that crossroads deal."

Bobby stared at the demon, sideways.

"Fact, you get more if you phase it, properly. So, I took the liberty of adding a teeny, little sub-A clause, on your behalf."

Sam switched between Crowley and Dean, with just his eyes, confused.

Crowley shrugged, "What can I say? I'm an altruist." He stepped towards Bobby, to ask, "You just gonna sit there?"

Sam looked back at Bobby. He twitched his foot. To Bobby's surprise, it moved. He, then, placed it on the ground, and, slowly, pushed himself up, until he was standing. Bobby, now, was eye level with the brothers, again.

Sam and Dean couldn't help, let out a smile. They could not believe the miracle. Sarah would be bearhugging the old man, at this point, if she were here.

"Son of a bitch," Bobby muttered, out loud.

"Yes, I know," said Crowley. "Completely worth your soul. I'm a hell of a guy."

He stared at the demon. "Thanks."

Crowley shifted on his feet, uncomfortable, by this point. "This is getting maudlin." He turned to leave, asking, "can we go?" as he pointed towards the Impala. Crowley walked away, getting into the Impala, as Bobby and Dean smiled at one another. This was worth a small, quick celebration.

On the way to Chicago, Illinois, Sam ran his plan to get the devil back into his cage, passed Castiel.

"Yes, to Lucifer," the angel said, when Sam was finished. "Then, jump in the hole. It's an interesting plan."

Bobby scoffed, as he drove. "That's a word for it."

"So, go ahead and tell me, it's the worst plan you ever heard," Sam told the angel.

"Of course," said Castiel. "I am happy to say that, if that's what you want to hear. But, it's not what I think."

His head shot around, back, towards the angel. "Really?" he asked, in unbelief. Castiel was the first to agree with his plan. Sam was not prepared for that.

Castiel looked off into space. "You, Dean, and Sarah have a habit of exceeding my expectations," he explained. "Dean resisted Michael. Maybe, you could resist Lucifer. But, there are things that you would need to know."

"Like?"

Castiel stared forward at the floor, between the front seats. "Michael has found another vessel," he said.

Sam stared over Bobby, who took a glance from the road. "What?"

"It's Sarah," the angel looked up at Sam. "You must have considered it."

"Yeah, we were trying not to," Sam admitted, staring ahead, at the road. It was hard to think of his little peanut, as a vessel, a main pawn in the apocalypse. Bobby, too, found it, hard, as well.

"Frankly, I never would have expected Sarah to say yes. But, Sam," Castiel interrupted his thoughts. "If you say, yes to Lucifer, and then fail, this fight will happen. And, the collateral..." he shook his head, "it'll be immense." Castiel looked from the road, back towards Sam, "and with Sarah as the vessel, you will die. Michael will be more powerful."

Sam sat there, in thought. The thought of dying by the hands of his own niece, was more than he could handle, as Sam tried to hold it in. He loved that kid more than anything. Sam couldn't let that happen.

"There's also the demon blood."

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked of the angel.

Castiel glanced at the floorboards. "To take in Lucifer, it would be more than you've ever drunk." He looked back up, at the road.

Sam and Bobby stared at each other, horrified.

"But," Sam glanced at the road, before looking back at the angel, "why?"

"It straightens the vessel," he explained, also glancing from the road, towards Sam. "Keeps it from exploding."

"But, the guy he's in, now..."

"Is drinking galleons." Castiel looked back at the road.

"And, how is that not the worst plan you ever heard?" Bobby finally spoke up, questioning the whole thing.

While Sam, Bobby, and Castiel stopped the vaccine shipment from leaving the factory, Dean and Crowley headed for Chicago, to find Death. According to Crowley, there were reapers all around the building where Death was supposed to be in. But, after checking, the horseman was not. Dean was not too happy about that, either. The two of them returned to where Dean had parked the Impala.

Dean had no clue how he was going to get three million people out of Chicago in time. Crowley, on the other hand, remained calm, as he stared ahead. Suddenly, the demon disappeared, leaving Dean alone. Dean looked around until he saw him, across the street, in front of a pizza joint. Crowley tried to yell out to him, but Dean couldn't hear the demon. That was when Crowley reappeared, back in the Impala and told him, Death was inside the pizza joint.

Dean got back out, asking if Crowley was coming. But, Crowley had already disappeared, again. Dean headed across the street, going around back, to try and sneak in. He came in, through the kitchen, carefully and stealthily, heading into the front of the restaurant. Everyone inside the place was already dead.

He made his way across the main room of the restaurant, gripping the scythe in his hand, going around the tables. Dean came up, towards where he presumed to be Death, sitting there, his back towards Dean. The closer he got, to Death, the scythe started rattling and, suddenly, grew hot. Dean had to drop the thing. The scythe landed with a loud clunk.

Dean looked over at Death.

"Thanks for returning that," he heard Death say.

Dean noticed the scythe was gone and saw it was over on the table, next to Death.

"Join me, Dean. The pizza's delicious."

He regained himself, before making his way over, slowly, towards Death's table. When Dean grew closer, level with him, he got a look at what Death looked like.

"Sit down."

Dean sat across from Death.

"Took you long enough to find me. I've been wanting to talk to you."

"I got to say, mixed feelings about that," Dean replied. "So, is this the part where," he cleared his throat. "Where you kill me?" Dean forced a smirk.

Death looked up from eating a slice of a deep-dish pizza. He swallowed what he was chewing as Death stared back at him. "You have an inflated sense of your importance. To a thing like me, a thing like you, well," he took a drink of his beer, slurping the rest down. "Think how you'd feel if a bacterium sat at your table, and started to get snarky." Thunder rumbled as lightning flashed. "This is one little planet, in one tiny solar system, in a galaxy, that's, barely out of its diapers. I'm old, Dean." Death talked in a low voice, the entire time. "Very old. So, I invite you to contemplate how insignificant I find you."

More thunder and lightning rumbled and flashed.

Death reached over to grab the handle of the spatula, scooping up another slice of pizza and laid it, down on the plate, in front Dean, telling him, to eat.

Dean stared back at Death, repeatedly, glancing at the pizza. Eventually, he turned the plate, halfway around and picked up the fork and knife, nearby. He, then cut a piece off and, slowly, brought it to his mouth, eating it. Dean was amazed at how good the pizza was.

"Good, isn't it?"

Dean glanced up, as he chewed. He gave Death, a small shrug.

Death started eating his slice, again.

Dean pushed the food, to one side, so he could speak. "I gotta ask," he finished chewing. "How old are you?"

"As old as God." He shrugged, "Maybe older. Neither of us can remember, anymore. Life, death, chicken, egg. Regardless, at the end, I'll reap him, too."

Dean stared at him, in surprise. "God? You'll reap God?"

Death looked up, "Oh, yes. God will die, too, Dean." More thunder and lightning rumbled and flashed, before he took another bite. This time, longer than the last two.

Dean searched around, at the table. "Well, this is way above my pay grade," he smirked.

"Just a bit."

He gave a slight nod. "So, then, why am I still breathing, sitting here, with you? Uh," Dean shook his head, "w-what do you want?"

Death glared at Dean, as he snarled, "The lease around my neck, off."

Dean looked at him, sideways.

"Lucifer has me, bound to him. Some, unseemly, little spell. He has me where he wants, when he wants. That's why I couldn't go to you. I had to wait for _you_ to catch up." Dean was searching around, at the floor. He looked up when Death continued. "He made me, his weapon. Hurricanes, floods, raising the dead. I'm more powerful than you can process, and I'm enslaved to a bratty child, having a tantrum."

"And, you think," Dean stumbled on his words, "I can unbind you?"

Death sat back, a little. "There's your ridiculous bravado, again. Of course you can't. But, you can help me, take the bullets out of Lucifer's gun." Lightning flashed, once more, as thunder rumbled. He leaned forward, on his elbow, holding his hand out, that bore his ring. "I understand you want this."

Dean looked at him. "Yeah," he replied, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm inclined to give it to you."

"To give it to me?" he nodded at him.

"That's what I said."

Dean was at a loss for words. "But, what about," he looked out of the corner of his eyes, "Chicago?" and back at Death.

More thunder and lightning.

Death just stared at him. "I suppose it can stay," he shrugged it off. "I like the pizza." He took off his ring and held it, towards Dean. "There are conditions."

Okay," he said. "Like?"

"You have to do whatever it takes, to put Lucifer in his cell." That time, two thunders rumbled in between the lightning.

"Of course," he nodded.

" _Whatever_ it takes."

Dean nodded, again, "That's the plan."

"No. No plan. Not yet."

He stared at Death, not saying a word.

"Your brother. He's the one that can stop Lucifer. The only one, now that your daughter has chosen Michael's side."

Dean was taken aback by that statement. "What, you think..."

"I know."

He continued to stare at him.

"So, I need a promise. You're going to let your brother jump, right into that fiery pit." Another thunder and lightning rumbled and flashed. Death held the ring out, closer to Dean. "Well, do I have your word?"

Dean looked down at the ring. He licked at his lips, not wanting to agree to those terms. But, what other choice did he have? "Okay, yeah. Yes," he nodded, in actuality, he was, kind of, lying. A longer lightning flashed, along with some thunder, as Dean held his hand out.

"That had better be _yes_ , Dean," he told the young man. "You know you can't cheat death." Dean stared in, horror at those words, as Death dropped the ring into his open, waiting hand. "Now, would you like the instruction manual?" As Dean stared, between the ring and Death, he slowly pulled his arm, back. He listened as Death told him how to use the rings, to open the cage. Dean was, then, able to leave.

He headed back to Bobby's place, to meet the others, there. Dean sat out in the open garage, looking over, and playing around with all four rings. That was when Bobby came out.

"Well, how'd it go at the Rockettes audition?" he asked Bobby.

"Well," Bobby shrugged, "high kicks. Fair. Boobs need work."

Dean smiled down at the table, he was sitting at.

"I walked up and down, stairs, all night, for no damn reason." Bobby laughed, "I'm sore. Feels so good, I'm scared it's a dream. But, then," he shrugged his hands out, "I remember the world's dying, bloody, so, drink?" Bobby offered Dean, a cold one.

Dean, gladly, took it, screwing the cap off.

"I, also, couldn't help stare into her room," he admitted, screwing off his own cap. Bobby paused for a moment, before he added, "It's nice she kept it, clean, for the most part. I told her, the day I gave it to her, I wasn't gonna hassle her on it, considering I don't keep the rest of the house, picked up, myself."

Dean stared at the rings, thinking of his daughter, again. He decided to change the subject. "Hey, check it out." Dean pulled the rings apart, letting them, stick to each other, again, as if they were magnets.

Bobby, almost, choked on his beer, at the sight. Dean looked up at him, as Bobby tried to reach out, towards them and jolted his hand, back.

"So, Death told ya, how to operate those. The whole deal?"

Dean picked up the rings, looking them over. The rings remained, together, in his hand. "Yeah, it's nuts," and set them back, down, "of course, I got bigger problems, now."

"Really? Like?"

He smacked his lips, looking around, at the ground. "What do you think Death does to people, who lie to his face?"

Bobby shrugged, "Nothing good."

"Yeah."

The old man sat across from him. "What'd ya say?"

Dean stared back at him, before looking off into the distance. "That I was cool with Sam, driving the bus on the whole Lucifer plan." He picked up his beer, to take a swig.

Bobby, suddenly, stared at Dean. "So, Death thinks Sam ought to say, yes, huh?"

He looked down, muttering, "I don't know. Yeah."

"Hmm."

"But, I mean, of course he'd say that. He works for Lucifer," Dean tried to play it off, as if he didn't trust the horseman.

"Against his will, I thought he said." Bobby leaned his arms on the table.

"Well, I'd say, take his sob story, with a fat grain of salt. I mean, he is Death."

"Exactly," he agreed. "He's Death. Think of the kind of bird's-eye view."

Dean looked at the older man, partly sideways. "Seriously?" he questioned.

Bobby shrugged, looking away, "I'm just saying."

"Well, don't," Dean told him, firmly. "I mean, what happened to you being against this?"

"Look, I'm not saying Sam ain't an ass-full of character defects," he said, "but..."

Dean shrugged. "But, what?"

Bobby sighed, glancing to the side. "Back at Niveus? I watched that kid pull one civilian out, after another. He must have saved ten people. Never stopped. Never slowed down. We're hard on him, Dean. We've always been. Hell, I think we're harder on Sam than we are, on Sarah. But, in the meantime, he's been running into burning buildings since he was, what, twelve?"

"Pretty much," Dean had to agree, staring down, in front of him, with just his eyes.

"Look, Sam's got a," Bobby paused for a moment, looking down, in front of him, as well, "darkness in him. I'm not saying he don't," he shook his head. "But, he's got a hell of a lot of good in him, too."

Dean couldn't help, smile, down, at the table. "I know," he replied, looking up at him.

"Then, you know, Sam will beat the devil," Bobby shook his head, once, "or, die, trying, especially, to save Sarah. Which really is the bigger picture, here." That got a slow head raise from Dean, just a little. "That's the best we could ask for. So, I gotta ask, Dean. What exactly are you afraid of?"

Dean finally looked up at him.

"Losing? Or, losing your brother?"


	185. Chapter 185- Swan Song (Part 1)

_**Well, here we are. Part 1 of the final episode. Did things a little different with this, and teamed up with Chuck, to write this. Italics are his**_ ** _narration, but also, song lyrics, phone conversations, or when a character puts emphasis on a word. Hope you enjoy!_**

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 185

 _Carry on my wayward son_

 _There'll be peace when you are done_

 _Lay your weary head to rest_

 _Don't you cry no more_

 _Ah_

 _Once I rose above the noise and confusion_

 _Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion_

 _I was soaring ever higher, but I flew too high_

 _Though my eyes could see I still was a blind man_

 _Though my mind could think I still was a mad man_

 _I hear the voices when I'm dreaming,_

 _I can hear them say_

 _Carry on my wayward son,_

 _There'll be peace when you are done_

 _Lay your weary head to rest_

 _Don't you cry no more_

* * *

 _On April 21, 1967, the 100 millionth GM vehicle rolled off the line at the plant in Janesville- a blue, two-door Caprice. There was a big ceremony, speeches. The lieutenant governor even showed up. Three days later, another car rolled off that same line. No one gave two craps about her. But, they should of. Because, this 1967 Chevrolet Impala would turn out to be the most important object, in pretty much the whole universe._

 _She was first owned by Sal Moriarty, an alcoholic, with two ex-wives and three blocked arteries. On weekends, he_ _'d drive around, giving bibles to the poor._

" _Gettin' folks ready for Judgment Day." That's what he said. Sam, Dean, and Sarah don't know any of this, but, if they did, I'd bet they'd smile._

 _After Sal died, she ended up at Rainbow Motors, a used car lot in Lawrence, where a young Marine bought her on impulse. That is, from a little advice from friends. I guess, that's where this story begins. And, here's where it ends._

* * *

Sam was sitting atop the hood of the Impala, having a beer. He looked out, across the salvage yard, thinking. On top of the whole Lucifer and apocalypse mess, he couldn't help think of his niece. How he missed her smiling face. The way it lit up a room, and how it always made him, smile, especially when she looked on the bright side of things. Just like his brother, Sam and Sarah had a whole lot in common than they knew. The only difference was that Sarah was able to say no. Of course, there were times when she, too, gave in and said, yes. No one's perfect. And, like her uncle, Sarah always tried to fix it, by doing good. Even for a kid, Sarah took on, what even most adults would run from. Sam still tried to understand how she managed to keep that "kid" part, in her grasp.

Sam could still remember their last conversation. He could, also, recall their first, too. Mostly, the heart to heart ones. He remembered it was him, Sarah, first confided in, while Sarah tried to deal with their abilities. And, who could forget their first encounter? Sam thought he would never recover after Sarah punched him down there. Sam had to smile at that. That kid really was a fighter, even then. No, she was a Winchester.

Dean wandered over to the Impala, reaching down, to grab a cold one, out of the small ice chest, on the ground. He twisted the cap off and leaned against the car, as Dean kept his head down.

Sam sensed there was something on his mind. "Dean?" he looked back, over his shoulder. "What's going on?"

Dean opened his mouth to speak, but, no words came. Not at first. Finally, he said, "I'm in." Dean tossed the cap in the dirt.

Sam shook his head, not understanding what his brother meant, "In, with?"

"The whole _up with Satan_ thing." His brother, slowly, rose from the windshield, sitting up. "I'm on board." Dean looked back to see Sam staring at him, in shock.

"You're gonna let me say, yes?" Sam questioned.

"No," he shook his head, slightly, "that's the thing. It's not on me, to let you do, anything. You're a grown, well, overgrown, man." Dean looked out, across the salvage yard. "If this is what you want, I'll back your play."

Sam let out a breath of air, through his nostrils, "That's the last thing, I thought you'd ever say," he admitted.

Dean shrugged at the ground. "Might be. I'm not gonna lie to you, though. It goes against every fiber I got. I mean, truth is," he shook his head, looking at Sam, from the corner of his eye. He paused, hesitating on his words. "You know, trying to look out for you, along with Sarah..." Dean paused, again. "It's, kind of, been my job, you know?" He kept looking back at him, but looked ahead when he shrugged. "But, it's more than that. It's...kind of, who I am. You're not a kid, anymore, Sam, and I can't keep treating you like one. Sarah's grown up, right from under our noses. Maybe I got to grow up, a little, too." Dean stared down at his feet.

He looked up, taking a deep breath in. "I don't know if we got a snowball's chance." Dean shook his head, at the ground. "But... But, I do know, if anyone can can do it, it's you."

Sam nodded as he listened, towards the ground, as well. "Thank you," he told him, softly.

Dean was staring, intently, at the ground. "If this is what you want," he continued, nodding and looked back at him. "Is this really what you want?"

Sam took a deep breath in, looking, straight, ahead. "I let him out." He looked back at Dean. "I have to put him back in."

"Okay," Dean looked, straight, ahead. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and lifted his beer, to his lips. "That's it, then."

The brothers, Bobby, and Castiel looked for the closest demons they could find. They needed them. Well, Sam needed them. Their blood, anyway. Sam, Dean, and Castiel trapped the demons, killing and stringing them up. Even though Dean was joining along, he wasn't thrilled about it. In fact, Dean wanted to pull the plug on the whole darn thing. But, he knew he couldn't. He had to stay true to his word. He had to let Sam do this, to stop Lucifer, and, hopefully, get Sarah back. That was what Dean tried to focus his mind on, getting his daughter back.

When they got the amount they needed, the three of them carried the gallons of demon blood, outside, where they were parked. Bobby was out there, keeping watch and trying to find any omens that would lead them to Lucifer.

Dean wandered over to where Bobby stood, at the back of his van. "Still can't get used to you, at eye level," he teased the old man.

Bobby just smiled at him, sarcastically. "So," he said, "was I right?"

"Yeah, as always, Yoda," Dean looked back at the building they were in. "Two stunt demons, inside, just like you said."

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah," he looked over where Sam was loading everything into the trunk of the Impala, "all the go juice, Sammy can drink."

Bobby looked over there, as well, switching back to ask, "You okay?"

"Not really." Dean looked down at the newspapers, Bobby was reading through. "What do you got?"

"Not much," the old man looked down at the papers, and began shuffling through them, to show Dean, "these look like omens to you?" Dean took the first one, Bobby handed him. "Cyclone in Florida, temperature dropped in Detroit, wildfires in L.A,"

Dean interrupted him, "Wait. What about Detroit?"

"Temp's dropped about twenty degrees, but, only in a five-mile radius of downtown Motown."

He remembered what Lucifer had told him, when Zachariah had sent both Dean and Sarah, to the future, how it would always end in Detroit. "That's the one." Dean threw the paper back down, "devil's in Detroit."

Bobby asked, "Really? As far as foreboding goes, it's a little light in the loafers. You sure?"

Dean stared back at Sam. "Yeah, I'm sure."

Bobby looked over at Sam, again, as well. This time, Sam noticed.

They hit the road, again, this time, headed for Detroit. It was a long drive ahead. Dean drove, in front, with Bobby bringing up the rear. All of them had thoughts running through their minds of how this could go down. Either they could lose Sam and save the world, or lose Sam, and have the world cease to exist. In all, they was going to lose something. At the very least, maybe they could save Sarah.

Castiel was asleep, in the backseat. The problem about that was, angels did not sleep. They didn't need it. So, that meant, Castiel wasn't at his full strength.

Dean shook his head. "Sam, I got a bad feeling about this."

Sam glanced over at him, and shook his head, at the road. "Well, you'd be nuts to have a good feeling about it."

He glanced over at Sam, before turning back to the road, himself. "You know what I mean. Detroit," Dean looked back at Sam. "He always said, he'd jump your bones in Detroit. Here we are."

"Here we are," Sam repeated, in agreement.

"Maybe, this is him, rolling out the red carpet, you know? Maybe, he knows something we don't."

He laughed. "Dean, I'm sure he knows, a buttload, we don't." Sam shook his head, "We just got to hope he doesn't know about the rings." Dean said nothing, that time. Things were quiet for a brief period, until Sam let out a breath of air. "Hey, um...," he cleared his throat. "On the subject. There's something I got to talk to you about."

Dean glanced over at his brother. "What?" he asked, looking back at the road.

"This thing goes our way and I..." Sam paused, "and, I, triple-Indy, into that box," he looked over at his brother, who shared a look with him. "Y-you know I'm not coming back."

Dean looked from the corner of his eye, before turning back to the road. "Yeah, I'm aware."

"So, you gotta promise me, something."

He, quickly, glanced back at Sam. "Okay. Yeah. Anything," keeping an eye on the road.

Sam stared, intently at Dean, before he said, "You gotta promise not to try and bring me, back."

Dean glanced at the road, switching back to Sam. "What?"

Sam raised his head, straighter, to continue staring at him.

"No, I didn't sign up for that," he objected.

"Dean," Sam shook his head, at the road.

"Your hell is gonna make my tour look like Graceland. Y-you want me to sit by and do nothing?"

"Once that cage is shut, you can't go poking at it, Dean. It's too risky."

Dean shook his head, away. "No, no, no, no, no. As if I'm just gonna let you rot in there," he argued.

"Yeah, you are," he argued, back, firmly. "You don't have a choice."

"You can't ask me to do this, and you sure ain't gonna put your niece through that, again. You know how Sarah mustered through when I was down there."

"I'm sorry, Dean, but, you both have to," Sam shook his head.

Dean stared at his brother, in disbelief. He shot his head, between the road and Sam. "Then, what are are we supposed to do?"

Sam continued to stare at him. "You go find Lisa."

Dean scoffed, turning his head, away, towards his window.

"You pray to God, she's dumb enough to take you in, and you... You have Bar-Ba-Ques, and go to football games. You go live some normal, apple-pie life, Dean."

Dean just sat there, smiling at the road.

"Promise me," he ordered of his brother.

Dean finally looked over at his brother. He turned back, towards the road, again. "I can't promise for Sarah."

"Dean."

"I mean it," he said. "Sarah's not here to have a say. But, when it comes down to it, she'll make whatever decision I make." The car ride was silent, after that, for the rest of the trip.

They pulled into Detroit in a few short hours, in the area where the temperature had dropped. Bobby looked around, through binoculars, trying to find which house Lucifer was holding up in. He spotted a window, with a random guy, staring out of it, straight ahead. The guy never blinked, neither. There were others around, as well.

He walked back, over, to the other three. "Demons. At least, two dozen of them." Bobby twisted around, to look back at the house. "You were right, something's up."

"More than something," Dean said, bringing his attention, back. "He's here. I know it." He was also staring over at the house. Dean, then, turned and walked towards the trunk, opening it up.

Sam watched his brother walk past. He stood up from where he was leaning against the Impala, and looked over at Bobby, letting out a sigh. His breath was visible in the cold night air.

Bobby tried to look back at him, but found he couldn't, and looked away, at the ground. Eventually, Bobby walked over, stopping just in front of the young man. "See ya around, kid," he whispered, softly.

Sam nodded. "See ya around."

Dean stood there, leaning a hand on top of the open trunk. He dropped his head as the two of them said their goodbyes. Castiel watched from a few feet away. Sam and Bobby exchanged a quick, firm hug.

"He gets in," Bobby told him, afterwards, "you fight him, tooth and nail, you understand?"

Sam gave a nod.

"Keep swingin'. Don't give an inch."

"Yes, sir."

With that said, Bobby turned away, trying to hold it, together.

Sam released a deep breath, as Dean lifted his head, looking, straight. This was more of a killer on the eldest Winchester than the rest of them, but, not by much. Sam wiped a hand, down his face, before turning away, himself. His eyes fell on Castiel, who was still standing there. The angel looked up at the giant, which Sam walked over, and held his hand out.

"Take care of these guys, okay?" Sam told him.

Castiel looked at Sam, tilting his head, to the side, as he shook it. He sighed. "That's not possible," he said, honestly.

Sam closed his eyes, letting out a short chuckle. He nodded at the ground, looking back up at the naive angel. "Then, humor me."

"Oh," Castiel realized, and shook his head, repeatedly. "I was supposed to lie."

He chuckled, again.

"Uh," the angel forced a smile, "Sure. They'll be fine. I..."

"Just... Just stop...talking," Sam nodded.

Castiel looked over at Dean, sliding his hands into the pockets of his trench coat. Sam looked back, over at his brother, and walked over to where he was standing. Castiel walked away.

He walked over, stopping in front of the trunk, and looked at Dean. "Give Peanut, a hug and kiss for me, okay? Tell her, I love her, and that, I am always proud of her."

Dean stared down at the jugs of demon blood. "I will. Gladly."

Sam switched his gaze, over towards the jugs, as well. "You mind not watching this?"

Dean walked away, moving to the side of the Impala, to lean against it. They waited as Sam started to chug the stuff, down, one last time. Not one could watch it, even if they wanted to. It was disgusted, just thinking about it. Bobby, Castiel, especially Dean counted down the minutes until Sam finished, wishing there was a whole other way. Anything would be better than any of this.

When Sam finished the last jug, he slammed the trunk, shut and bolted for the house, Lucifer was in, ready to face him. "Let's go."

Dean watched his brother, walk passed him. Finally, he followed, right behind.

"All right!" Sam yelled, as he crossed the street, nearing the house. "We're here, you sons of bitches! Come and get it!"

Two demon goons came out, just as Sam and Dean stepped onto the sidewalk.

"Hey, guys," Dean nodded towards them, putting on a snarky mask. "Is your father home?"

The demons grabbed a hold of the brothers and dragged them, inside the house, and upstairs, to the room where Lucifer was waiting for them. Once inside, they shoved them towards where the fallen archangel was leaning against the window, staring out of it.

"Hey, guys," Lucifer greeted them, as he stared up, into the night sky. "So, nice of you to drop in."

Sam stood his ground, breathing, heavily, as he stared over at Lucifer, determined, while Dean, stared at him, with a worried look. He, too, was breathing, heavily, but, a little softer.


	186. Chapter 186- Swan Song (Part 2)

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 186

 _The Impala, of course, has all things other cars have...and a few things they don_ _'t. But, none of that stuff's important. This is the stuff that's important._

 _The army man that Sam crammed in the ashtray. It's still stuck there. Sarah tried to pull it out, once. She got scolded about it. Besides, even if she wanted to, the thing just wouldn't budge an inch._

 _The Legos Dean shoved into the vents. To this day, heat comes on, they can hear them, rattle._

 _The action figures and figurines scattered all along the floorboards, of the backseat. Any time someone rides back there, a Pokemon or some other cartoon or army man would be kicked or stepped on. Some even got stuck, underneath the front seat during the accident._

 _These are the things that make the car, theirs. Really theirs._

 _Even when Dean and Sarah rebuilt her from the ground up, Dean made sure all these little things stayed 'cause, it's the blemishes that make her, beautiful._

 _The devil doesn't know or care what kind of car the boys drive._

* * *

Lucifer breathed on the window. The glass, crystallized with frost. He licked his finger. "Sorry, if it's a bit chilly," he said. "Most people believe I burn hot. It's actually quite the opposite." He drew a pitchfork into the condensation.

"Well, I'll alert the media," Dean shrugged.

Lucifer, finally looked back at him.

Dean gulped, a tiny bit, timid.

The devil stood up and wandered over to where Sam and Dean was standing. He clapped a fist into his other hand. "Help me, understand something, guys. I mean, stomping through my front door is," he looked over at Dean, "a tad suicidal, don't you think?"

"We're not here to fight you," Sam told him, still determined.

Lucifer looked over at Sam. "No? Then, why are you, here?"

"I want to say, yes."

The devil was dumbfounded. "Excuse me?"

Sam closed his eyes and breathed in, deeply. Suddenly, the two demon goons', still in the room, eyes flashed and dropped like flies. Dean looked between his brother and Lucifer.

"Chock-full of Ovaltine, are we?"

"You heard me," Sam told him, firmly.

Lucifer nodded.

"Yes."

"You're serious," he realized.

Sam continued to stare at the devil. He stole a quick glance with his brother, before switching his eyes back, towards Lucifer, shifting on his feet. "Look, Judgment day's a runaway train. We get it, now. We just want off."

Lucifer stared back at him. "Meaning?"

"Deal of the century. I give you, a free ride, but, when it's all over, I live, he lives, my niece lives. You bring our parents, back."

Lucifer placed a finger to his chin, looking up at the ceiling. "Okay, can we, please, drop the Telenovela?" He stared over at Sam, from the side. "I know you have the rings, Sam."

Sam stayed his ground, while Dean looked on, in worry. So, of course, Lucifer knew. Why wouldn't he? But, Sam shook his head, trying to play it, off. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Dean looked from his brother, to Lucifer.

He looked towards a different part of the ceiling, from the other corner of his eye, with a wave of his hand, "The horsemen's rings?" Lucifer switched back to Sam. "The magic keys to my cage?" he continued, as he stepped towards him. Lucifer stopped, right in front of him. "Ring a bell?"

Dean was starting to lose it, as Lucifer continued.

"Come on, Sam. I've never lied to you. You could, at least, pay me, the same respect." Lucifer was, now, circling around Sam, like a hawk. Sam turned, right on his heel, followed by Dean, who tried to glare at the devil. "It's okay. I'm not mad. A wrestling match inside your noggin. I like the idea. Just you and me, one round," he turned his head, slightly, sideways, "no tricks. You win, you jump in the hole. I win," he shrugged, "well then, I win. What do you say, Sam?"

Dean shot his head, between them.

"A fiddle of gold against your soul, says, I'm better than you-ou." Lucifer said that in a singsong voice, twisting his head, the other way.

No one said anything. The room grew mute, for a moment.

Sam nodded. "So, he knows," he said, softly. "Doesn't change anything."

"Sam," Dean tried to object.

"We don't have any other choice."

"No."

Sam shifted on his feet, ready to battle. Dean, quickly, looked over at the devil, as he said, "Yes." Light suddenly emitted from Lucifer's vessel, filling the entire room. In fact, Bobby and Castiel could see it, from across the street, where they hoping and waiting.

Dean shielded his face as the light engulfed everyone. When it faded, both Sam and Lucifer's vessel laid, motionless on the ground. He looked over at Sam, before Dean remembered the rings. Quickly, pulling them from his jacket pocket, he looked at the rings, still stuck together. Dean looked up, over at a bare wall and tossed the rings at it. The rings stuck to it, as if he had thrown a magnet to a fridge, and chanted the spell, Death had taught him.

The wall began to crack, as air started sucking it in. Soon, there was a big hole in the wall, as pieces got sucked in, like a vacuum.

Dean looked behind him, just as Sam came to. "Sammy!" he yelled over the vacuum sound, Sam tried to get up. He hurried over to help his brother.

"Dean!"

"Sammy!" Dean tried to hold him, up, by his arm.

Sam groaned, in pain. "I can feel him. Oh, God!" He dropped back, down.

Dean grabbed a hold of his brother, "You got to go, now!" He tried to pull him, up, again. "Come on!" Dean managed to pull Sam to his feet. "Go now, Sammy!"

Sam grabbed onto him, staring, intently, at the, now, huge, gaping hole.

"Now!"

Sam shoved around his brother, bolting towards the hole. Dean turned around, to watch him, when, Sam, suddenly, stopped in his tracks. He grinned and turned around, to face Dean, holding his hands, together. "I was just messing with you," he told Dean, in a totally different tone, and stared at him. "Sammy's long gone."

Sam, who was, now, Lucifer, turned back to the hole. He chanted another spell, closing the cage, once, again. Walking over to the wall, Lucifer took hold of the rings, looking at them, as he turned around, once again.

He looked up and smiled at Dean, who stared back at him, breathing hard. "I told you. This would always happen, in Detroit. With that said, Lucifer disappeared, leaving Dean, alone.

Dean looked around, moving his feet along with his eyes, where he grabbed onto his head, in both hands. First, his daughter. Now, his brother. His eyes swelled up with tears, as Dean spun, fully, around.

He left out of there, storming as he went. Bobby tried to ask how it went. "Not good," Dean told him. There was an electronic store, not too far away, down the street. The news was playing, as the reporter told the camera about storms and other major natural disasters.

"It's starting," Castiel stated, walking away. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his trench coat.

Dean looked over at the angel. "Yeah, you think, genius?" He turned, to fully face the angel.

Castiel had his back to him. "You don't have to be mean."

"So, what do we do, now?" Dean asked.

The angel shrugged, shaking his head. "I suggest we imbibe copious quantities of alcohol," he shook his head, a second time. "Wait for the inevitable blast wave."

"Yes, swell," Dean nodded, sarcastically. "Thank you, Bukowski. I-I mean, how do we stop it?"

Castiel turned around, to face him, and shook his head, "We don't. Lucifer will meet Michael on the chosen field, and the battle of Armageddon begins"

"Okay, well, where's this chosen field?" he continued to ask, determined to stop it.

"I don't know."

"Well, there's gotta be something we can do." Dean's voice, cracked.

Castiel had turned his head away, towards the sky. "I'm sorry, Dean," he turned it, back, as Bobby made his way over. "This is over."

"You listen to me, you junkless sissy," he snarled, firmly and exclaimed, "we are not giving up!" Castiel looked away, at the sidewalk, this time. Dean turned around, towards Bobby. "Bobby?"

The old man was, also, staring at the sidewalk, in defeat.

Dean switched between the angel and the old man. "Bobby?"

He finally looked up at him, with sad eyes and shrugged. "There was never really much hope, to begin with," shaking his head.

Castiel looked from Bobby, to the sidewalk.

Bobby continued to shake his head, "I don't know what else to do."

Dean, slowly, looked from Bobby, to the sidewalk, and over towards Castiel. No one said another word.

* * *

 _In between jobs, Sam, Dean, and Sarah would sometimes get a day. Sometimes a week, if they were lucky. They'd pass the time, lining their pockets. Both Sam and Sarah used to insist on honest work, but, now, they hustle pool, like Dean._

 _They could go, anywhere and do, anything. They drove a thousand miles for an Ozzy show, two days, for a Jayhawks game. And, when it was clear, They'd park her in the middle of nowhere, sit on the hood, and watch the stars. For hours...without saying a word._

 _It never occurred to them, that, sure, maybe they never had a roof or four walls, even when Sarah's grandparents and second cousin got on their case about it. But, they were never, in fact, homeless._

* * *

Dean remembered about Chuck, and how he had seen their lives since this whole thing had started. He was bound to have seen where the battle would go down. So, he gave the guy, a call, as he sat in the Impala.

" _Mistress Magda?"_ he answered, on the second ring.

"Um, no, Chuck," Dean said, feeling awkward, at that point.

" _Oh, uh,"_ there was a slight pause. _"Dean. Uh, wow. I, uh, I didn't think that you'd call."_

"Who's Mistress Magda?"

" _Nothing. She''s, a, uh, a... Just a, uh...a close friend."_

"Yeah, I bet, real close," Dean scoffed. "What ever happened to Becky?"

" _Uh, didn't work out. I had too much respect for her."_ The sound of Chuck, clearing his throat, was heard.

"Boy, you really got a whole virgin/hooker thing going on, don't you?"

 _Okay, this can't be why you called,"_ he whined, nervously.

"Both Sam and Sarah said, yes," Dean told him.

" _I know."_ Chuck's voice had changed to serious, that time. _"I saw it. Both times. I'm just working on the pages."_

"Did you see where the title fight goes down?"

Chuck let out a sigh. _"The angels are keeping it, top secret. Very hush-hush."_

Dean rolled his head, at that. "Aw, crap," he muttered under his breath.

" _But, I saw it, anyway. Perks of being a prophet. It's tomorrow, high noon. Place called, Stull Cemetery."_

Dean stared at the dash, the name of the place, sounding familiar to him. "Stull Cem..." he, then, realized. "Wait. I know that. That's- that's an old bone yard, outside of Lawrence. Why Lawrence?"

" _I don't know,"_ Chuck whispered. He raised his tone, to a normal speaking voice. _"It all has to end where it started, I guess."_

"All right, Chuck," Dean told him, "you know of any way to short-circuit this thing?"

" _Besides the rings? No."_ He paused before he said, _"I'm sorry."_

"Well, do you have any idea what's going to happen, next?" Dean was growing, more and more, desperate, as time moved further.

" _I wish I did."_

Dean closed his eyes, at that.

" _But, I-I, honestly, don't know, yet."_

Tears were filling his eyes, as Dean sat there, in his car. "All right. Thanks, Chuck," he told him and hung up. Dean stared at the steering wheel. At least, he knew of the location.

He stepped out of the car and hurried back, headed for the trunk. He made sure he had everything he needed, before hurrying back to the driver's seat. By then, Bobby and Castiel were walking up.

"You goin' some place?" Bobby called after him. Dean had stopped in his tracks, caught. He looked away. "You're goin' to do something stupid. You got that look."

Dean looked back at the old man. "I'm gonna go talk to Sam," he admitted.

Bobby shook his head, at Dean. "You just won't give up."

"Why not? That's what I always taught Sarah not to do."

"If you couldn't reach Sam, here, you're, certainly, not gonna be able to, on the battlefield," Castiel told him, firmly.

"Well, if we've already lost, I guess, I got nothing to lose, right?" Dean looked from the angel, over towards Bobby.

"I just want you to understand," he continued, which Dean looked back at him. "The _only_ thing that you're gonna see out there, is Michael killing your brother, using Sarah to do it."

Dean's voice finally cracked, "Then, at least, I'll be there when Sarah wakes up."

He shook his head. "Michael will take over earth, using Sarah as a vessel, forever."

"Then, I'll die, trying." Dean, then, shared one last look with Bobby, before sliding in, under the wheel, and drove away, towards the direction of Lawrence, Kansas.

Bobby and Castiel remained there, alone, exchanging looks between one another.


	187. Chapter 187- Swan Song (Part 3) Finale

Family is Where the Heart is

Chapter 187

Far away from Detroit, Michigan, over in Lawrence, Kansas, Lucifer waited for his brother, to show. It was overcast, as a crow flew overhead, cawing as it soared. He watched the crow, as it flew over, turning, halfway around. Micheal had appeared at that point, wearing Sarah, as a vessel.

Lucifer sighed, heavily, as the brothers stared at one another, intently. No one said a word, as a breeze blew through the cemetery. Finally, it was him, who broke the silence. "It's good to see you, Michael," he greeted his brother.

"You, too," Michael replied.

Lucifer let out another sigh.

"It's been too long."

"Can you believe it's finally here?"

Michael looked away, and moved, closer to him. "No," he answered, looking the other way, as well. "Not really." This time, Michael let out a sigh, from his nostrils. "Are you ready?"

Lucifer breathed in, heavier, that time. "As I'll ever be."

Michael stared back, at him, not saying anything.

"Part of me, wishes we didn't have to do this."

He hesitated, before Michael agreed. "Yeah. Me, too, considering the stunt you pulled, with one of my vessels."

Lucifer shrugged, "I didn't think it would actually happen."

Michael remained, silent. He knew with Sarah, he would be, indeed, killing his brother. The archangel was just glad the kid stayed away from the demon blood, or there wouldn't even be a planet, left, much less a body.

"Then, why are we, here?" Lucifer asked, moving closer to Michael, a few steps.

"Oh, you know why," Michael reminded his brother, with a nod towards him. "I have no choice after what you did."

Lucifer stared at him. "What I did?" he questioned. "What if it's not my fault?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Think about it," Lucifer continued. "Dad made everything." He took another step, closer to Michael, "which means, he made me who I am. God wanted the devil." At that, Michael looked away, in annoyance.

He looked back, to ask, "So?"

"So, why? And, why make us, fight? I just can't figure out the point."

Michael tilted his head, a little. "What's your point?"

Lucifer straightened up. "You're going to kill me, and for what?" He looked off, into the distance. "One of Dad's tests?" Lucifer turned back to Michael, "and, we don't even know the answer."

The older brother remained silent.

"We're brothers." He shook his head, "Let's just walk off the chessboard."

Michael twisted around, to look away, trying to hold it, together. "I'm sorry," he managed to say, and turned back to face his brother. "I-I can't do that." Michael nodded, once, "I'm a good son, and I have my orders."

Lucifer couldn't help snicker at his brother's vessel. "Don't you mean, a good daughter," he smirked.

Michael ignored the remark. He wasn't thrilled about using the kid, but, it had to be. However, like he was a good son, Sarah was a good daughter. Despite her flaws.

"You know, you don't have to follow them," Lucifer pressed on.

"What, you think I'm gonna rebel? Now?"

He looked at the dirt.

"I'm not like you," Michael shook his head.

"Please, Michael."

"You know, you haven't changed a bit, little brother. Always blaming everyone, but, yourself. We were, together. We were happy. But, you betrayed me. All of us. And, you made our Father, leave."

"No one makes Dad do anything," Lucifer pointed out. "He is doing this _to us_." The two of them stared at each other, for a moment, not saying a word, until Michael was the first to speak.

"You're a monster, Lucifer. And, I have to kill you."

Lucifer was staring at the dirt, again. "If that's the way it's got to be," he paused, gulping, quietly, to himself, and looked up at his brother, with just his eyes, "Then, I'd like to see you, try." There may have been some hope for him. Maybe, a wee bit. Lucifer regretted putting that curse on Michael's vessels' bloodline, now. Of course, with the pride issue he had, Lucifer wasn't about to back down. He'd find a way to still try and win.

The brothers stared at each other, intently. Lucifer started to circle around Michael, who followed. They circled until each of the brothers were standing in the other's original spot. But, just as they were about to start the fight, a car's engine revved, off in the distance, alerting their attention.

Dean had finally arrived. He pushed in one of his and Sarah's favorite albums, turning the volume up to, full blast. He, then drove further, into the cemetery, parking, right next to Michael and Lucifer. Of course, who he saw, was, his brother and daughter.

"Howdy, boys," he greeted the archangels, leaning on the roof of the Impala and top of his door. "Sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Dean looked between them. When no one answered, he shut his door and walked towards the front of the car, nodding over at Sam. Not Lucifer, but, hisbrother. "We need to talk."

Lucifer shared a look, over at his brother, both looking back at Dean. "Dean," he smiled at the dirt. "Even for you, this is a whole new mountain of stupid."

"I'm not talking to you," he shook his head. "I'm talking to Sam."

Michael finally spoke up. "You're no longer the vessel, Dean. You got no right to be here," he shook his head.

Dean turned his head, fully, to look at his daughter. "Baby Girl, if you're in there, somewhere, I am so sorry."

Michael shook his head. "Sarah isn't home, right now," he told him.

"Well then, you're, definitely, next on my list, buttercup. But, right now, I need five minutes with him," Dean motioned his head, towards his brother.

"You little maggot." Michael stepped towards Dean, angrily, as he exclaimed, "you are no longer part of this story!"

"Hey," the archangel, suddenly, turned on his heel, to see two other unwanted guests. Castiel and Bobby were both standing there, and Castiel was holding a Molotov. "Ass-butt!" The angel chucked it at Michael.

Michael was lit up, in flames. The rag, inside of the empty bottle, was soaked in holy fire, so, it really burned. The archangel screamed out, in pain, his angel screech ringing. Both Dean and Lucifer had to look away, shielding themselves from the flames.

It was hard on Dean, to watch his daughter, burn up, right in front of him and hoped that didn't affect her, in any way. Castiel knew Sarah was safe, being Michael's vessel. Or, so, he hoped.

Dean stepped back, into his spot, he was standing, looking over at the angel. "Ass-butt?" he questioned of him.

Castiel just shrugged his hands up. "He'll be back," he replied, "and, upset. But, you got your five minutes."

Lucifer glared over at the angel, also upset. "Castiel," he said, and took a couple steps towards him. "Did you just Molotov my brother, with holy fire?"

"Uh," Castiel took a step, backwards, holding his hands, partly, up, in defense, "no."

"No one dicks with Michael, but, me." Lucifer raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Castiel exploded into a billion chunks of flesh, blood splattering, everywhere, spraying Bobby, in the process.

Dean could only watch, in horror, as his friend was turned to nothing. He, slowly, looked at his brother. "Sammy," he said, "can you hear me?"

Lucifer turned his head, in Dean's direction, his body, following suit. "You know. I tried to be nice," he moved, closer to him, "for Sammy's sake." Lucifer stopped, right in front of Dean. "But, you...are such," he, slowly grabbed onto the front of his jacket, squeezing it, tight, "a pain...in my ass." The devil shoved Dean, backwards, onto the hood of the Impala, cracking the glass upon impact.

Bobby had taken out his gun, and tried shooting him. All it did, was piss the devil off, even more than he was. He stared, in sheer horror, as Lucifer raised his hand, again. This time, the devil snapped his wrist, snapping Bobby's neck. The old man fell to the ground as Dean cried out.

Lucifer turned back to Dean. "Yes," he said, and yanked him down the hood, where Lucifer punched Dean in the face. Dean was spun around, onto his front. Blood spilled from his mouth. But, the guy just wouldn't give up.

"Sammy?" Dean pushed himself, back around. "Are you in there?"

"Oh, he's in here, all right," he sneered and stepped towards Dean. Lucifer punched him, a second time, knocking Dean, back down, "and, he's gonna feel the snap of your bones." Lucifer grabbed onto Dean, punching him, a third time.

Dean landed in the grass. He rolled over, onto his back.

Lucifer stepped over Dean. "Every single one." Grabbing him, up, to shove Dean against the Impala. "We're gonna take our time. Maybe, when Michael returns, Sarah can watch us." One by one, the devil threw punch after punch, switching between fists. Dean's head, whiplashed, from side to side, with each one.

Dean still wouldn't quit. "Sam, it's okay," he managed to muster out. "It's okay." Dean turned his head, to look Sam in the eye. "I'm here. I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you."

The devil pulled back and threw another punch, knocking Dean's head, to the right. Then, another, to the left, this time.

Dean's voice cracked. "I'm not gonna leave you."

Lucifer grabbed a hold of the front of his jacket, in one hand, and pulled back his fist, one more time. A glare from the Impala caught his eye, at that moment. He looked at the reflection on the window, as something changed. Through the glass, inside the backseat, the army man stuck in the ashtray, could be seen.

Suddenly, memories of Sam and Dean, playing in the car, as kids, flashed through, eventually, going into their adult lives, of the last five years, including Sarah playing in the car. All the times, the three of them spent in that car, raced through Sam's mind, sticking together and smiling through good times and bad. The memories sped by, so fast, it was as if someone put his mind on the highest setting of fast-forward, stopping on the memory of Sarah wrapping her arms around her uncle, when she finally told him, she forgave him, for ditching her.

Lucifer's grip was loosened as Sam took back, control.

Dean fell, onto the ground, hitting against the car.

Sam looked down at his brother, panting. He saw Dean look over at him. "It's okay, Dean. It's gonna be okay." Sam panted, in between each sentence, while trying to hold Lucifer back. "I've got him." Breathing, heavily, he, quickly, reached into to the pocket of his jeans, pulling out the rings, tossing them, over on the ground and chanted the spell Dean had said, the first time.

The cage was reopened. This time, on the ground. It formed a hole as before. Everything around it was being sucked in.

Sam kept, switching between his brother and the hole, breathing, hard, as he continued to hold Lucifer, at bay. This was what he wanted. Sam knew he had to set things right. Lucifer needed to be put back, into his cage and Sam was the only one who could do it. Not, Sarah. Him. Sam stared into the hole, getting ready to jump when he heard his niece's voice call his name. The only reason he knew it wasn't actually Sarah, was the fact, she didn't call him, Uncle Sam.

Michael had returned, standing behind him. "It's not gonna end this way!" he shook his head. "Step back!"

"You're gonna have to make me!" Sam shot back, at the archangel.

"I have to fight my brother, Sam!" he continued to press, bound and determined. "Here and now! It's my destiny!" Michael nodded at him.

Sam looked from his niece, over towards where his brother still sat. Suddenly, they heard Michael gasp, just as Lucifer had done when Sam took over. Sam and Dean looked over when they heard Sarah's normal, softer tone.

"I got him, Uncle Sammy! Hurry!" It was, now, Sarah, who was fighting to take back control. Sam looked over at her, and couldn't help feel like a proud uncle. "I'm really sorry about what I said, before! I love you, Uncle Sammy!"

Sam smiled. After a quick glance with his brother, the middle Winchester closed his eyes and spread his arms out. As soon as Michael saw Sam fall into the cage, the archangel fought harder, to take control and stop him. But, Sarah fought tooth and nail, with him, grinding her teeth.

"You're not getting control, Michael," Sarah mumbled to herself. The preteen looked up, in time, to see her uncle fall into the hole. She, suddenly, dropped to her knees as her body and soul tried to eject the archangel. Her eyes squeezed, tight as Sarah, firmly, gasped the grass and dirt. "Get...OUT!"

Bright light erupted from her eyes and mouth and engulfed the sounding area. Dean had to shield his eyes, with his arm, looking away. The angelic screech pieced through the air until the light vanished, leaving Sarah, sprawled out, on the ground. The cage had closed, by that point, as well.

Dean looked back when the light was gone. "Baby Girl?" There was no answer. Her head was facing the other way, so he couldn't see her face. Dean managed to lift, onto his hands and knees, and, slowly, crawled over to his daughter's lifeless form. "Baby Girl," he repeated, as Dean leaned over her. His mouth hung open at what he saw.

Sarah's eyes had been burnt out of her sockets. Smoke still steamed from them.

He dropped his head, holding it against hers, as Dean sobbed, uncontrollably. A hand gripped her shoulder, opposite from him, holding his daughter, to him. How many times did Dean had to go through this? Maybe this really was for the best.

After a while, Dean sat up, straight, and lifted his daughter, up, into his arms, face up. He cradled her, in his arms. Castiel. Bobby. Sam. Sarah. All the people he loved and cared about, were gone. It was just him, now. Dean wanted to die, along with his family.

A shadow engulfed him, shielding Dean from the sun, that peaked out through the clouds. He looked up and to his surprise, saw Castiel standing there, behind him.

"Cas, you're alive?"

"I'm better than that." The angel reached down and touched two fingers to Dean's forehead. Suddenly, his wounds he had endured from Lucifer, were healed. Castiel, then, knelt down, to his level and looked down at Sarah. Doing the same thing, he touched her forehead, as well. With a flash of light, Sarah was revived, her eyes, whole, back in her sockets.

The preteen shot out of her father's arms, sitting up, as she panted, heavily. "What happened?" Sarah twisted around, looking, first at Dean, then at Castiel. "Dad? Cas?" She, then threw herself at her father, hugging him around the neck.

Dean held his arms around his little girl, not wanting to ever let go. He looked over at the angel, who still sat, knelt in the dirt. "Cas, are you, God?"

Castiel smiled at him, and said, "That's a nice compliment," making Sarah look over at the angel. "But, no."

Sarah pulled herself away, as they stared at the angel.

"Although, I do believe He brought me, back." Castiel turned right around, heading towards where Bobby's body, laid. "New and improved."

Dean touched a hand to the side of his nose, checking to make sure he was really healed. He caught a look with Sarah, who looked up, just as shocked as he was. It was over. It was finally over.

Castiel knelt beside Bobby and did the same, a third time, bringing him, back, as well. Bobby shot awake and sat up. He, too, was surprised to see the angel, alive.

Dean looked over where the rings still laid in the grass. He walked over, as Sarah stayed there, watching as her father went over and picked them up, looking the rings over in his hand.

* * *

 _Endings are hard._

* * *

Dean shared another look with Sarah.

* * *

 _Any chapped-ass monkey, with a keyboard, can poop out a beginning, but, endings are impossible. You try to tie up, every loose end, but, you never can. The fans are always gonna bitch. There's always gonna be holes. And, since it's the ending, it's all supposed to add up to something. I'm telling you, they're raging pain in the ass._

* * *

Dean sped down the highway, with Sarah in the front seat, next to him. Castiel sat in the back. "What are you gonna do, now?" he asked of the angel.

"Return to heaven, I suppose," he replied.

"Heaven?"

"After Sarah ejected Michael, it tore him, into pretty bad shape," Castiel explained.

Sarah lifted her head, from her hand, she held on the door handle, and twisted around at the angel. "Wait, what?"

"Your power, Sarah. It wasn't strong enough to kill him, but, strong enough that Michael won't be able to recover, for another hundred years. Without him, I'm sure it's total anarchy up there."

"I was able to do all that?" She stared, in astonishment.

"Why do you think most angels were afraid of you?" he asked. "With demon blood, you could have, had the power to kill him, all, together."

"That's why the demons thought I was Lucifer's true vessel?"

Castiel nodded. "It was good, you didn't go down that road."

Sarah turned back, to sit, straight, as she stared at the floorboards. She lifted her hands as she thought of what ran through her veins.

Dean looked over at his daughter. Finally, he decided to change the subject. "So, what? You're the new sheriff, in town?"

Castiel smiled over at him. "I like that. Yeah," he nodded, and looked at the floorboards. "I suppose I am."

"Wow," Dean muttered, out loud. "God gives you, a brand-new, shiny set of wings, and, suddenly, you're his bitch, again."

"I don't know what God wants," he shook his head. "I don't know if he'll ever return. It just," Castiel shook his head, again, "seems like the right thing to do."

"I think it is," Sarah spoke up, in agreement.

Dean moaned, as he rolled his head. "Oh, don't tell me, you're still, on board, with God, Sarah."

Sarah looked over at her father. "Honestly, Dad," she told him, and admitted, "you weren't the only reason I said, yes, to Michael. Maybe, a big part of it, but, not the only reason."

Dean stared over at his daughter, surprised to hear that. "He didn't bring you, back, with us, Sarah. He refused to help us. He's showed us, He's a deadbeat dad just like mine."

"And, if you ever saw Grandpa, again, would you turn your back on him?" she stared over at her father. "God's still family, even if I get upset with Him. Like when I get upset with you, or upset with Uncle Sam."

Dean scoffed, looking away.

"Your father's angry, Sarah," Castiel pointed out.

Sarah never took her eyes off of her father. "Yeah, I see that. God did end up, helping us in the end," which Castiel added, "maybe more than we realize."

That's easy for you to say," Dean told the angel. "He brought you, back. But, what about Sam? What about Sarah and I, huh? Where's our grand prize? All we got is my brother and Sarah's uncle, in a hole!"

Both Sarah and Castiel stared over at the young man.

"You got what you asked for, Dean," the angel told him. "Plus, your daughter, back. No paradise. No hell. Just more of the same."

Dean stared at the road, ahead, not saying a word.

"I mean it, Dean. What would you rather have? Peace? Or, freedom?"

He didn't answer. He did look back, through the rearview mirror, to see Castiel had vanished, and looked back, before looking ahead, again. "Well, you really suck at goodbyes, you know that?"

Sarah looked from her father, back, behind her, to see that Castiel was gone. She sat, back, facing forward, letting out a long sigh. "I suppose I have to keep my promise I made to you, a few months ago?"

Dean looked over, from the corner of his eye. He glanced at her, before looking ahead. No one said anything, for the rest of the trip. It was daylight when Dean and Bobby pulled into the salvage yard, joining, together, to say, goodbye. Sarah had to force herself out to say goodbye, herself. She hated having to say it, to Bobby.

Just as the preteen walked over, to meet Bobby, halfway, her father stopped her.

"Listen, Baby Girl," he started to say, as she faced him. "I know what I said, before, making you promise, to quit when this was all over." Dean looked down, at the ground. "But, I also remember how you had tried, the first time. Bobby, here, made sure of that. But, I don't want to see you, miserable, Baby Girl."

Sarah looked up at her father, confused. "What are you talking about, Dad?"

He looked up, and took a deep breath. "Sam made me, promise to go find Lisa and try to live an apple pie life with her. I'm going to follow through on that promise. But, I told him, I couldn't speak for you. I had to let Sam, grow up and make his own decisions. I think you proved to me, that you're old enough, and smart enough, to make your own decisions, as well."

She stared at her father, in disbelief, her mouth hanging, open.

Dean heard Bobby, moan, his name, looking away, but did not fight him, any further.

"Now, you can choose to come with me, and try it, again," Dean swallowed back, the tears. "Or, if Bobby's okay with it, you can stay here, with him, and continue hunting." He took another deep breath. "I know, you'll choose to stay with me, to make me, happy, and, because, of our father/daughter bond we have. But, I'm not gonna be happy if you're miserable as hell. I want you to do what you want to do, and if you want to keep hunting," Dean shrugged, "that's fine by me. As long as you come visit for Christmas, Thanksgiving, both of our birthdays, Father's day, hell, even Mother's day."

"Uh," Sarah said, "I think you would have Gram, to fight, on that one." She smirked up at her father.

Dean couldn't help, smirk, either.

They heard Bobby let out a sigh. "Guess, it's all right, by me," he told them. "If you want, Sarah."

Sarah looked over at the old man. She, then, looked back at Dean, now, feeling torn. She loved her father, but, trying to quit hunting, again. Maybe, things would be different, this time, around, since Dean would be there.

"I want you to come with me, Sarah," her father admitted. "But, I will, completely, understand if you don't. You tried already and it didn't work out. And, I thank Bobby for that." Dean shook his head. "Don't quit, just 'cause of me."

"Aren't you afraid you might lose me, again?"

"Hell, yes. But, it's your decision, Sarah, and I'll stand by it. And, maybe, down the line, you do decide to quit, and I'll be right there, when you're ready to try again."

Tears filled her eyes. Sarah threw herself at her father, at the greatest sacrifice he could ever make for her.

"Thank you, Dad," she told him.

"No problem, Baby Girl," he replied, as he held onto her. Dean held a kiss on top of her head, squeezing his daughter, tight.

She looked up at her father. "Maybe, we could go fishing, again, at our spot?" Sarah suggested. "I kept revisiting that memory, over and over, back in heaven."

Dean smiled. "So, that was one of your favorites, huh?"

Sarah smiled, in return. "I told you. I have a lot." She hugged him, one last time.

Dean also hugged Bobby, goodbye, before getting into the Impala. With one, long, final look, he drove out of the yard.

* * *

 _This is the last time, Dean will see his daughter and Bobby, for a while. At least, until Sarah's birthday, that was a month away. And, for the record, at this point, next week, Bobby and Sarah will be hunting a Rugaru, outside of Dayton. But, not Dean._

* * *

Sarah watched as the Impala pulled away, feeling her grandfather hang his arm around her, as he looked down at her. She looked up, at him, before looking forward, again.

* * *

 _Every part of him, every fiber he's got, wants to turn around and drag Sarah with him, or find a way to bring Sam, back. But, he's not gonna do either. Because, he made a promise. His own promise. Not for his daughter, but, for him._

* * *

Dean drove straight for Indiana, only stopping for gas. He pulled up to Lisa's house, knocking on the door. Shortly, after, Lisa opened the door, surprised to see him, back.

His voice cracked. "Hey, Lisa," forcing a smile, for her.

"Oh, thank God," she murmured. "Are you, all right?"

Dean nodded, looking away. "Yeah," he replied. "Uh, if it's not too late, I,"  
his voice broke. "Think I'd like to take you, up on that beer."

Lisa smiled, relieved. "It's never too late," she assured him and stepped back to let him in. Dean stepped inside, taking her into his arms. It was Lisa, who comforted him, though. "Shh, shh. It's okay. It's gonna be okay."

Dean cried on her shoulder as Lisa held him, moving more, into it.

* * *

 _So, what's it all add up to? It's hard to say. But, me, I'd say this was a test. For Sam and Dean, and for Sarah. And, I think they did all right. Up against good, evil, angels, devils, destiny, and God, Himself. They made their own choice. They chose family. And, well...Isn't that, kind of, the whole point?_

 _No doubt- endings are hard. But, then, again... Nothing really ends, does it?_

* * *

Dean sat at the table, thinking about his brother and daughter. Ben sat across from him, as Lisa brought over a bowl of mashed potatoes.

She noticed him, staring off, into space. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he lied, glancing at her. As Lisa sat down, Dean's phone rang. He took it out and looked at the caller ID, to see Sarah's name. Dean threw open that phone and pressed talk.

" _Hey, Dad. Miss you, already and had to call you before I turned in."_ It was so nice to his little girl's voice, again.

Dean smiled. "Miss you, too, Baby Girl. I love you."

 _"Love you, too. I'll probably call every night, is that okay with you?"_ she asked.

"Fine by me," he replied. "I'll be counting down the days until I see you, again."

She laughed. _"Same, here."_

"And, keep up on that online school, of yours. You got it?"

" _I will, Dad."_ Father and daughter hung up, so Dean could eat. Unknown to any of them, of the person standing outside Lisa's house, watching as Dean had his first of many meals, with Lisa and Ben, and, occasionally, Sarah.

 **The End...**

 _ **Wow... I can't believe this is it. "Family is Where the Heart" has finally come to a close. I want thank you for reading this long of a novel. Thinking about it, I think this story has not just helped me, grow as a writer, but as a person, as well. It was a rocky road, writing this, the past four years, and I thank the ones, who's been there since I posted chapter one, or even season one. I am so glad I decided to finish this, as it showed me, that if I put my mind to it, I can finish any novel. When I am a successful writer, one day, I gotta remember I have you, this story, and even Supernatural, to thank, for it. Maybe, one day, I will write a sequel and continue with seasons six thru however many the writers of the show decide to make, but, right now, I'm not worried. I wanted to do the first five seasons, because it felt more of a story, with a beginning, middle, and end. I was also trying to keep to what Kripke did, but, treaked, to fit Sarah. I hope you enjoyed this story, and consider checking out the rest of my Supernatural stories, like "Learning to Trust." That one is actually catching up to "Family is Where the Heart is," in followers, and another one of my best. So, I hope you check it out. Well, Should probably close, now. Thanks, again, for reading, and stay awesome! God bless!**_

 _ **-SLPikachu**_


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